Yahoo! News: World News

---

• Kerry to push for solutions as Israeli-Palestinian peace talks intensify
• Iran says nuclear deal to be implemented in late January
• Anti-Assad monitoring group says Syrian death toll passes 130,000
• Bombs across Baghdad kill at least 15, clashes continue in Anbar: sources
• Egypt security forces arrest Brotherhood leader's son
• South Sudan government, rebels set for New Year's Day talks
• NKorea boasts of removal of "factionalist filth"
• New Year's in Times Square is endurance contest
• Kidnapped French priest freed in Cameroon
• Revelers usher in 2014 with fireworks, festivities
• Revelers welcome 2014 with huge fireworks displays
• S.Africa marks New Year with 3D send-off of Mandela
• Latvia becomes 18th country to adopt the euro
• AP PHOTOS: Revelers around the world ring in 2014
• N. Ireland's US-led talks end without deal
• West Nile virus blamed for death of eagles in Utah
• Gunmen blast natgas pipeline in Sinai: security sources
• Police, troops heavy in bomb-hit Russian city
• Dubai dazzles in global 2014 party
• Dubai kicks off 2014 with dazzling world record bid
• Kerry seeks framework for Mideast peace talks
• Crowds block airport in Central African Republic
• Myanmar pardons political offenders
• Dissidents free to travel but influence in Cuba wanes
• Egypt seizes Brotherhood, Islamist leaders' assets
• Putin vows to annihilate "terrorists" after suicide bombings
• 'Murder, She Wrote' star Angela Lansbury honored
• Protests in Turkey as MP quits over graft probe
• President wishes Malians 'peace, nothing but peace'
• Italy president says won't serve entire term
• Hamas rejects Egypt branding of Brotherhood as 'terrorist'
• Putin breaks tradition, gives 2 New Year's talks
• Senegal media boss detained after criticising president
• DR Congo 'prophet' urges Kabila to quit after attacks kill 100
• Abbas warns of legal action on Israel settlements before Kerry visit

Kerry to push for solutions as Israeli-Palestinian peace talks intensify Posted: 31 Dec 2013 12:48 PM PST By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hopes to narrow differences between Israelis and Palestinians in peace talks this week that are intended to guide the sides toward a deal in April, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday. Kerry departs for the region on Wednesday in his first trip after a Christmas break. Israel and Palestinians resumed peace talks in July after a three-year break aimed at producing a peace agreement within nine months to end their decades-old conflict. Such a step would also demonstrate to both Israelis and Palestinians that progress is being made.

Iran says nuclear deal to be implemented in late January Posted: 31 Dec 2013 12:50 PM PST By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - World powers and Iran have agreed to start implementing in late January an agreement obliging Tehran to suspend its most sensitive nuclear work, an Iranian official was quoted as saying on Tuesday. There was no immediate confirmation of the agreement from the six powers - the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - or the European Union, which oversees contacts with Iran on behalf of the six. The reported agreement follows nearly 23 hours of talks between nuclear experts from Iran and the six powers held in Geneva on Monday and Tuesday.

Anti-Assad monitoring group says Syrian death toll passes 130,000 Posted: 31 Dec 2013 03:56 PM PST The death toll in Syria's civil war has risen to at least 130,433, more than a third of them civilians on both sides of the conflict, but the real figure is probably much higher, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday. The conflict in Syria began in March 2011 as peaceful protests against four decades of rule by President Bashar al-Assad's family, but turned into an armed insurgency whose sectarian dimensions have reverberated across the Middle East. The anti-Assad Observatory, based in Britain but with a network of sources across Syria, put the number of women and children killed in the conflict so far at 11,709. It said the death toll among rebels fighting the Assad government was at least 29,083.

Bombs across Baghdad kill at least 15, clashes continue in Anbar: sources Posted: 31 Dec 2013 09:40 AM PST Bombs exploded across the Iraqi capital on Tuesday, killing at least 15 people, police and medical sources said, a day after police broke up a Sunni Muslim protest camp in a western province. No group immediately claimed responsibility for any of Tuesday's attacks but al Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate, which was forced underground in 2006-07, has reemerged this year, invigorated by civil war in Syria and Sunni resentment at home. In the deadliest attack in Baghdad, seven people were killed when two car bombs hit the Shi'ite neighborhood of Zafaraniya. In southeastern Baghdad, three mortar rounds landed near a housing complex, killing four people, medics and police sources said.

