Yahoo! News: World News

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• Rebels appeal to join Russia after east Ukraine referendum
• Boko Haram offers to swap kidnapped Nigerian girls for prisoners
• China says Vietnam efforts to rope in others on spat will fail
• UK Cameron's party in poll lead for first time in over two years
• U.S. would welcome Modi as India leader despite past visa ban
• Nearly half of people around world fear torture in custody: Amnesty
• Australian government promises tough first budget
• Wiggins leads Tour of California
• Mexico's Cemex says CEO Zambrano died in Madrid
• Hundreds of Chinese families seek wartime compensation from Japan
• Fla. Gov. OKs bill to prohibit use of foreign law
• Official: Slain Zetas founder was robbing banks
• Boko Haram demands release of fighters for girls
• Obama praises India for holding national election
• Iran and IAEA end talks, unclear if progress made
• Insurgents in eastern Ukraine declare independence
• Flamengo coach told by the media he lost his job
• Ex-beauty queen cleared of murder charge in Guyana
• 4 defendants back together in Blackwater case
• As elections near, polls show Europeans feel disconnected from Brussels
• Sentence in slaying of Ohio tourist in Puerto Rico
• Turmoil in world's hot spots dominate Kerry trip
• England taking youthful squad to World Cup
• Enyeama makes history as he wins Africa player of Ligue 1 award
• Ferdinand to leave United
• Mother, daughter held after Spain politician shot dead
• South Sudan's president says 2015 election to be delayed
• Hodgson: No transfer talks while with England
• QPR reaches League Championship playoff final
• EU adds top Putin aide, two Crimea energy firms to sanctions list
• Paraguay's president palace bugged _ by termites
• Hodgson gives Cole glimmer of World Cup hope
• Turkey court hears witnesses in police murder trial

Rebels appeal to join Russia after east Ukraine referendum Posted: 12 May 2014 01:50 PM PDT By Matt Robinson and Alessandra Prentice DONETSK/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Pro-Moscow rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine called on Monday for their region to become part of Russia, the day after staging a referendum on self-rule, although Moscow stopped short of endorsing their bid for annexation. Announcing the result of the vote in one of the two provinces where it was held, a leader of the \"People's Republic of Donetsk\", Denis Pushilin, said it was now an independent state and would appeal to join the Russian Federation. \"The people of Donetsk have always been part of the Russian world. \"Based on the will of the people and on the restoration of historic justice, we ask the Russian Federation to consider the absorption of the Donetsk People's Republic into the Russian Federation,\" he told a news conference.

Boko Haram offers to swap kidnapped Nigerian girls for prisoners Posted: 12 May 2014 04:46 PM PDT By Lanre Ola MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - The leader of the Nigerian Islamist rebel group Boko Haram has offered to release more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by his fighters last month in exchange for its prisoners, according to a video posted on YouTube on Monday. About 100 girls wearing full veils and praying are shown in an undisclosed location in a part of the 17-minute video in which Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau speaks. Boko Haram militants, who are fighting for an Islamist state, stormed a secondary school in the northeastern village of Chibok on April 14 and seized 276 girls who were taking exams. Nigeria has deployed two army divisions to hunt for the girls while several countries, including the United States, Britain, Israel and France, have offered help or sent experts.

China says Vietnam efforts to rope in others on spat will fail Posted: 12 May 2014 01:23 PM PDT China's foreign ministry said on Monday Vietnam's efforts to garner support over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea would fail, a day after Southeast Asian leaders meeting for a regional summit in Myanmar refrained from criticizing Beijing. Tensions rose in the resource-rich South China Sea last week after China positioned a giant oil rig in an area also claimed by Vietnam. \"The facts prove that Vietnam is trying to rope in other parties and put pressure on China, (but) will not achieve its aims,\" China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news conference.

UK Cameron's party in poll lead for first time in over two years Posted: 12 May 2014 04:14 PM PDT By Andrew Osborn and William James LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative party took the lead in two opinion polls ahead of European elections, the first time it has led the opposition Labor party in a national opinion poll for more than two years. Two polls put the Conservatives ahead of Labor on Monday, giving the right-leaning party an unexpected morale boost before European elections later this month and a national election next year. The surveys are likely to cause unease in Labor's ranks about its election strategy as the same polls show that Ed Miliband, the party's leader, is struggling to score well when it comes to voter approval despite being credited with coming up with some popular policies.

