Yahoo! News: World News

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• Gaza rockets land deep in Israel as it bombards Palestinian enclave
• Exclusive: Iraq tells U.N. that 'terrorist groups' seized nuclear materials
• Fifty-three blindfolded bodies found in Iraq as political leaders bicker
• Syria's Western-backed opposition elects new president
• Ukraine threatens to retake territory from defiant rebels
• Ex-Guatemalan leader Portillo to be freed from U.S. prison in February
• Van Gaal: I taught Romero how to stop penalties
• Five children among seven Palestinians killed in Israeli air strike: ministry
• Argentina soccer fans delight in WCup final berth
• Argentina reaches World Cup final after penalties
• Bank BNP Paribas pleads guilty to violating rules
• Obama: Congress can act now to fix border crisis
• Last-round scramble for playoffs in Super Rugby
• Puerto Rico general obligation bonds downgraded
• More 'headline-grabbing' corporate deals expected
• Mascherano, Zabaleta play on after blows to head
• Chinese workers in Bahamas launch protest
• Brazil trying to shift focus to 3rd-place match
• UN chief calls Mideast leaders, urges restraint
• Yankees' Tanaka on DL due to elbow inflammation
• 'Calm' Kardashian joins Emma Watson at Valentino
• Research shows Gulf of Mexico oil spill caused lesions in fish: scientists
• U.S. declares 'critical habitat' protection for loggerhead turtles
• Israel steps up offensive as diplomacy kicks off
• Netherlands-Argentina semifinal goes to penalties
• U.N. Security Council to meet on Israel, Palestinian hostilities
• Official in scalping case gives up credential
• Top Asian News at 10:00 p.m. GMT
• US, Cuba hold migration talks in Washington
• Netherlands-Argentina semifinal goes to extra time
• De Mistura succeeds Brahimi as U.N. Syria mediator: diplomats
• Obama heads to Texas with no plans to visit border
• Border surge overwhelming, US officials say
• Groups: Immigrant kids need deportation lawyers
• Top Asian News at 9:30 p.m. GMT

Gaza rockets land deep in Israel as it bombards Palestinian enclave Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:26 PM PDT Israeli air strikes shook Gaza every few minutes on Wednesday, and militants kept up rocket fire at Israel's heartland in intensifying warfare that Palestinian officials said has killed at least 44 people in the Hamas-dominated enclave. Missiles from Israel's Iron Dome defense system shot into the sky to intercept rockets launched, for the second straight day, at Tel Aviv, the country's commercial capital. With cries of 'Allahu akbar' (God is great), Palestinians in Gaza cheered as rockets streaked overhead toward Israel, in attacks that could provide a popularity boost for Islamist Hamas, whose rift with neighboring Egypt's military-backed government has deepened economic hardship. Other communities near Tel Aviv in central Israel and in the south, closer to Gaza, were also targeted.

Exclusive: Iraq tells U.N. that 'terrorist groups' seized nuclear materials Posted: 09 Jul 2014 04:04 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Insurgents in Iraq have seized nuclear materials used for scientific research at a university in the country's north, Iraq told the United Nations in a letter appealing for help to "stave off the threat of their use by terrorists in Iraq or abroad." Nearly 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of uranium compounds were kept at Mosul University, Iraq's U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the July 8 letter obtained by Reuters on Wednesday. "Terrorist groups have seized control of nuclear material at the sites that came out of the control of the state," Alhakim wrote, adding that such materials "can be used in manufacturing weapons of mass destruction." "These nuclear materials, despite the limited amounts mentioned, can enable terrorist groups, with the availability of the required expertise, to use it separate or in combination with other materials in its terrorist acts," said Alhakim.

Fifty-three blindfolded bodies found in Iraq as political leaders bicker Posted: 09 Jul 2014 01:53 PM PDT By Raheem Salman and Isra' al-Rubei'i BAGHDAD Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces found 53 corpses, blindfolded and handcuffed, south of Baghdad on Wednesday as Shi'ite and Kurdish leaders traded accusations over an Islamist insurgency raging in the country's Sunni provinces. Officials said dozens of bodies were discovered near the mainly Shi'ite Muslim village of Khamissiya, with bullets to the chest and head, the latest mass killing since Sunni insurgents swept through northern Iraq. "Fifty-three unidentified corpses were found, all of them blindfolded and handcuffed," Sadeq Madloul, governor of the mainly Shi'ite southern province of Babil, told reporters. He said the victims appeared to have been killed overnight after being brought by car to an area near the main highway running from Baghdad to the southern provinces, about 25 km (15 miles) southeast of the city of Hilla.