Egypt security forces arrest Brotherhood leader's son Posted: 31 Dec 2013 12:56 PM PST By Asma Alsharif CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces have arrested the son of a Muslim Brotherhood leader on charges of inciting violence, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday, the latest move in a crackdown against the group now branded a terrorist organization. Anas Beltagi was arrested with two others in an apartment in Nasr City, the same district where security forces in August broke up protests calling for the reinstatement of President Mohamed Mursi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader who was ousted by the army in July. They were found in possession of a shotgun and ammunition, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Beltagi's father, Mohamed Beltagi, is in jail facing trial for inciting violence along with other Muslim Brotherhood leaders.

South Sudan government, rebels set for New Year's Day talks Posted: 31 Dec 2013 01:11 PM PST By Carl Odera and Aaron Maasho JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan's government and rebels are set for New Year's Day peace talks in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, to thrash out a ceasefire to end weeks of ethnic bloodletting in the world's newest state. Both sides agreed to a ceasefire on Tuesday, mediators said, but fighting between government troops and militias loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar raged in Bor, the capital of the vast Jonglei state and site of an ethnic massacre in 1991. "I'm worried that the continued fighting in Bor might scupper the start of these talks," said Ethiopian Foreign Minister Dr. Tedros Adhanom, who is chairman of the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) bloc that is mediating the talks. Western and regional powers have pushed both sides to end the fighting that has killed at least 1,000 people, cut South Sudan's oil output and raised fears of a full-blown civil war in the heart of a fragile region.

NKorea boasts of removal of "factionalist filth" Posted: 31 Dec 2013 04:52 PM PST SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday boasted of a surge of internal strength in the new year because of the elimination of "factionalist filth" — a reference to his once powerful uncle and mentor, whose purge and execution last month have raised questions about the country's stability.

New Year's in Times Square is endurance contest Posted: 31 Dec 2013 04:44 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — Crowds jammed New York's Times Square on Tuesday to ring in 2014, braving bone-chilling cold and ultra-tight security for the chance to see Miley Cyrus, a final countdown from a U.S. Supreme Court justice and the drop of the shimmering crystal ball.

Kidnapped French priest freed in Cameroon Posted: 31 Dec 2013 04:28 PM PST Yaoundé (AFP) - A French Roman Catholic priest freed Tuesday after being held captive for seven weeks by Islamic militants in Cameroon said he was "in great shape" and thanked those who helped secure his release. Georges Vandenbeusch, 42, was kidnapped on November 13 by heavily armed men who burst into his parish at night in the far north of the central African country and took him to neighbouring Nigeria. The radical Islamist movement Boko Haram, which has killed thousands of people in attacks against Christians and government targets in northern Nigeria, claimed responsibility for holding the French priest soon after he was kidnapped. The Cameroonian army flew Vandenbeusch to the capital Yaounde and escorted him to the ambassador's residence.

Revelers usher in 2014 with fireworks, festivities Posted: 31 Dec 2013 04:02 PM PST By Victoria Cavaliere NEW YORK (Reuters) - From Sydney to Dubai, revelers welcomed 2014 with extravagant fireworks displays, while London prepared to celebrate by spraying clouds of fruit-flavored mist and Chicago and San Francisco planned massive outdoor festivities. In New York, crowds gathered in Times Square for the annual New Year's Eve street party. By midnight, some one million people were expected to be on hand for Miley Cyrus, Melissa Etheridge and hip-hop artists Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and the dropping of the 11,875-pound, crystal-encrusted ball marking the start of the new year. "We've been living on granola bars and little bottles of water because if you move, you lose your spot," said Sheila Harshbarger, who traveled to New York from Indiana with her daughter and staked out ground next to a row of police barricades in the freezing cold more than 14 hours before midnight.

Revelers welcome 2014 with huge fireworks displays Posted: 31 Dec 2013 03:43 PM PST DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — With fireworks, dancing and late-night revelry, millions around the world welcomed 2014 on Tuesday, gathering for huge displays of jubilation and unity as the new year arrived.

