Yahoo! News: World News

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• Ukraine launches 'gradual' operation, action limited
• Rebel videos show first U.S.-made rockets in Syria
• Exclusive: U.N. should halt arms shipments via Ivory Coast after China breach - panel
• Israeli, Palestinian negotiators to meet on Wednesday, U.S. says
• U.S., China in 'productive' talks after North Korea test threat
• Bombs wound three policemen in Cairo
• Robot sub returns to water after 1st try cut short
• US declines to name China a currency manipulator
• Remittance 'super tax' costs Africa $1.8 billion a year
• Yahoo's 1Q highlighted by Alibaba, modest ad gains
• New hurricane forecast maps to show flood risk from storm surge
• Thousands flee gun battle as Chad withdraw from Central African Republic
• Jamaica grants license for natural gas project
• Mexican singer Juan Gabriel hospitalized in Vegas
• Warriors trying to move on without Andrew Bogut
• New York judge: Jurors can hear imam praise 9/11
• Atletico Mineiro backs off deal to sign Anelka
• UK charity: 'Shocking' rise in emergency food need
• Battle over Scottish independence slightly tightens in new poll
• Brazil looks to swap World Cup publicity for carbon credits
• Canada boycotts Arctic Council meeting in Moscow
• Israel PM blames Palestinian leaders after Hebron killing
• Gunmen shoot at Jamaican lawmaker's bodyguards
• Congolese gunmen wound Belgian head of Africa's oldest park
• Handless cleric's own words to be used against him in U.S. trial
• Police clear Canada PM's former aide of bribery, fraud
• Ukraine bares teeth against eastern uprising
• Amnesty: Haiti human rights activist threatened
• Gunmen kidnap Jordan's ambassador to Libya
• AP NewsBreak: Iran cuts nuke weapons ability
• For east Ukraine, Kremlin adapts Crimea playbook
• Cairo bomb attacks wound five, including two police
• US: No visa for Iran UN envoy over hostage crisis 'role'
• Arsenal beats West Ham 3-1 in Premier League

Ukraine launches 'gradual' operation, action limited Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:19 PM PDT By Gabriela Baczynska and Thomas Grove KRAMATORSK/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces launched a "special operation" on Tuesday against separatist militia in the Russian-speaking East, authorities said, although aside from a landing by airborne troops the action was limited. In Kiev, acting President Oleksander Turchinov declared a much-needed victory over pro-Russian rebels by saying the air base had been "liberated." But there was no sign of militants. A senior Ukrainian officer told the unarmed crowd that he had come to direct an "anti-terrorist operation" that Turchinov announced earlier in the day, after more than a week of missed deadlines set by Kiev for armed pro-Moscow activists to end occupations of public buildings in some 10 places in the east. Ukraine's state security service said an "anti-terrorist" operation was also in progress against separatists in the nearby town of Slaviansk but there was no immediate evidence of action.

Rebel videos show first U.S.-made rockets in Syria Posted: 15 Apr 2014 12:34 PM PDT By Peter Apps LONDON (Reuters) - Online videos show Syrian rebels using what appear to be U.S. anti-tank rockets, weapons experts say, the first significant American-built armaments in the country's civil war. They would signal a further internationalization of the conflict, with new rockets suspected from Russia and drones from Iran also spotted in the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. None of that equipment, however, is seen as enough to turn the tide of battle in a now broadly stalemated war, with Assad dominant in Syria's central cities and along the Mediterranean coast and the rebels in the interior north and east. Some analysts suggested they might have been provided by another state such as Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, probably with Washington's acquiescence.

Exclusive: U.N. should halt arms shipments via Ivory Coast after China breach - panel Posted: 15 Apr 2014 11:57 AM PDT By Joe Bavier ABIDJAN (Reuters) - United Nations experts have called for the world body to stop allowing arms for its Mali peacekeepers to be shipped through Ivory Coast after they said a load of military hardware sent by China violated the country's arms embargo. In a confidential report presented to the U.N. Security Council sanctions committee on Friday, the panel of experts said the shipment of weapons, ammunition and hardware which passed through Ivory Coast in November lacked proper permission and said China had understated its actual size by 21 metric tons (23.15 tons). ...

Israeli, Palestinian negotiators to meet on Wednesday, U.S. says Posted: 15 Apr 2014 02:29 PM PDT Israeli and Palestinian negotiators will meet on Wednesday to try to extend peace talks beyond an April 29 deadline, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday. The two sides will meet despite Israeli anger at the killing of an off-duty Israeli policeman in the occupied West Bank on Monday on the eve of the Passover Jewish holiday. "They're going to be meeting again tomorrow," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "The parties are working on determining if there's a path to extend the negotiations for a period of months past April 29th." Asked about the killing, Psaki urged both sides "to exercise restraint and avoid any actions that would raise tensions." The peace talks appeared on the verge of collapse this month when Israel refused to carry out a promised prisoner release and the Palestinians signed on to 15 international conventions.

