Yahoo! News: World News

---

• Syrian foes move towards talks but fighting rages
• Iran bars candidates for presidential election
• Attacks in Iraq kill over 40, sectarian tensions high
• As U.S. struggles with Syria policy, Senate panel backs arming rebels
• With wary eye on the U.S., China courts India
• UK coalition to last despite rifts, infighting: Deputy PM
• Tornado Warning: Despite Oklahoma Alert, U.S. Weather Forecasting Service Needs Major Upgrades
• Oklahoma tornado was a monster, but it wasn't a record-breaker
• MLS deal with billionaire oil sheikh could be bigger than Beckham
• Tornado-Proofing Cities in the Age of Extreme Weather
• Top figures barred from Iran's June ballot
• Iran candidate list for presidential race
• Key senator to let Myanmar sanctions bill lapse
• Syria opposition signals tough line on peace talks
• Soldiers flood western Mexico to protect towns
• Whole neighborhoods razed by Oklahoma tornado that killed 24
• Egyptian army blocks Sinai roads in hunt for kidnappers
• Toronto mayor avoids questions about crack video
• FBI ID's Benghazi suspects _ but no arrests yet
• Ex-Ford execs charged in Argentine torture cases
• The pope and the devil: Is Francis an exorcist?
• Egypt troops in Sinai sweep mistakenly hit funeral
• Spain's former PM Aznar suggests may challenge Rajoy
• Discovery of alleged Russian plot points to growing jitters
• Suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
• Harry Potter book with author notes sold for $228K
• China's bird flu outbreak cost $6.5 billion
• UN: Drop in Syrians reaching Jordan, unclear why
• Nigeria: Islamic extremist inmates to be released
• New Egypt tax law: cuts for poor, business hikes
• Russia moves closer to jail terms for offending religion
• Saudi executes 5 Yemenis, displays bodies

Syrian foes move towards talks but fighting rages Posted: 21 May 2013 11:50 AM PDT By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's opposition and the government of President Bashar al-Assad seem to be preparing to take part in an international peace conference against a background of some of the worst fighting this year. On Tuesday, Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and Syrian soldiers, backed by air strikes and artillery, renewed an offensive aimed at driving Syrian rebels from the town of Qusair near the Lebanese border, opposition activists said. ...

Iran bars candidates for presidential election Posted: 21 May 2013 03:51 PM PDT By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian authorities barred two potentially powerful and disruptive candidates from running in next month's presidential election on Tuesday, ensuring a contest largely among hardliners loyal to the clerical supreme leader. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a veteran companion of the Islamic Republic's founder, a former president and thought potentially sympathetic to reform, was denied a place on the ballot by the Guardian Council of clerics and jurists, state media said. ...

Attacks in Iraq kill over 40, sectarian tensions high Posted: 21 May 2013 02:21 PM PDT By Kareem Raheem BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - A series of bomb and gun attacks across Iraq killed more than 40 people on Tuesday, a day after over 70 died in violence targeting majority Shi'ites that has stoked fears of all-out sectarian war with minority Sunnis. Nearly 300 people have been killed in the past week as sectarian tensions, fuelled by the civil war in neighboring Syria, threaten to plunge Iraq back into communal bloodletting. Ten years after the U.S. ...

As U.S. struggles with Syria policy, Senate panel backs arming rebels Posted: 21 May 2013 03:22 PM PDT By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Senate panel voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to send weapons to rebels fighting Syria's government, but it was not clear who would get the arms even if the bill succeeds, as Washington struggles to deal with its response to the conflict. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 15-3 for legislation that would send arms to "vetted" moderate members of the Syrian opposition, the first time U.S. lawmakers have approved such military action in the two-year-old civil war. ...

With wary eye on the U.S., China courts India Posted: 21 May 2013 02:17 PM PDT By Frank Jack Daniel and Rajesh Kumar Singh NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, smiling and effusive, was out to smooth ruffled feathers in India this week, promising to ease tensions and increase trade between Asia's fastest growing economies in his first trip overseas since taking office. "China will make your dream come true," Li told a banquet hall filled with Chinese and Indian business executives in the financial capital of Mumbai as he wound up his visit on Tuesday. ...

UK coalition to last despite rifts, infighting: Deputy PM Posted: 21 May 2013 04:07 PM PDT By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's deputy prime minister will take the unusual step of holding a news conference on Wednesday to say the country's two-party coalition will hold together until 2015 as he tries to stabilize a government beset by infighting and rifts. In a demarche that risks being cast as a sign of weakness by political opponents, Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in the coalition, will try to reassure voters that his alliance with Prime Minister David Cameron will endure until the next national election. ...