S.Africa marks New Year with 3D send-off of Mandela Posted: 31 Dec 2013 03:21 PM PST South Africa's top tourist drawcard Cape Town bid farewell to 2013 with a 3D video send-off of Nelson Mandela as the nation entered the new year without its beloved icon. Mandela's face was briefly mapped onto the city hall in Cape Town where he gave his first freedom speech in 1990 after his release from 27 years in apartheid prison. The tribute, featured a recording of Mandela calling for peace and friendship, was screened just before the countdown into midnight which was marked with a fireworks show. It was part of a free party featuring singers and DJs on the public square opposite city hall where the crowd also replicated Mandela's trademark arm waving dance known as the "Madiba jive".

Latvia becomes 18th country to adopt the euro Posted: 31 Dec 2013 03:11 PM PST RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Latvia celebrated the new year as the 18th member of the eurozone, which for all its dents and bruises still represents stability and security to the Baltic country's leaders.

AP PHOTOS: Revelers around the world ring in 2014 Posted: 31 Dec 2013 02:41 PM PST From huge street parties and fireworks displays in Sydney and Jakarta, to quiet moments of prayer in a Buddhist temple in Tokyo, people are welcoming in 2014.

N. Ireland's US-led talks end without deal Posted: 31 Dec 2013 02:39 PM PST Belfast (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Talks led by former US diplomat Richard Haass aimed at ending disputes on flashpoint issues hampering peace in Northern Ireland broke up Tuesday without agreement. Haass was called on in September to help the main political parties end arguments over flags and parades which have caused rioting in the British province. The disputes are the legacy of the Troubles, the three decades of sectarian unrest between pro-British Protestants and Republican Catholics that largely ended in 1998. The seventh and last draft proposals by Haass were published on the Northern Ireland executive website.

West Nile virus blamed for death of eagles in Utah Posted: 31 Dec 2013 02:21 PM PST An unusual wintertime outbreak of West Nile virus has killed more than two dozen bald eagles in Utah and thousands of shore birds around the Great Salt Lake, state wildlife officials said on Tuesday. At least 27 bald eagles have died this month in the northern and central parts of Utah from the blood-borne virus, and state biologists reported that five more ailing eagles were responding to treatment at rehabilitation centers. The eagles are believed to have contracted the disease by preying on sick or dead shore birds called eared grebes that were infected by West Nile virus, said Leslie McFarlane, Utah wildlife disease coordinator. The water birds have died by the thousands in and around the Great Salt Lake since November.

Gunmen blast natgas pipeline in Sinai: security sources Posted: 31 Dec 2013 02:08 PM PST Unknown assailants attacked a natural gas pipeline in the Sinai on Tuesday, Egyptian security sources told Reuters, raising concerns of instability as the country pushes through with a roadmap for political transition to democracy. The blast took place in the central region of Sinai on a pipeline that carried natural gas to an industrial area. There were so far no reports of casualties and security forces are scanning the area to investigate the cause of the blast, the sources said. Egypt has been struggling to maintain stability in the country of 85 million people since the army ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, the country's first elected leader, on July 3 following mass protests against his rule.

Police, troops heavy in bomb-hit Russian city Posted: 31 Dec 2013 01:49 PM PST VOLGOGRAD, Russia (AP) — Eerily empty buses lumbered through the streets, police weighed down with body armor warily watched pedestrians near a fast-food restaurant, and members of Cossack units stood guard at bus stops. Volgograd was an ominous and jittery city Tuesday after two suicide bombings in two days killed 34 people.

Dubai dazzles in global 2014 party Posted: 31 Dec 2013 01:40 PM PST Dubai attempted to smash the fireworks world record as it ushered in 2014 with a bang, as a wave of pyrotechnics swept around the globe to celebrate the New Year. The Middle East hub was hoping to break the Guinness World Record for the largest-ever display, pledging to set off more than 400,000 fireworks. To the strains of Arabic pop music, the five-minute thundering display filled the skies above the United Arab Emirates' main city. Fireworks shot off the Opera House for the first time in more than 10 years as part of the extravaganza, focused on the Harbour Bridge.