U.S., China in 'productive' talks after North Korea test threat Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:10 PM PDT By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and China have held "productive" talks on North Korea, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday, part of stepped up international diplomacy after Pyongyang warned of plans to conduct a new type of nuclear test. U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies met with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei in New York on Monday and Tuesday. "The United States and China agree on the fundamental importance of a denuclearized North Korea," it said, adding that the meetings were part of a series of high-level U.S.-China discussions on how to achieve that in a peaceful manner. The talks follow meetings last week between the United States, Japan and South Korea, the countries that along with China and Russia were trying to negotiate a nuclear deal with North Korea until Pyongyang declared the so-called six-party talks dead in 2008.

Bombs wound three policemen in Cairo Posted: 15 Apr 2014 02:40 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Two bomb attacks wounded three policemen in central Cairo on Tuesday, a security source and state television said. A policeman was wounded when a bomb exploded near a police car around 10:30 p.m. (2130 GMT), the security source said. Two other policemen were wounded just after dawn when unknown assailants targeted a traffic police checkpoint a few kilometers away from the first blast, according to state television said. ...

Robot sub returns to water after 1st try cut short Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:43 PM PDT PERTH, Australia (AP) — A robotic submarine looking for the lost Malaysian jet continued its second seabed search on Wednesday as up to 14 planes were to take to the skies for some of the final sweeps of the Indian Ocean for floating debris from the ill-fated airliner.

US declines to name China a currency manipulator Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:43 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is raising concern about the value of China's currency but is declining, as in recent years, to accuse Beijing of manipulating it.

Remittance 'super tax' costs Africa $1.8 billion a year Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:40 PM PDT The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) found that Africans face some of the highest charges in the world for international transfers, but global leader Western Union insisted that the fees were down to a range of local factors. Charges in sub-Saharan Africa average 12 percent on transfers of $200, almost double the global average, according to the report. "This remittance super tax is diverting resources that families need to invest in education, health and a better future," said Kevin Watkins, the report's co-author and ODI Director. Western Union argued that it had "delivered much-needed services to individuals looking for fast, convenient and reliable ways to send money to family and friends" during its 20 years of operating in Africa.

Yahoo's 1Q highlighted by Alibaba, modest ad gains Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:38 PM PDT SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo is still prospering from its lucrative investments in Asia while the Internet company's listless advertising sales are picking up, if ever so slightly, under CEO Marissa Mayer.

New hurricane forecast maps to show flood risk from storm surge Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:38 PM PDT By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - When the Atlantic hurricane season opens June 1, national forecasters will roll out a new feature: color-coded and broadcast-ready maps to graphically show the potential for flooding from storm surges. "We are not a storm surge savvy nation. Yet storm surge is responsible for over half the deaths in hurricanes. So you can see why we're motivated to try something new," said Jamie Rhome, storm surge specialist for the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Thousands flee gun battle as Chad withdraw from Central African Republic Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:31 PM PDT By Crispin Dembassa-Kette BANGUI (Reuters) - Thousands fled a gun battle between Chadian troops escorting a convoy of Muslim civilians and local militia in Central African Republic, Medecins Sans Frontieres said on Tuesday, as Chad completed a withdrawal of soldiers from its violence-ravaged neighbor. Central African Republic has descended into chaos since the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition seized power a year ago. The Chadian troops were escorting the last 540 Muslim residents of the northwestern town of Bossangoa to Gore in Chad when militia attacked the convoy at night on April 11 as it passed through Boguila, around 310 miles north of the capital Bangui. "We witnessed the majority of the population fleeing in panic to the bush," Stefano Argenziano, MSF head of mission in the country, said in a statement on Tuesday, estimating that around 7,000 people were displaced in the clash.

Jamaica grants license for natural gas project Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:26 PM PDT KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — A Hong Kong-based energy company has been granted a license for what would be a major new power project in Jamaica.

Mexican singer Juan Gabriel hospitalized in Vegas Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:25 PM PDT LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mexican musical icon Juan Gabriel has been hospitalized in Las Vegas with pneumonia, postponing three California shows this week that were part of the top-selling artist's "Volver" tour.

Warriors trying to move on without Andrew Bogut Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:24 PM PDT OAKLAND, California (AP) — With Australian center Andrew Bogut out for the foreseeable future with a fractured right rib, the Golden State Warriors are searching for a way to replace their best interior defender in a squad that already lacks big men.