Tornado Warning: Despite Oklahoma Alert, U.S. Weather Forecasting Service Needs Major Upgrades Posted: 21 May 2013 04:22 PM PDT The atmosphere never gets a moment's privacy. It can barely stir enough to move a leaf without some piece of high-tech equipment—often many, many pieces—knowing about it. The U.S. alone has up to 30 satellites at any one moment that devote at least part of their time to monitoring global and national weather patterns; 122 Doppler radar systems scattered across the country looking up from the ground; and a web of computers that just got a massive upgrade—increasing their data-crunching capacity 30-fold—to process the information that all that other hardware gathers.

Oklahoma tornado was a monster, but it wasn't a record-breaker Posted: 21 May 2013 04:16 PM PDT The National Weather Service has rated the tornado that struck Moore, Okla., Monday afternoon as an EF5, the highest rating with wind speeds estimated at more than 200 miles an hour.

MLS deal with billionaire oil sheikh could be bigger than Beckham Posted: 21 May 2013 03:12 PM PDT Two of the most deep-pocketed teams in world sport – Manchester City of the English Premier League and the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball – have agreed to pay $100 million to own and operate a new professional soccer team in New York City starting in 2015.

Tornado-Proofing Cities in the Age of Extreme Weather Posted: 21 May 2013 03:06 PM PDT Right now the death toll from the massive tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma on May 20 seems—thankfully—to be less than first thought. City officials now say that 24 people have been confirmed dead, down from 51 people last night, due to double counting of some bodies in the confusion. But the new number still includes 9 children, and the toll could rise as rescuers search through the rubble.

Top figures barred from Iran's June ballot Posted: 21 May 2013 01:13 PM PDT TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's election overseers removed potential wild-card candidates from the presidential race Tuesday, blocking a top aide of outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a former president who revived hopes of reformers.

Iran candidate list for presidential race Posted: 21 May 2013 12:35 PM PDT The eight candidates approved Tuesday for Iran's June 14 presidential election to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who cannot run again because of term limits.

Key senator to let Myanmar sanctions bill lapse Posted: 21 May 2013 03:10 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, easing up on his long-held tough stance on Myanmar, said Tuesday he planned to allow key sanctions legislation against the Southeast Asian nation to lapse because of the country's progress toward democracy.

Syria opposition signals tough line on peace talks Posted: 21 May 2013 11:25 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Despite recent rebel setbacks in Syria's civil war, the main opposition bloc signaled a tough line Tuesday on attending possible peace talks with President Bashar Assad's regime.

Soldiers flood western Mexico to protect towns Posted: 21 May 2013 02:23 PM PDT COALCOMAN, Mexico (AP) — Mexico's top security officials promised Tuesday that a new federal offensive to rescue towns besieged by the Knights Templar drug cartel in western Michoacan state would stay "until there is security and peace for all state residents."

Whole neighborhoods razed by Oklahoma tornado that killed 24 Posted: 21 May 2013 04:29 PM PDT By Carey Gillam and Ian Simpson MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Rescuers went building to building in search of victims and thousands of survivors were homeless on Tuesday after a massive tornado tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, wiping out whole blocks of homes and killing at least 24 people. The death toll was lower than initially feared, but nine children were among the dead, including seven who died at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which took a direct hit on Monday in the deadliest tornado to strike the United States in two years. ...

Egyptian army blocks Sinai roads in hunt for kidnappers Posted: 21 May 2013 04:28 PM PDT By Yousri Mohamed SHEIKH ZUWAID, Egypt (Reuters) - Egyptian army and police forces stepped up roadblocks in north Sinai in a hunt for militant Islamists who kidnapped seven security officers last week, a security source said on Tuesday. The militants seized the men on a road between the towns of el-Arish and Rafah near the border with Gaza on Thursday in the latest setback for the Cairo government's efforts to reinstate law and order in the Sinai Peninsula. ...

Toronto mayor avoids questions about crack video Posted: 21 May 2013 04:24 PM PDT TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford continued to duck questions Tuesday about a video that purportedly shows him smoking crack cocaine despite calls by allies and rivals for further comment.