Dubai kicks off 2014 with dazzling world record bid Posted: 31 Dec 2013 01:38 PM PST Dubai kicked off the New Year with a dazzling bid for a new world record to cap those the Gulf city state already holds for its mammoth property developments. The glittering fireworks display spanned over 100 kilometres (60 miles) of the Dubai coast, which boasts an archipelago of man-made islands and Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower. Dubai boasts the world's tallest tower, its largest man-made island and one of the world's busiest airports. Over the past few years, Dubai has been vying to become a permanent fixture on the world map of New Year celebrations, staging spectacular shows since the opening of the 828-metre (2,716-foot) Burj Khalifa tower in 2010.

Kerry seeks framework for Mideast peace talks Posted: 31 Dec 2013 01:35 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — During his tenth round of Mideast shuttle diplomacy, Secretary of State John Kerry will try to get Israel and the Palestinians to agree to the outlines of a final peace agreement, but doesn't expect a "big breakthrough" during his trip to the region this week, a senior State Department official said Tuesday.

Crowds block airport in Central African Republic Posted: 31 Dec 2013 01:35 PM PST BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Thousands of angry people flooded the runway of the international airport in the chaotic capital of Central African Republic, shouting slogans against the nation's Muslim president, who grabbed power in a coup nine months ago.

Myanmar pardons political offenders Posted: 31 Dec 2013 01:30 PM PST YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar freed five prisoners Tuesday and more are expected to be released next week as part of a pledge by the country's president to free all political prisoners by the end of 2013.

Dissidents free to travel but influence in Cuba wanes Posted: 31 Dec 2013 01:17 PM PST For the first time in 50 years, Cuban dissidents were able to travel abroad in 2013 but as they distanced themselves from daily life on the island their influence at home waned. Yoani Sanchez, Guillermo Farinas, Berta Soler and other high-profile opposition figures left the Communist-run island for speaking engagements in the United States, Spain and elsewhere. Two of them even met US President Barack Obama, whose country does not have full diplomatic ties with Havana.

Egypt seizes Brotherhood, Islamist leaders' assets Posted: 31 Dec 2013 01:15 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's interim government has ordered the assets of more than 500 Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist leaders seized - including those of the country's ousted president — as part of an ever-tightening crackdown on the group, senior judicial and security officials said Tuesday.

Putin vows to annihilate "terrorists" after suicide bombings Posted: 31 Dec 2013 01:11 PM PST By Sergei Karpov VOLGOGRAD, Russia (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday vowed to annihilate all "terrorists" following two deadly bomb attacks in the southern Russian city of Volgograd that raised security fears ahead of the Winter Olympics. The uncompromising remarks in a televised New Year address were Putin's first public comments since suicide bombers killed at least 34 people in attacks less than 24 hours apart on a railway station and a trolleybus on Sunday and Monday. But after two decades of violence in the North Caucasus, Islamist militants continue to pose a threat beyond their home region. Russia's Olympic Committee chief said no more could be done to safeguard the Games since every measure possible was already in place around Sochi, beneath the Caucasus mountains.

'Murder, She Wrote' star Angela Lansbury honored Posted: 31 Dec 2013 01:09 PM PST LONDON (AP) — Honor, She Got.

Protests in Turkey as MP quits over graft probe Posted: 31 Dec 2013 01:06 PM PST Hundreds of demonstrators flooded metro stations in Turkey on Tuesday in fresh protests against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's beleaguered government, which saw yet another lawmaker defect over a corruption probe. Hasan Hami Yildirim quit Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) after criticising the government for exerting pressure on the judiciary over the graft investigation, which has plunged Turkey into political turmoil just three months ahead of key elections. But Erdogan hit out at critics, saying the corruption scandal was cover for an "assassination attempt".

President wishes Malians 'peace, nothing but peace' Posted: 31 Dec 2013 12:58 PM PST President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita wished 15 million Malians "peace, nothing but peace" as he delivered a New Year greeting Tuesday at the end of one of the most turbulent years in the west African nation's history. "I only want peace, nothing but peace in all regions of Mali, in all communities of Mali, which must take control of their development in a state that will no longer be a Jacobin, a centraliser, but rather a distributor and regulator," he said in a televised address. Tuareg separatists -- former allies of the Islamists -- also pose a threat, notably in the northern district of Kidal, the headquarters of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), an insurgent group fighting for an independent homeland. He called for the MNLA to be confined to camps, as agreed in a peace accord between the separatists and the state ahead of his August election, and said their laying down of arms was the only route to a lasting peace.

