Yahoo! News: World News

---

• Obama walks a fine line with Myanmar president's landmark visit
• Hezbollah steps up Syria battle, Israel threatens more strikes
• North Korea fires short-range missiles for two days in a row
• Exclusive: Bangladesh factory banned by Wal-Mart still makes Wrangler shirts
• British PM urges more action on tax from UK territories
• Israel demands French TV correct 13-year-old report on boy's death
• Why IRS investigation is already Obama's Watergate – and Benghazi, too
• Obama to detail terrorism policy including drone attacks and Guantánamo Bay prison
• In Israel, a modern wall is halted by ancient terraces
• South Korea: The little dynamo that sneaked up on the world
• Syrian troops push into strategic rebel-held town
• Israeli seeks interim deal with Palestinians
• Russian TV: American accused of spying flies out
• Pakistan repeats vote in Karachi despite killing
• North Korea fires projectile into eastern waters
• Honeybees trained in Croatia to find land mines
• Outlook dim as Syria diplomacy gathers force
• AP CEO calls records seizure unconstitutional
• Nigeria offers amnesty to insurgents who surrender
• Pakistan army will be watching Sharif's cozying up to India
• Insight: Despite curbs, China's vast hot money triangle flourishes
• Top Libyan official: Benghazi explosion accident
• Video shows kidnapped Egyptian security officers
• One killed in northern Lebanese city of Tripoli
• Canadian prime minister's top aide quits over expenses scandal
• Seen and heard at the Cannes Film Festival
• Protesting Egyptian police block Israel border crossing
• Tunisia security blocks salafi conference, 1 dead
• Nigeria military: 17 killed during offensive
• Two Egyptian journalists, critical of Mursi, face trial
• Dubai laborers stage rare strike for more pay
• Chinese premier visits India to boost ties
• Slim, broadcasters take fight to soccer field
• Algerian editor accuses government of censorship

Obama walks a fine line with Myanmar president's landmark visit Posted: 19 May 2013 04:11 PM PDT By Paul Eckert WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will walk a fine line between fostering a U.S. ally in China's backyard and trying to defend human rights when the president of Myanmar becomes the first head of his country to visit the White House in 47 years on Monday. Rights groups and some U.S. lawmakers fear Obama has moved too quickly since forging a dramatic breakthrough in relations in 2011 after half a century of military rule in Myanmar, also known as Burma. U.S. ...

Hezbollah steps up Syria battle, Israel threatens more strikes Posted: 19 May 2013 03:13 PM PDT By Khaled Yacoub Oweis AMMAN (Reuters) - Lebanese Hezbollah militants attacked a Syrian rebel-held town alongside Syrian troops on Sunday and Israel threatened more attacks on Syria to rein the militia in, highlighting the risks of a wider regional conflict if planned peace talks fail. Activists said it was the fiercest fighting in Syria's two year-old civil war involving Hezbollah, a Shi'ite group backed by Iran which they said appeared to be helping President Bashar al-Assad secure a vital corridor in case Syria fragments. ...

North Korea fires short-range missiles for two days in a row Posted: 19 May 2013 09:21 AM PDT By Jane Chung SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired a short-range missile from its east coast on Sunday, a day after launching three of these missiles, a South Korean news agency said, ignoring calls for restraint from Western powers. Launches by the North of short-range missiles are not uncommon but, after recent warnings from the communist state of impending nuclear war, such actions have raised concerns about the region's security. ...

Exclusive: Bangladesh factory banned by Wal-Mart still makes Wrangler shirts Posted: 19 May 2013 02:04 PM PDT By Serajul Quadir and Rafiqur Rahman GAZIPUR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - A Bangladesh factory where Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Inditex SA inspectors spotted cracks in the wall this month is still making Wrangler shirts for the world's largest apparel maker, U.S.-based VF Corp. VF confirmed on Saturday it was still using Liz Apparels to make its clothing following an inspection ordered by the factory owner, Nassa Group, on May 12. VF, whose other clothing brands include North Face, Timberland and Nautica, said its philosophy was to "stay and improve" working conditions. ...

British PM urges more action on tax from UK territories Posted: 19 May 2013 04:34 PM PDT By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Britain called upon its overseas territories to "get their house in order" over the sharing of tax information on Monday as the UK looks to lead a global fight against tax evasion ahead of a meeting of the world's wealthiest states. Britain is using its presidency of the Group of Eight (G8) leading economies, which holds its annual summit on June 17-18, to push for a global clampdown on complex arrangements used to disguise wealth and minimize tax payments. ...

Israel demands French TV correct 13-year-old report on boy's death Posted: 19 May 2013 02:08 PM PDT By Allyn Fisher-Ilan JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel demanded a French television station on Sunday correct a report from nearly 13 years ago which helped fuel anger across the world and ignite a bloody uprising against the Jewish state. Twelve-year-old Mohammed al-Dura and his father, Jamal, were filmed crouching in terror by a wall in the Gaza Strip in September 2000, bullets whizzing around them, as Israeli forces battled Palestinian gunmen days into an uprising that erupted after failed peace talks. The boy was later pronounced dead, and his father wounded. ...