Syria's Western-backed opposition elects new president Posted: 09 Jul 2014 02:26 PM PDT Syria's Western-backed opposition, the National Coalition, elected Hadi al-Bahra, chief negotiator at the Geneva peace talks, as its new president on Wednesday after a three-day meeting in Istanbul. The United States and other key powers have designated the National Coalition as the main body representing the opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but it has little power inside Syria where disparate militant groups outside its control hold ground. Bahra, a U.S-trained industrial engineer, has close ties to regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, as did his predecessor Ahmad Jarba, who stood down after serving the maximum two six-month terms. "We will not give up the fundamentals of the revolution and our demands are freedom and human dignity," Bahra told a news conference in Istanbul on Wednesday evening.

Ukraine threatens to retake territory from defiant rebels Posted: 09 Jul 2014 01:19 PM PDT By Maria Tsvetkova and Richard Balmforth KIEV/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian government forces on Wednesday warned separatists in the eastern town of Donetsk that a plan was now in place to take back the territory they occupy, but defiant rebels reported a steady flow of new recruits who were ready to fight. The Ukrainian military pushed the rebels out of their best-fortified stronghold in the town of Slaviansk on Saturday, but they have regrouped for a stand in Donetsk, a city of nearly a million people. Rebels also still control strategic buildings in Luhansk near the Russian border. Separatists said on Tuesday that Igor Strelkov, a Russian military officer from Moscow who until the weekend led rebels in Slaviansk, had assumed command of the "defense of Donetsk".

Ex-Guatemalan leader Portillo to be freed from U.S. prison in February Posted: 09 Jul 2014 11:35 AM PDT By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo is scheduled to be released from a U.S. prison in February, more than five years after his arrest on money laundering charges. Portillo's Facebook page announced that he would be freed on February 25, 2015. Inmate records from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons confirmed the date. The Facebook post also said Portillo's attorneys would seek to have him transferred from a New York prison to Florida and would seek permission for him to complete his sentence in Guatemala starting in September 2014.

Van Gaal: I taught Romero how to stop penalties Posted: 09 Jul 2014 04:55 PM PDT SAO PAULO (AP) — Louis van Gaal took some credit for showing Argentina's Sergio Romero how to stop penalties, advice that cost the Netherlands coach dearly on Wednesday.

Five children among seven Palestinians killed in Israeli air strike: ministry Posted: 09 Jul 2014 04:50 PM PDT An Israeli air strike killed seven Palestinian civilians on Thursday, including five children, in the largest death toll from a single attack since the start of a three-day offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Residents and medical officials said an Israeli air strike bombed at least two houses in a densely populated area near Khan Younis while residents were asleep. Bodies were pulled out of rubble from three or four homes including neighboring structures, and the Palestinian Health Ministry said five of the dead were children. The attack raised the death toll to 60 Palestinians, most of them civilians, since Tuesday, in Israel's offensive aimed at halting rocket fire at the Jewish state from coastal Gaza.

Argentina soccer fans delight in WCup final berth Posted: 09 Jul 2014 04:49 PM PDT SAO PAULO (AP) — It's Argentina's greatest delight and Brazil's worst nightmare.

Argentina reaches World Cup final after penalties Posted: 09 Jul 2014 04:46 PM PDT SAO PAULO (AP) — Goalkeeper Sergio Romero saved two penalties Wednesday to send Argentina into the World Cup final with a 4-2 shootout win over the Netherlands after the game finished in a 0-0 stalemate.

Bank BNP Paribas pleads guilty to violating rules Posted: 09 Jul 2014 04:34 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — BNP Paribas, France's largest bank, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of violating U.S. economic sanctions by processing transactions for clients in blacklisted countries, a development that a Manhattan judge said should show that no financial institution is "immune from the rule of law."

Obama: Congress can act now to fix border crisis Posted: 09 Jul 2014 04:32 PM PDT Sitting down with one of his harshest critics, President Barack Obama said Wednesday he was open to all of Gov. Rick Perry's suggestions for addressing the wave of unaccompanied minors coming over the border from Mexico, urging Congress to approve his request for more funding so that those and other ideas can be put in place.

Last-round scramble for playoffs in Super Rugby Posted: 09 Jul 2014 04:28 PM PDT WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The New South Wales Waratahs will stand apart from the potential chaos of the last round of the Super Rugby regular season this weekend.

Puerto Rico general obligation bonds downgraded Posted: 09 Jul 2014 04:25 PM PDT SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Fitch Ratings has downgraded $13.4 billion worth of Puerto Rico's general obligation bonds as well as bonds issued by the island's water and sewer company.

More 'headline-grabbing' corporate deals expected Posted: 09 Jul 2014 04:02 PM PDT LONDON (AP) — More "headline-grabbing" acquisitions are likely over the coming year as businesses take advantage of a period of improving economic growth and cheap financing.