U.S. would welcome Modi as India leader despite past visa ban Posted: 12 May 2014 03:46 PM PDT By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama faces the prospect this week of having to offer his congratulations to a new Indian leader who was barred from the United States less than 10 years ago over massacres of Muslims in 2002. As voting concluded in India's general election on Monday, four major exit polls showed Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi set to become prime minister, with his opposition party and its allies forecast to sweep to a parliamentary majority. He was denied a U.S. visa in 2005 under the terms of a 1998 U.S. law which bars entry to foreigners who have committed \"particularly severe violations of religious freedom.\" Modi's rise on the national stage, however, and the importance of relations with India, which the United States sees as a key counterbalance to China in Asia, have forced a rethink. Ambassadors of the European Union and the United States have met Modi to patch up relations.

Nearly half of people around world fear torture in custody: Amnesty Posted: 12 May 2014 04:01 PM PDT By Michael Nienaber BERLIN (Reuters) - Nearly half of people around the world fear becoming a victim of torture if taken into custody, a poll for human rights organization Amnesty International showed on Tuesday. Concern about torture is highest in Brazil and Mexico, where 80 percent and 64 percent of people respectively said they would not feel safe from torture if arrested, and lowest in Australia and Britain, at 16 and 15 percent each, the poll showed. Of the more than 21,000 people in 21 countries surveyed for Amnesty by GlobeScan, 44 percent said they would not feel safe from torture if arrested in their home country. Amnesty said 155 countries have ratified the 30-year-old United Nation Convention Against Torture which was started 30 years ago but many governments were still \"betraying their responsibility\".

Australian government promises tough first budget Posted: 12 May 2014 04:46 PM PDT CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has promised to share the pain in his conservative government's first annual budget aimed at reducing the national debt.

Wiggins leads Tour of California Posted: 12 May 2014 04:32 PM PDT FOLSOM, California (AP) — British rider Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 Tour de France winner and Olympic time trial gold medalist, powered to a 44-second victory in the Stage 2 individual time trial Monday to take the race lead at the Tour of California.

Mexico's Cemex says CEO Zambrano died in Madrid Posted: 12 May 2014 04:31 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — Cemex SA de Mexico says its CEO Lorenzo Zambrano has died in Spain of natural causes.

Hundreds of Chinese families seek wartime compensation from Japan Posted: 12 May 2014 04:26 PM PDT By Sui-Lee Wee and Li Hui BEIJING (Reuters) - As relations between China and Japan plumb a new low, the descendants of hundreds of Chinese men forced to work in wartime Japan are taking big, modern-day Japanese corporates to court. They are seeking millions in compensation. Japan invaded China in 1937 and ruled parts of it with a brutal hand for the next eight years. Chinese historians say nearly 40,000 men were taken to Japan against their will to work in mines and construction.

Fla. Gov. OKs bill to prohibit use of foreign law Posted: 12 May 2014 04:14 PM PDT TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida is becoming the eighth state to outlaw the use of foreign law in the state's courts under a bill signed by Gov. Rick Scott.

Official: Slain Zetas founder was robbing banks Posted: 12 May 2014 04:12 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican official says a founding member of the brutal Zetas cartel who was killed by soldiers last week was no longer a major player in the drug trade.

Boko Haram demands release of fighters for girls Posted: 12 May 2014 04:08 PM PDT LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Under the guns of their captors, dozens of barefoot girls sat huddled together wearing gray Muslim veils as they chanted Quranic verses in Arabic. Some Christians among them said they had converted to Islam.

Obama praises India for holding national election Posted: 12 May 2014 03:54 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is congratulating India on its national election and says that country has set an example for the rest of the world.

