Yahoo! News: World News

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• Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric calls for prime minister to be chosen by Tuesday
• EU signs trade pact with Ukraine, ceasefire extended by 72 hours
• Ukraine extends ceasefire by 72 hours until Monday
• Venezuela blackout leaves commuters scrambling, silences president
• Israeli air strike kills two militants in Gaza: medics
• EU moves to assuage Cameron after outvoting him on Juncker
• Border Patrol reschedules flights to California
• Host Brazil takes center stage at World Cup
• Nigeria bonuses paid as player set to travel
• Ukraine extends ceasefire by 72 hours until Monday
• Israeli air raid kills two Gaza Palestinians
• FIFA, players' union agree Suarez needs treatment
• San Francisco parking app refuses shut-down order
• Blatter: Suarez bite 'not fair,' keeps mum on ban
• Power outage affects much of Venezuela
• Yemen ceasefire breached as violence flares anew
• Syrian rebels buckling in face of jihadis
• ON THIS DAY: Blanc saves France with 'golden goal'
• Uruguay coach quits FIFA position over Suarez ban
• Kaka says Fred and Jo can do the job
• US Border Patrol reschedules flights to California
• US prosecutor objects to suggestion in deadly fire
• WIMBLEDON WATCH: Latest ever finish at Wimbledon
• Somali expats fear bank curbs on sending money home
• U.S. trims Nigeria surveillance flights seeking abducted girls
• Ukraine signs historic EU pact, snubbing Russia
• US hopes to boost World Cup attack against Belgium
• Temporary blackout hits Venezuela, including parts of capital
• Brazil showing some nerves ahead of Chile match
• Ukrainian president extends cease-fire for 3 days
• 5 things at Wimbledon: Swiss double on Saturday
• Puerto Rico public corporations hit by downgrades
• Top Asian News at 10:00 p.m. GMT
• Pentagon: Armed drones guard US interests in Iraq
• Ukrainian president extends cease-fire in the nation's east for 3 days

Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric calls for prime minister to be chosen by Tuesday Posted: 27 Jun 2014 01:14 PM PDT By Raheem Salman and Ned Parker BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The most influential Shi'ite cleric in Iraq called on the country's leaders on Friday to choose a prime minister within the next four days, a dramatic political intervention that could hasten the end of Nuri al-Maliki's eight year rule. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who commands unswerving loyalty from many Shi'ites in Iraq and beyond, said political blocs should agree on the next premier, parliament speaker and president before a newly-elected legislature meets on Tuesday. Sistani's intervention makes it difficult for Maliki to stay on as caretaker leader as he has since a parliamentary election in April. Sistani's message was delivered after a meeting of Shi'ite factions including Maliki's State of Law coalition failed to agree a consensus candidate for prime minister.

EU signs trade pact with Ukraine, ceasefire extended by 72 hours Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:42 PM PDT By Robin Emmott and Justyna Pawlak BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union signed an historic free-trade pact with Ukraine on Friday and warned it could impose more sanctions on Moscow unless pro-Russian rebels act to wind down the crisis in the east of the country by Monday. Shortly after returning to Kiev from Brussels where he signed the pact, Poroshenko announced on his website that Ukraine had extended a ceasefire by government forces against pro-Russian separatist rebels by 72 hours until 10 p.m. on Monday. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko came to Brussels to sign a far-reaching trade and political cooperation agreement with the EU that has been at the heart of months of deadly violence and upheaval in his country, drawing an immediate threat of "grave consequences" from Russia. Georgia and Moldova signed similar deals, holding out the prospect of deep economic integration and unfettered access to the EU's 500 million citizens, but alarming Moscow, which is concerned about losing influence over former Soviet republics.

Ukraine extends ceasefire by 72 hours until Monday Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:30 PM PDT Ukraine on Friday extended a government forces' ceasefire against separatist rebels by 72 hours until 10 p.m. on Monday, the website of President Petro Poroshenko said. The announcement came shortly after Poroshenko returned to Kiev from Brussels where he signed a landmark free trade deal at a European Union summit. The ceasefire extension had been undertaken, it said, in line with a deadline set by EU leaders for Ukrainian rebels to agree to ceasefire verification arrangements, return border checkpoints to Kiev authorities and free hostages including detained monitors of the OSCE rights and security watchdog. Movements of rebel forces around the east and the setting-up of rebel checkpoints or barricades should also cease.

Venezuela blackout leaves commuters scrambling, silences president Posted: 27 Jun 2014 02:59 PM PDT By Brian Ellsworth and Patricia Velez CARACAS (Reuters) - A blackout cut power to much of Venezuela on Friday, snarling traffic in the capital Caracas and other major cities as authorities scrambled to restore electricity after the outage, which twice interrupted a presidential broadcast. Pedestrians streamed into the streets of Caracas as the blackout shuttered the underground metro trains and left frustrated drivers honking in the chaos without stoplights. It was the second nationwide major electricity outage in less than a year. By the grace of God," said Pedro Mayora, 58, an accountant who was waiting outside the Metro to see how he would reach his home on the poor west end of the city.