New York judge: Jurors can hear imam praise 9/11 Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:12 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — An Egyptian Islamic preacher's statements that "everybody was happy" when the World Trade Center was hit by airplanes can be heard by a jury sitting just blocks from the site of the Sept. 11 attacks, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Atletico Mineiro backs off deal to sign Anelka Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:10 PM PDT SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro says it will not sign former France striker Nicolas Anelka because the player took too long to report to the club.

UK charity: 'Shocking' rise in emergency food need Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:05 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — A leading British charity said Wednesday the number of three-day emergency food supplies it delivered rose to "shocking" levels in the past year as families struggle to cope with low incomes, rising living costs and cuts in the welfare system.

Battle over Scottish independence slightly tightens in new poll Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:04 PM PDT The battle over Scottish independence is tightening, with a new poll on Wednesday showing independence supporters gaining ground slightly as more Scots get involved in the debate. The latest poll by TNS showed 29 percent of Scots intended to vote "Yes" to independence in the September 18 referendum, up from 28 percent a month ago, while 41 percent planned to vote "No," down from 42 percent. The head of TNS Scotland, Tom Costley, said the poll of 988 people showed a continuing gradual narrowing in the polls, with a gap now of 12 percentage points between the two sides compared to 19 points in September when the polling series began. About four million of Scotland's 5.3 million population are eligible to vote in the referendum which is open to all Scottish residents aged 16 and above.

Brazil looks to swap World Cup publicity for carbon credits Posted: 15 Apr 2014 04:01 PM PDT By Marcelo Teixeira SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil, looking to offset the carbon emissions generated by construction, travel and other activities related to hosting the 2014 Soccer World Cup, said on Tuesday it wants holders of United Nations-backed carbon credits to swap them for publicity during the games. The World Cup begins June 12 and Brazil's Environment Ministry said it has launched a program to convince owners of credits to exchange them for publicity in official documents of the event. "We talked to some holders of credits and they were receptive to the idea of donating the credits", said Eduardo Valente, an official working with the program. Brazil and soccer's governing body Fifa are running different projections for the World Cup's carbon footprint.

Canada boycotts Arctic Council meeting in Moscow Posted: 15 Apr 2014 03:49 PM PDT Canada boycotted Arctic Council meetings in Russia this week in protest of Russia's "illegal occupation" of Ukraine, Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Tuesday. Aglukkaq is responsible for the Canadian Northern Development Agency and currently chairs the Arctic Council. She said the boycott of the working-group level meetings in Moscow was "as a result of Russia's illegal occupation of Ukraine and its continued provocative actions in Crimea and elsewhere.

Israel PM blames Palestinian leaders after Hebron killing Posted: 15 Apr 2014 03:39 PM PDT Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pinned blame on the Palestinian leadership after a deadly attack on an Israeli police officer near the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron. "This assassination is the result of the incitement to hatred by Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders who continue to peddle hate-filled material against Israel," Netanyahu charged on Tuesday. Israeli police said Tuesday the policeman killed was Baruch Mizrahi, a 47-year-old father of five who was a high-ranking officer in the intelligence division. Israeli troops scoured a village near Hebron on Tuesday, a day after a gunman killed Mizrahi in the area.

Gunmen shoot at Jamaican lawmaker's bodyguards Posted: 15 Apr 2014 03:36 PM PDT KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Authorities in Jamaica say bodyguards for a Parliament member were shot at by gunmen in his gritty district.

Congolese gunmen wound Belgian head of Africa's oldest park Posted: 15 Apr 2014 03:36 PM PDT The director of Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga Park - Africa's oldest national park - survived an attack by unidentified gunmen while driving through the country's volatile eastern borderlands on Tuesday, a colleague said. Emmanuel de Merode, one of Africa's leading conservationists, was shot four times on the road linking the park's headquarters in Rumangabo to Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. "He was attacked around 4:30 pm (11.30 a.m. ET) and was evacuated by the Congolese army," the colleague said on condition he not be named. "We were informed when he reached Heal Africa hospital (in Goma)." The bullets missed vital organs and his life is not in danger, doctors at the Goma hospital where he was admitted told a Reuters witness.

Handless cleric's own words to be used against him in U.S. trial Posted: 15 Apr 2014 03:26 PM PDT By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prosecutors can use radical preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri's own inflammatory words against him during his trial in New York on terrorism-related charges, including praise for Osama bin Laden and for the September 11, 2001, attacks, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. The decision came two days before opening statements are scheduled to take place in Manhattan federal court. Lawyers for Abu Hamza had argued that video and audio recordings of Abu Hamza justifying violence against non-Muslims would unfairly taint the jurors' emotions, making it impossible for him to have a fair verdict. But U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest said most of the tapes can be played for the jury to show Abu Hamza's state of mind and his willingness to provide aid to militant organizations.