Iran and IAEA end talks, unclear if progress made Posted: 12 May 2014 03:47 PM PDT By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog and Iran ended a three-hour meeting on Monday without announcing any new action to allay concerns about Tehran's atomic activities, leaving it unclear whether headway was achieved. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) indicated after the talks that some more work was still needed for the full implementation of a series of nuclear transparency steps that Iran had agreed to take by May 15. Reuters last week cited diplomatic sources as saying the IAEA is seeking further clarification from Iran about one of those measures - information about fast-acting detonators that have civilian and military uses, including setting off an atomic explosive device. The meeting took place a day before the Iran and six world powers start a new round of negotiations in Vienna on a broad diplomatic settlement of the decade-old nuclear dispute.

Insurgents in eastern Ukraine declare independence Posted: 12 May 2014 03:43 PM PDT DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Pro-Russia insurgents have declared independence for the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.

Flamengo coach told by the media he lost his job Posted: 12 May 2014 03:34 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The coach of Brazil's most popular club lashed out at team officials after finding out through media reports that he was fired.

Ex-beauty queen cleared of murder charge in Guyana Posted: 12 May 2014 03:14 PM PDT GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — A judge on Monday dismissed a murder charge against a former beauty queen in this South American country.

4 defendants back together in Blackwater case Posted: 12 May 2014 03:11 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. judge is placing four former Blackwater Worldwide guards together in a trial that is scheduled to begin on June 11 in the killings of 14 Iraqi civilians and the injuring of at least 18 others in Baghdad.

As elections near, polls show Europeans feel disconnected from Brussels Posted: 12 May 2014 03:03 PM PDT By Anna Nicolaou BRUSSELS (Reuters) - With just over a week to go until European Parliament elections, two separate polls on Monday suggested around two-thirds of Europeans feel their voices are not heard in Brussels, although trust in the European Union is rebounding from record lows. Only 37 percent of Europeans believe their voice counts in Brussels according to a poll by Eurobarometer, a public opinion service of the European Union. Just 29 percent of those polled by the Pew Research Center said the same thing, a separate poll released on Monday showed. In a vast May 22-25 election covering 28 countries, as many as 350 million people will be able to vote for members of the European Parliament, the bloc's only directly elected body.

Sentence in slaying of Ohio tourist in Puerto Rico Posted: 12 May 2014 02:58 PM PDT SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A judge in Puerto Rico imposed a 160-year prison sentence Monday on a man convicted of killing an Ohio tourist during a break-in at an apartment rented for a family vacation.

Turmoil in world's hot spots dominate Kerry trip Posted: 12 May 2014 02:57 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Turmoil in three of the world's trouble spots will dominate Secretary of State John Kerry's trip this week to London.

England taking youthful squad to World Cup Posted: 12 May 2014 02:57 PM PDT LUTON, England (AP) — Only six England players in Brazil will have previous World Cup experience after Roy Hodgson turned to younger players who have impressed him with their spirited Premier League performances.

Enyeama makes history as he wins Africa player of Ligue 1 award Posted: 12 May 2014 02:55 PM PDT Vincent Enyeama became the first Nigerian, the first goalkeeper and first player from English speaking Africa to be named France's Ligue 1 African player of the season on Monday. He won the Marc-Vivien Foe award -- named after the Cameroon international midfielder who died aged 28 of a heart attack during the 2003 Confederations Cup semi-final -- ahead of Ivory Coast defender Serge Aurier, who plays for Toulouse, and Lyon's Cameroon defender Henri Bedimo. Enyeama, who captained Nigeria to Africa Cup of Nations success last year, succeeds Borussia Dortmund's Gabonese international striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who won it after a successful season with St Etienne last season.

Ferdinand to leave United Posted: 12 May 2014 02:50 PM PDT Rio Ferdinand confirmed on Monday that he will leave Manchester United during the close-season. The 35-year-old has lost his place in the United team over the last two years due to a series of injuries and it had been widely expected the former England defender would be allowed to quit Old Trafford at the end of this season. Ferdinand's contract expires in July and he has revealed he will not be signing an extension after regularly being left out as Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling have been preferred to him this term. In a statement on his website, Ferdinand said: \"I have thought long and hard over the last few months about my future, and after 12 fantastic years playing for what I regard as the best club in the world, I have decided the time is right for me to move on.\"