Israeli air strike kills two militants in Gaza: medics Posted: 27 Jun 2014 06:19 AM PDT An Israeli air strike killed two Palestinian militants and critically wounded a third in the Gaza Strip on Friday, medical officials said. The attack was on a car travelling along a coastal road near a beach refugee camp in Gaza, witnesses said. One source identified the men as belonging to the Popular Resistance Committees, a network of militant groups that has been responsible for firing rockets into southern Israel in the past. In earlier violence, four Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire near the southern part of the Israel-Gaza border, medical officials said.

EU moves to assuage Cameron after outvoting him on Juncker Posted: 27 Jun 2014 11:13 AM PDT By Luke Baker and Kylie MacLellan BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders nominated Jean-Claude Juncker for their bloc's most powerful job on Friday over the fierce objections of British Prime Minister David Cameron, who said the decision would make it harder for him to keep Britain in Europe. Fellow leaders immediately sought to assuage Cameron - and an increasing eurosceptic British electorate - by promising to address London's concerns about the EU's future and to review the process for choosing future European Commission presidents. Cameron forced an unprecedented vote at an EU summit to dramatize his opposition both to the way the former Luxembourg prime minister was chosen and to his suitability to head the EU's executive that proposes and enforces EU laws. He was outvoted 26-2 on a show of hands in a solemn moment that highlighted Britain's isolation in the continental bloc of which it has been an uneasy, semi-detached member since 1973.

Border Patrol reschedules flights to California Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:54 PM PDT SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Border Patrol announced Friday that it was going forward with its plans to fly Central American migrants from the Rio Grande Valley to Southern California and two Texas border cities to help relieve what President Barack Obama has called a humanitarian crisis.

Host Brazil takes center stage at World Cup Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:48 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The second round of the World Cup gets underway on Saturday with host nation Brazil facing Chile and Colombia taking on Uruguay in an all-South American race to reach the quarterfinals.

Nigeria bonuses paid as player set to travel Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:46 PM PDT BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Nigeria's World Cup squad has received the bonuses which the players were owed, the team spokesman said Friday, as they returned to training ahead of their second round match against France.

Ukraine extends ceasefire by 72 hours until Monday Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:42 PM PDT Ukraine on Friday extended a government forces' ceasefire against separatist rebels by 72 hours until 10 p.m. on Monday, the website of President Petro Poroshenko said. The announcement came shortly after Poroshenko returned to Kiev from Brussels where he signed a landmark free trade deal at a European Union summit. The ceasefire extension had been undertaken, it said, in line with a deadline set by EU leaders for Ukrainian rebels to agree to ceasefire verification arrangements, return border checkpoints to Kiev authorities and free hostages including detained monitors of the OSCE rights and security watchdog. Movements of rebel forces around the east and the setting-up of rebel checkpoints or barricades should also cease.

Israeli air raid kills two Gaza Palestinians Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:35 PM PDT An Israeli air strike on a car in the Gaza Strip killed two Palestinians Friday, medics said, hours after a bomb exploded near troops manning Israel's security fence. The violence comes a day after Israel accused two men it said belong to Hamas of kidnapping three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank a fortnight ago. Israel responded to the abduction by staging a vast crackdown on the West Bank network of Hamas, which governed Gaza until a recent Palestinian unity deal was struck, and has arrested hundreds of its Islamist foe's members.

FIFA, players' union agree Suarez needs treatment Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:32 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The players' union and football's governing body agree on one thing in the wake of the heavy ban imposed on Luis Suarez for his third biting incident: the Uruguay and Liverpool striker needs help.

San Francisco parking app refuses shut-down order Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:27 PM PDT SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The company behind a mobile app that allows San Francisco drivers to get paid for the public parking spaces they exit has rejected an order from the city attorney to stop its operations.

Blatter: Suarez bite 'not fair,' keeps mum on ban Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:23 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — FIFA President Sepp Blatter believes Luis Suarez's biting offense was "definitely not fair" — though he won't say the player's name.

Power outage affects much of Venezuela Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:14 PM PDT CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A widespread power outage left much of Venezuela in the dark Friday, and turned out the lights at a nationally televised presidential ceremony.

Yemen ceasefire breached as violence flares anew Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:08 PM PDT SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Fierce clashes erupted between rebels and tribes backed by an army unit in a northern Yemeni city close to the capital on Friday, breaching a week-old ceasefire, a Defense Ministry official said, as the country's leaders said assailants were plotting to destabilize the country.

Syrian rebels buckling in face of jihadis Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:05 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian rebels that the U.S. now wants to support are in poor shape, on the retreat from the radical al-Qaida breakaway group that has swept over large parts of Iraq and Syria, with some rebels giving up the fight. It is not clear whether the new U.S. promise to arm them will make a difference.

ON THIS DAY: Blanc saves France with 'golden goal' Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:59 PM PDT On June 28 in World Cup history: France's Laurent Blanc scores "golden goal" as hosts leave it late to beat Paraguay in Lens in 1998.

Uruguay coach quits FIFA position over Suarez ban Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:56 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez quit FIFA's strategic committee on Friday in protest at the ban football's governing body imposed on his team's star striker Luis Suarez for biting an Italian player.