Why IRS investigation is already Obama's Watergate – and Benghazi, too Posted: 19 May 2013 01:19 PM PDT Will Benghazi become President Obama's Watergate? Or perhaps the IRS scandal?

Obama to detail terrorism policy including drone attacks and Guantánamo Bay prison Posted: 19 May 2013 12:27 PM PDT In what's being billed by the White House as a major national security speech, President Obama this week will explain his policies dealing with counterterrorism, the use of drone aircraft, Al Qaeda, and the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

In Israel, a modern wall is halted by ancient terraces Posted: 19 May 2013 11:55 AM PDT After scarring the ancient landscapes of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the name of security, Israel's separation barrier had been slated to carve through this Palestinian village's 2,500-year old farm terraces and aqueducts.

South Korea: The little dynamo that sneaked up on the world Posted: 19 May 2013 09:28 AM PDT For months the young emperor to the north has been threatening to turn this thriving metropolis into a "sea of fire." But it's not easy to ruffle the jaunty vibe of 75-year-old Kim Chong-shik as he strolls among young couples and shoppers along the boutiques of the Gangnam District.

Syrian troops push into strategic rebel-held town Posted: 19 May 2013 12:07 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian troops pushed into a rebel-held town near the Lebanese border on Sunday, fighting house-to-house and bombing from the air as President Bashar Assad tried to strengthen his grip on a strategic strip of land running from the capital to the Mediterranean coast.

Israeli seeks interim deal with Palestinians Posted: 19 May 2013 11:31 AM PDT JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's senior coalition partner says that reaching a final peace agreement with the Palestinians is unrealistic at the current time and the sides should instead pursue an interim arrangement.

Russian TV: American accused of spying flies out Posted: 19 May 2013 09:52 AM PDT MOSCOW (AP) — The U.S. Embassy employee accused of spying in Moscow flew out of Russia on Sunday, five days after he was ordered to leave the country, NTV television reported.

Pakistan repeats vote in Karachi despite killing Posted: 19 May 2013 03:19 AM PDT KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan held a repeat election on Sunday in an upscale area of the southern city of Karachi that was plagued with allegations of vote-rigging, despite the shooting death of a senior member of former cricket star Imran Khan's party.

North Korea fires projectile into eastern waters Posted: 19 May 2013 03:57 AM PDT SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired a projectile into waters off its eastern coast Sunday, a day after launching three short-range missiles in the same area, officials said.

Honeybees trained in Croatia to find land mines Posted: 19 May 2013 11:28 AM PDT ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Mirjana Filipovic is still haunted by the land mine blast that killed her boyfriend and blew off her left leg while on a fishing trip nearly a decade ago. It happened in a field that was supposedly de-mined.

Outlook dim as Syria diplomacy gathers force Posted: 19 May 2013 04:28 PM PDT By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Peter Graff AMMAN/LONDON (Reuters) - The world's diplomats will make a major new push in the coming days for negotiations to end Syria's civil war, but their chances of achieving a peace deal look as remote as ever. President Bashar al-Assad poured scorn on new plans for peace talks announced unexpectedly by the United States and Russia two weeks ago and planned for Geneva in early June. ...

AP CEO calls records seizure unconstitutional Posted: 19 May 2013 03:59 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government's secret seizure of two months of reporters' phone records "unconstitutional" and said the news cooperative had not ruled out legal action against the Justice Department.

Nigeria offers amnesty to insurgents who surrender Posted: 19 May 2013 03:02 PM PDT By Joe Brock MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria offered an amnesty on Sunday to Islamist militants who surrender and said 17 people had been killed on the fifth day of a military operation to try to crush the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast. In their biggest offensive since the insurgency began in 2009, Nigerian forces are trying to chase well-armed militants out of territory they control in remote semi-deserts around Lake Chad, along the borders with Cameroon, Chad and Niger. ...

Pakistan army will be watching Sharif's cozying up to India Posted: 19 May 2013 03:01 PM PDT By Katharine Houreld ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's all-powerful military overthrew Nawaz Sharif 14 years ago and hustled him off into exile in handcuffs. Now he's back as prime minister-elect, with the army watching his every move, especially steps planned to ease tension with arch-rival India. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 124 of 272 contested seats in this month's parliamentary election. Its nearest rival, the Pakistan People's Party, won just 31 in the first democratic handover of power since independence in 1947. ...