FBI ID's Benghazi suspects _ but no arrests yet Posted: 21 May 2013 04:07 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has identified five men who might be responsible for the attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last year, and has enough evidence to justify seizing them by military force as suspected terrorists, officials say. But there isn't enough proof to try them in a U.S. civilian court as the Obama administration prefers.

Ex-Ford execs charged in Argentine torture cases Posted: 21 May 2013 04:06 PM PDT BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Three former Ford Motor Co. executives were charged Tuesday with crimes against humanity for allegedly targeting Argentine union workers for kidnapping and torture after the country's 1976 military coup.

The pope and the devil: Is Francis an exorcist? Posted: 21 May 2013 03:31 PM PDT VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis' fascination with the devil took on remarkable new twists Tuesday, with a well-known exorcist insisting Francis helped "liberate" a Mexican man possessed by four different demons despite the Vatican's insistence that no such papal exorcism took place.

Egypt troops in Sinai sweep mistakenly hit funeral Posted: 21 May 2013 03:08 PM PDT CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian troops and police mistakenly fired on a Bedouin funeral in the Sinai Peninsula on Tuesday, security officials said, in the opening salvo of a sweep searching for security personnel kidnapped by suspected militants.

Spain's former PM Aznar suggests may challenge Rajoy Posted: 21 May 2013 03:07 PM PDT MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar suggested on Tuesday he may seek to make a political comeback by mounting a challenge to his party mate and political heir Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. In a rare interview on Spanish television since leaving power in 2004 and handpicking Rajoy as his successor in the center-right People's Party (PP), Aznar called on the government to cut taxes and create new jobs. ...

Discovery of alleged Russian plot points to growing jitters Posted: 21 May 2013 02:58 PM PDT By Timothy Heritage OREKHOVO-ZUYEVO, Russia (Reuters) - As Russia congratulated its forces for foiling an alleged Islamist plot on Moscow, the discovery of the plan also pointed to the growing security threat before the 2014 Winter Olympics. Monday's killing of two suspected militants and arrest of a third in a sleepy town near Moscow was quickly followed by the killing of one of the leaders of an Islamist insurgency being waged in Russia's North Caucasus. ...

Suicide at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris Posted: 21 May 2013 02:51 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — Some 1,500 visitors were cleared out of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after a man put a letter on the altar of the 850-year-old monument Tuesday, pulled out a gun and shot himself in the head.

Harry Potter book with author notes sold for $228K Posted: 21 May 2013 02:24 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — For fans of the boy wizard, this could be the most coveted copy of all the "Harry Potter" books in the world.

China's bird flu outbreak cost $6.5 billion Posted: 21 May 2013 02:14 PM PDT By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The H7N9 virus appears to have been brought under control in China largely due to restrictions at bird markets, but caused some $6.5 billion in losses to the economy, U.N. experts said on Tuesday. Health authorities worldwide must be on the lookout to detect the virus, the experts said, which could still develop the ability to spread easily among humans and cause a deadly influenza pandemic. ...

UN: Drop in Syrians reaching Jordan, unclear why Posted: 21 May 2013 02:08 PM PDT GENEVA (AP) — U.N. officials said Tuesday that the number of Syrian refugees arriving in Jordan has suddenly fallen from an average of 2,500 a day to fewer than 20, and they are trying to quickly figure out why.

Nigeria: Islamic extremist inmates to be released Posted: 21 May 2013 02:07 PM PDT ENUGU, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's military said Tuesday that the West African nation would release some of the prisoners it has taken in the country's fight against Islamic extremists — including all the women now held in custody.

New Egypt tax law: cuts for poor, business hikes Posted: 21 May 2013 02:00 PM PDT CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's president signed a new tax law Tuesday that cuts the amount paid by poorer Egyptians in the latest move aimed at reforming the country's economy.

Russia moves closer to jail terms for offending religion Posted: 21 May 2013 01:59 PM PDT By Maria Tsvetkova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian lawmakers on Tuesday took a step toward imposing jail terms for offending religious feelings, approving legislation proposed after punk band Pussy Riot performed a raucous protest song in Moscow's main Orthodox Christian cathedral. Critics say the bill will give government-approved religious groups protection others lack and blur the line between church and state under President Vladimir Putin, who has advocated a strong societal role for the Russian Orthodox Church. ...

Saudi executes 5 Yemenis, displays bodies Posted: 21 May 2013 01:34 PM PDT RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Tuesday executed five Yemenis convicted of crimes and displayed their bodies in public as a deterrent for future criminals, the government said.

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