Kaka says Fred and Jo can do the job Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:56 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Former world player of the year Kaka said Friday that while Brazil's current first choice strikers bear no comparison to former greats like Romario and Ronaldo, they are good enough to win Brazil's sixth World Cup.

US Border Patrol reschedules flights to California Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:54 PM PDT SAN DIEGO (AP) — The U.S. Border Patrol is rescheduling flights to bring Central American migrants from south Texas to California for processing.

US prosecutor objects to suggestion in deadly fire Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:48 PM PDT STROUDSBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) — A Pennsylvania prosecutor is objecting to a federal magistrate's recommendation that a South Korean man convicted of killing his daughter in what authorities called arson 25 years ago should be released from prison or given a new trial.

WIMBLEDON WATCH: Latest ever finish at Wimbledon Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:45 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — It was 9.38 p.m. local time when the last ball was hit at Wimbledon on Court 3 as Marin Cilic secured a surprise 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (6) win over No. 6 seed and former finalist Tomas Berdych on Friday night.

Somali expats fear bank curbs on sending money home Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:44 PM PDT By Mirjam Donath NEW YORK (Reuters) - Each month, 42-year-old Abdirizak Alibos shows up at a money transfer business in the heart of Minneapolis to send $500 to his three children in war-torn Somalia. It is not money that they are about to run out of but the legal options for sending it home.   About 40 percent of all Somali families rely on remittances from another country, and the estimated annual total of $1.3 billion is more than all foreign aid and investment in Somalia combined, according to a study published last year by human aid organizations Adeso, Oxfam and the Inter-American Dialogue.   For more than two decades, the African nation of 10 million people has been a land of chaos because of divisive clan fights during its civil war and more-recent Islamist militant insurgents with links to al Qaeda. Commercial banking disappeared in the early 1990s, and Western money transfer companies such as Western Union Co and MoneyGram International Inc do not serve most parts of Somalia.

U.S. trims Nigeria surveillance flights seeking abducted girls Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:37 PM PDT By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Friday it had decreased its surveillance flights in the search for more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Islamist militants in Nigeria, but added that the overall effort was unchanged due to more flights by other countries. "We don't have any better idea today than we did before about where these girls are, but there's been no letup of the effort itself," Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters. Kirby denied a suggestion that U.S. flights over Nigeria had been reduced to accommodate increased U.S. surveillance over Iraq, where Washington is flying unmanned and manned aircraft to gather intelligence about Sunni insurgents. He said some of the resources that were being used in Nigeria had been diverted from other missions in Africa and could now be used elsewhere on the continent.

Ukraine signs historic EU pact, snubbing Russia Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:30 PM PDT Over Russia's objections, Ukraine's new president on Friday signed a free-trade deal binding his country more closely to Western Europe, sealing the very agreement that triggered the bloodshed and political convulsions of the past seven months.

US hopes to boost World Cup attack against Belgium Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:25 PM PDT SAO PAULO (AP) — No wonder the United States is having problems scoring at the World Cup: The Americans are hardly attacking.

Temporary blackout hits Venezuela, including parts of capital Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:21 PM PDT A power outage hit a wide area of eastern Caracas and several cities in the interior of Venezuela for at least two hours Friday. Electricity Minister Jesse Chacon said the blackout affected Aragua state, which includes the east of the capital, as well as Miranda, Carabobo and Falcon states, and the Andean region. In eastern Caracas, people were trapped in skyscraper elevators, and in the underground train service's trains and tunnels. On December 3, 2013, a major blackout in Venezuela affected 70 percent of the country for around four hours.

Brazil showing some nerves ahead of Chile match Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:19 PM PDT BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AP) — There's no denying it, the thought of sudden World Cup elimination is on the minds of Luiz Felipe Scolari and his Brazil squad.

Ukrainian president extends cease-fire for 3 days Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:11 PM PDT The Ukrainian president's office says he has extended a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine for three more days.

5 things at Wimbledon: Swiss double on Saturday Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:08 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka form a 1-2 Swiss punch on the two featured courts at Wimbledon on Saturday.

Puerto Rico public corporations hit by downgrades Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:04 PM PDT SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Two more of Puerto Rico's largest public corporations were hit with credit downgrades Friday as the U.S. territory's governor prepares to sign a bill that would allow them to restructure their debt if needed.

Top Asian News at 10:00 p.m. GMT Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:02 PM PDT BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's military junta will install an interim constitution next month, and elections will be held around October 2015, its leader announced Friday. Army commander Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a coup last month, said the temporary constitution will allow an interim legislature and Cabinet to begin governing the country in September. He said an appointed reform council and constitution drafting committee will then work on a long-term charter to take effect July 2015.

Pentagon: Armed drones guard US interests in Iraq Posted: 27 Jun 2014 02:59 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has armed drones flying over Baghdad to protect U.S. troops that recently arrived to assess Iraq's deteriorating security, the Pentagon said Friday.

Ukrainian president extends cease-fire in the nation's east for 3 days Posted: 27 Jun 2014 02:58 PM PDT KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian president extends cease-fire in the nation's east for 3 days.

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