Insight: Despite curbs, China's vast hot money triangle flourishes Posted: 19 May 2013 01:59 PM PDT By James Pomfret and Matthew Miller ZHUHAI, China/HONG KONG (Reuters) - In an underground mall just a stone's throw from China's teeming border with Macau, a row of 30 small shops with identical golden plaques does a brisk, though shadowy trade with mainland Chinese visitors, many of them bound for the gambling hub. "Good rates. Better than the banks," shout salespeople jostling to usher clients into shops where thick wads of Chinese 100 yuan ($16.31) and HK$1,000 ($130) bank notes change hands and shuffle noisily through electronic cash-counting machines. ...

Top Libyan official: Benghazi explosion accident Posted: 19 May 2013 01:48 PM PDT TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libya's deputy prime minister says an investigation has indicated that a deadly explosion in Benghazi last week was an accident and not an attack.

Video shows kidnapped Egyptian security officers Posted: 19 May 2013 01:39 PM PDT CAIRO (AP) — Seven men purported to be the members of Egypt's security forces kidnapped by suspected militants last week appeared in a video posted online Sunday and urged the government to secure their release by meeting their captors' demands.

One killed in northern Lebanese city of Tripoli Posted: 19 May 2013 01:11 PM PDT TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Reuters) - One person was killed and a dozen people were wounded by gunfire on Sunday in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, security sources said, in the latest outbreak of sectarian violence fuelled by the civil war in neighboring Syria. They said the dead man was from Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen district, an enclave of Alawite residents in the mainly Sunni Muslim port city. Most Sunni Muslims in Lebanon support the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, who is from Syria's Alawite minority. ...

Canadian prime minister's top aide quits over expenses scandal Posted: 19 May 2013 12:57 PM PDT By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - The top aide to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper abruptly resigned on Sunday over his role in an mounting expenses scandal which is threatening to undermine the Conservative government. Nigel Wright, Harper's chief of staff, quit after secretly giving a C$90,000 ($87,000) check in February to Mike Duffy, a member of the upper Senate chamber, to help him cover living expenses he had improperly claimed. News of the gift leaked late on Tuesday. ...

Seen and heard at the Cannes Film Festival Posted: 19 May 2013 12:52 PM PDT CANNES, France (AP) — Associated Press journalists open their notebooks at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival:

Protesting Egyptian police block Israel border crossing Posted: 19 May 2013 12:17 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian police enraged by the kidnapping of seven of their colleagues by Islamist gunmen in the Sinai Peninsula blocked a commercial border crossing with Israel on Sunday to pressure the Cairo government to help free the men, security sources said. A video posted online on Sunday showed seven blindfolded men, who said they were the hostages, begging President Mohamed Mursi to free political detainees in Sinai in exchange for their own release. Mursi said "all options are open" to free the hostages. "We will not succumb to any blackmail," he wrote on Twitter. ...

Tunisia security blocks salafi conference, 1 dead Posted: 19 May 2013 11:44 AM PDT KAIROUAN, Tunisia (AP) — Around 11,000 police officers and soldiers blocked an annual conference Sunday at Tunisia's main religious center by a radical Islamist movement that has been implicated in attacks across the country, prompting clashes with angry youths that resulted in one death.

Nigeria military: 17 killed during offensive Posted: 19 May 2013 11:33 AM PDT ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's military says its offensive against insurgents in the country's restive northeast has killed at least 14 suspected Islamic extremists and three soldiers.

Two Egyptian journalists, critical of Mursi, face trial Posted: 19 May 2013 11:21 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Two Egyptian journalists at a newspaper critical of President Mohamed Mursi were ordered on Sunday to face an expedited criminal trial for defamation. Several journalists, talk show hosts and comedians have been charged with defamation over the last few months and activists accuse the government of using the courts to target its liberal and secular opponents. ...

Dubai laborers stage rare strike for more pay Posted: 19 May 2013 11:06 AM PDT By Praveen Menon DUBAI (Reuters) - Thousands of workers employed by Dubai's largest construction firm, Arabtec, stayed away from work on Sunday to back wage demands, a rare labor protest in the Gulf emirate, where trade unions are banned, staff said. Most blue collar workers in the Gulf Arab states are migrant laborers hired on a contract basis from South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, and strikes are uncommon. ...

Chinese premier visits India to boost ties Posted: 19 May 2013 10:46 AM PDT NEW DELHI (AP) — Just weeks after a tense border standoff, China's new premier visited India on Sunday on his first foreign trip as the neighboring giants look to speed up efforts to settle a decades-old boundary dispute and boost economic ties.

Slim, broadcasters take fight to soccer field Posted: 19 May 2013 10:36 AM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexicans often feel that billionaire Carlos Slim owns everything in their country, from telephone and Internet companies to banks and chain stores, but his latest acquisitive foray is meeting resistance after touching a national passion: soccer.

Algerian editor accuses government of censorship Posted: 19 May 2013 10:24 AM PDT ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — An editor has accused Algeria's government of censorship after it blocked the publication of his two newspapers.

You are subscribed to email updates from World News Headlines - Yahoo! News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610