Italy president says won't serve entire term Posted: 31 Dec 2013 12:58 PM PST By Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Italian President Giorgio Napolitano said on Tuesday that he would stay on the job only as long as he is needed and "not a day more," eight months after breaking a political deadlock by agreeing to serve an unprecedented second term. Napolitano, who some refer to as "King George", used the powers of his office to help guide Italy through a burgeoning debt crisis in 2011 and a political stalemate earlier this year that led to the formation of broad, and sometimes unstable, governing coalition. After replacing an embattled Silvio Berlusconi with Mario Monti in 2011, Napolitano this year handpicked Prime Minister Enrico Letta to form a government to pass badly needed reforms to overhaul the political system - especially with a new electoral law - and to boost economic growth. Opposition parties like Beppe Grillo's 5-Star Movement and Berlusconi's Forza Italia have called for elections in the spring, and have directed a barrage of attacks against Napolitano for opposing them and overplaying his role.

Hamas rejects Egypt branding of Brotherhood as 'terrorist' Posted: 31 Dec 2013 12:52 PM PST Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Gaza's Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya rejected on Tuesday Egypt's branding of the Muslim Brotherhood a "terrorist" organisation, saying his Islamist movement would not abandon its links with the Brotherhood. "No one can push Hamas to reject its ideology or its history," he told a news conference, stressing he "rejects the description of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorists". "We don't expect a country like Egypt, which is a safe place for the Palestinian people and resistance, to abandon its (principles) and rank Hamas as a terrorist organisation," he said.

Putin breaks tradition, gives 2 New Year's talks Posted: 31 Dec 2013 12:51 PM PST MOSCOW (AP) — Vladimir Putin has added a twist to the stolid ritual of Russian presidential New Year's Eve address by doing two versions this year.

Senegal media boss detained after criticising president Posted: 31 Dec 2013 12:49 PM PST The owner of one of Senegal's largest media groups was detained overnight after accusing President Macky Sall of building up wealth through corruption, the company said on Tuesday. Sidy Lamine Niass, founder and CEO of Walfadjri, was taken into custody on Monday after being summoned to a police station in Dakar, and kept until he was bailed on Tuesday, his television station announced, without saying whether charges had been brought against him. "I thank the religious leaders, the press and all Senegalese," he said as he left a court in Dakar, without elaborating. Niass said during an interview broadcast on Saturday by his television station that he had evidence of "illicit enrichment" by Sall, who was elected in March last year.

DR Congo 'prophet' urges Kabila to quit after attacks kill 100 Posted: 31 Dec 2013 12:46 PM PST A self-proclaimed "prophet" and televangelist blamed for violence that killed more than 100 people in DR Congo's two main cities Tuesday denied fleeing the country and called on the president to resign. Supporters of Joseph Mukungubila Mutombo, who describes himself as God's "last envoy to humanity after Jesus Christ and Paul of Tarsus", blamed the army for deadly unrest in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi which he called a "massacre". The government said its forces had fought back a "terrorist offensive" on Monday, including attacks on the airport, the main army headquarters in the capital and in the second city of Lubumbashi. Government spokesman Lambert Mende said 103 people were killed -- 95 attackers and eight members of the armed forces -- and Mukungubila was now on the run.

Abbas warns of legal action on Israel settlements before Kerry visit Posted: 31 Dec 2013 12:42 PM PST Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas warned Tuesday of legal and diplomatic action to stop Israeli settlement expansion, on the eve of a new peace mission by US Secretary of State John Kerry. Abbas's warning came after Israel freed 26 prisoners earlier in the day, as part of US-brokered peace talks, which Kerry hopes to reinvigorate during his visit. The release prompted celebration among Palestinians, who welcomed the prisoners back into the West Bank and Gaza Strip after they had spent two to three decades in Israeli jails. But as Kerry geared up for his 10th visit since March, an anticipated announcement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of further settlement construction looked set to cast a new cloud over the talks.

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