Police clear Canada PM's former aide of bribery, fraud Posted: 15 Apr 2014 03:26 PM PDT Nigel Wright was being investigated for helping a Conservative senator pay back about Can$90,000 ($82,000) in fraudulent expense claims. "Mr Wright was advised by the RCMP today that it has concluded its investigation into his actions, and will not be laying any charges against him," Wright's lawyer Peter Mantas said. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed that the evidence did not support criminal charges.

Ukraine bares teeth against eastern uprising Posted: 15 Apr 2014 03:26 PM PDT KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) — In the first Ukrainian military action against a pro-Russian uprising in the east, government forces repelled an attack Tuesday by about 30 gunmen at an airport, beginning what the president called an "anti-terrorist operation" to try to restore authority over the restive region.

Amnesty: Haiti human rights activist threatened Posted: 15 Apr 2014 03:20 PM PDT PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A leading human rights activist in Haiti has been threatened for his work, Amnesty International said Tuesday, marking the latest documented case of attacks or threats against watchdog groups in the Caribbean nation.

Gunmen kidnap Jordan's ambassador to Libya Posted: 15 Apr 2014 03:13 PM PDT Masked gunmen kidnapped Jordan's ambassador to Libya as he rode to work in Tripoli on Tuesday, shooting at his car and wounding his driver, officials said. The incident was the latest targeting Libyan leaders and foreign diplomats in the increasingly lawless North African country, three years after NATO-backed rebels ended autocratic leader Moamer Kadhafi's four-decade rule. "The Jordanian ambassador was kidnapped this morning. Security and medical officials in Tripoli said the ambassador's driver -- reportedly a Moroccan -- suffered two gunshot wounds but that his life was no longer in danger after surgery.

AP NewsBreak: Iran cuts nuke weapons ability Posted: 15 Apr 2014 03:11 PM PDT VIENNA (AP) — The United Nations will release a report this week certifying that Iran's ability to make a nuclear bomb has been greatly reduced because it has diluted half of its material that can be turned most quickly into weapons-grade uranium, diplomats said Tuesday.

For east Ukraine, Kremlin adapts Crimea playbook Posted: 15 Apr 2014 03:03 PM PDT By Thomas Grove SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - There are important differences between Russia's intervention in Crimea and the events unfolding this week in eastern Ukraine which suggest Moscow has adapted its Crimea playbook and may be pursuing a different outcome. Unlike the Black Sea peninsula, where thousands of Russian troops were already based at ex-Soviet naval facilities leased from Ukraine, there is little clear evidence of Moscow deploying significant forces on the ground in the east of the country. In eastern towns where armed, pro-Russian rebels have seized public buildings and raised the Russian flag, some gunmen identify themselves to journalists as "Russians" - but that says little about citizenship in Russian-speaking parts of Ukraine.

Cairo bomb attacks wound five, including two police Posted: 15 Apr 2014 03:00 PM PDT Two bomb blasts in Cairo wounded five people including at least two policemen Tuesday, the latest attacks since Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was ousted. The first attack blew the roof off a shelter manned by traffic police at a busy intersection in Al-Galaa Square in the Egyptian capital's Dokki neighbourhood. In the evening, a second bombing wounded two people in western Cairo, a security source said, declining to indicate whether the injured were civilians or members of the security forces. Egypt has been rocked by a series of bombings and shootings carried out by militants since July, when the military ousted Morsi, the country's first civilian and elected president.

US: No visa for Iran UN envoy over hostage crisis 'role' Posted: 15 Apr 2014 02:58 PM PDT The United States said Tuesday it will not issue a visa to Iran's chosen UN envoy Hamid Aboutalebi because he was involved in the 1979 hostage crisis at the US embassy in Tehran. "Given his role in the events of 1979, which clearly matter profoundly to the American people, it would be unacceptable for the United States to grant this visa," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. It was the first time that Washington has publicly linked Aboutalebi to the hostage crisis when some 52 American diplomats and staff were held for 444 days by radical Iranian students. The protracted standoff profoundly shocked the United States and led to the severing of all diplomatic ties between the US and Iran for the past three decades.

Arsenal beats West Ham 3-1 in Premier League Posted: 15 Apr 2014 02:51 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — Lukas Podolski scored twice as Arsenal came from a goal down to beat West Ham 3-1 in the Premier League on Tuesday and provisionally reclaim the last Champions League spot.

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