Mother, daughter held after Spain politician shot dead Posted: 12 May 2014 02:49 PM PDT Leon (Spain) (AFP) - Spanish police arrested a mother and daughter suspected of shooting dead a ruling party politician in broad daylight Monday in apparent revenge after the younger woman lost her job. Officials said the wife and daughter of a police inspector were arrested on suspicion of gunning down Isabel Carrasco, conservative leader of the provincial council in Leon, northern Spain. Police put a white sheet over Carrasco's body as it lay on a pedestrian bridge above the Bernesga River in the northern university city. The killing of Carrasco, 59, a longtime local leader of the governing Popular Party, shocked the Spanish political world and halted their European election campaigns.

South Sudan's president says 2015 election to be delayed Posted: 12 May 2014 02:49 PM PDT By Andrew Green JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan will postpone the 2015 presidential election to give warring factions time to reconcile, President Salva Kiir said on Monday, but his rival in a conflict that is threatening to tear apart the world's newest nation said the vote should go ahead. The conflict pits Kiir's Dinka people against the Nuer of his former deputy Riek Machar, whom the president sacked in July 2013. The pair signed a ceasefire pact in Ethiopia on Friday and pledged to hold further talks about forming an interim government to end nearly five months of bloodshed. But South Sudan's army and rebel forces have traded blame for breaches of the ceasefire.

Hodgson: No transfer talks while with England Posted: 12 May 2014 02:49 PM PDT LUTON, England (AP) — England coach Roy Hodgson does not want his players negotiating transfers once they leave for the World Cup as it could distract from the task in Brazil.

QPR reaches League Championship playoff final Posted: 12 May 2014 02:46 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — Queens Park Rangers advanced to the League Championship playoff final after coming from behind to beat Wigan 2-1 after extra time Monday.

EU adds top Putin aide, two Crimea energy firms to sanctions list Posted: 12 May 2014 02:42 PM PDT By Adrian Croft and Justyna Pawlak BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union imposed sanctions on Monday on a top aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the commander of Russian paratroopers as well as two confiscated Crimean energy companies, raising pressure on Moscow over its actions in Ukraine. Putin's first deputy chief of staff, Vyacheslav Volodin, and Vladimir Shamanov, the commander of Russian airborne troops that took part in Russia's occupation of Ukraine's Crimea region in March, were among 13 people added to the EU's sanctions list. For the first time, the EU's latest sanctions list included two companies after EU foreign ministers agreed on Monday to broaden the scope of sanctions, making it easier to freeze the assets of companies involved in the Ukraine crisis.

Paraguay's president palace bugged _ by termites Posted: 12 May 2014 02:40 PM PDT ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — Officials have discovered bugs in the Paraguayan president's palace, though they're eating rather than listening.

Hodgson gives Cole glimmer of World Cup hope Posted: 12 May 2014 02:39 PM PDT Luton (United Kingdom) (AFP) - England manager Roy Hodgson suggested on Monday that Ashley Cole could be asked to make an international comeback in case of a pre-World Cup injury to rival left-back Leighton Baines. Cole, 33, retired from international football on Sunday after being informed by Hodgson that he did not feature in his 23-man squad for the World Cup in Brazil, which was unveiled in Luton on Monday. Chelsea defender Cole, England's most-capped full-back with 107 caps, has lost his place in the starting XI to Everton's Baines this season. But rather than include Cole as back-up, Hodgson decided to hand an opportunity to 18-year-old Southampton defender Luke Shaw, who is reportedly the subject of a £27 million ($45.5 million, 33.1 million euros) bid from Manchester United.

Turkey court hears witnesses in police murder trial Posted: 12 May 2014 02:33 PM PDT Kayseri (Turkey) (AFP) - A Turkish court heard testimony on Monday that eight men, including four police officers, pummelled a teenage protester to death with baseball bats and truncheons during anti-government demonstrations last year. Ali Ismail Korkmaz, 19, died after being repeatedly beaten during protests in the western city of Eskisehir on June 2 in an attack that was caught by security cameras. \"I saw Ali Ismail being kicked on his back and head again and again,\" Semih Berkay Yapici, a key eyewitness, told the court.

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