Mascherano, Zabaleta play on after blows to head Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:58 PM PDT SAO PAULO (AP) — Javier Mascherano and Pablo Zabaleta both stayed in the game for Argentina after being knocked down by blows to their heads during Wednesday's World Cup semifinal.

Chinese workers in Bahamas launch protest Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:58 PM PDT NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Dozens of Chinese construction workers employed at a multibillion-dollar resort project in the Bahamas launched a protest Wednesday in an apparent dispute over wages.

Brazil trying to shift focus to 3rd-place match Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:57 PM PDT BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AP) — Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and his players are trying to put the devastating semifinal loss to Germany behind them as quickly as possible, turning their focus to the farewell match at their home World Cup.

UN chief calls Mideast leaders, urges restraint Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:55 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged restraint and an end to the new wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence in a blitz of phone calls Wednesday to their leaders and key regional players, warning that the volatile situation raises the risk of another full-blown war.

Yankees' Tanaka on DL due to elbow inflammation Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:50 PM PDT CLEVELAND (AP) — The New York Yankees' battered rotation may have suffered the most crucial loss of all.

'Calm' Kardashian joins Emma Watson at Valentino Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:49 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — She says her life is a lot calmer since she married fashionista-rapper Kanye West. And she prefers to stay at home with her baby.

Research shows Gulf of Mexico oil spill caused lesions in fish: scientists Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:45 PM PDT By Barbara Liston ORLANDO Fla. (Reuters) - Oil that matches the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been found in the bodies of sickened fish, according to a team of Florida scientists who studied the oil's chemical composition. "We matched up the oil in the livers and flesh with Deepwater Horizon like a fingerprint," lead researcher Steven Murawski, a professor at the University of South Florida's College of Marine Science in Tampa, told Reuters. BP, whose oil rig caused the spill, rejected the research, stating in an emailed response that it was "not possible to accurately identify the source of oil based on chemical traces found in fish livers or tissue." BP's statement added, "vertebrates such as fish very quickly metabolize and eliminate oil compounds.

U.S. declares 'critical habitat' protection for loggerhead turtles Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:42 PM PDT By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON S.C. (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday designated 685 miles (1,100 km) of beaches from Mississippi to North Carolina and 300,000 square miles (777,000 sq km) of ocean off the Gulf and Atlantic coasts as critical nesting and roaming habitat for threatened loggerhead sea turtles. The joint ruling by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is the largest critical habitat designation in U.S. history, environmentalists say. Scientists said the area is home to 70,000 to 90,000 nesting sites per year and comprises 84 percent of all known nesting areas for the large sea turtles.

Israel steps up offensive as diplomacy kicks off Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:37 PM PDT JERUSALEM (AP) — With rockets raining deep inside Israel, the military pummeled Palestinian targets Wednesday across the Gaza Strip and threatened a broad ground offensive, while the first diplomatic efforts to end two days of heavy fighting got underway.

Netherlands-Argentina semifinal goes to penalties Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:34 PM PDT SAO PAULO (AP) — For the second straight World Cup match, the Netherlands is going to a penalty shootout after its semifinal against Argentina ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

U.N. Security Council to meet on Israel, Palestinian hostilities Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:07 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will brief the U.N. Security Council on Thursday on the escalating Israeli and Palestinian hostilities, which he described as a "troubling and volatile" situation. The 15-member body will meet at 10 a.m. EST on Thursday to discuss the violence that is building up to the most serious hostilities between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza since an eight-day war in 2012. Israeli air strikes shook Gaza every few minutes on Wednesday, and militants kept up rocket fire at Israel's heartland in intensifying warfare that Palestinian officials said has killed at least 47 people.

Official in scalping case gives up credential Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:06 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The director of a World Cup hospitality company implicated in ticket scalping surrendered his tournament credentials on Thursday.

Top Asian News at 10:00 p.m. GMT Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:03 PM PDT JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The rival candidates in Indonesia's presidential election each claimed victory Wednesday, raising uncertainty about the political and legal landscape in a nation that made the transition from dictatorship to democracy less than two decades ago. According to the three most reputable quick-count surveys, soft-spoken Jakarta Gov. Joko Widodo won the election in Southeast Asia's largest economy with 52 percent of the vote, but his Suharto-era opponent, Prabowo Subianto, said other data indicated he had won. Widodo is the first candidate in an Indonesian direct presidential election with no connection to former dictator Suharto's 1966-1998 regime and its excesses.

US, Cuba hold migration talks in Washington Posted: 09 Jul 2014 03:03 PM PDT HAVANA (AP) — U.S. and Cuban officials discussed efforts to combat illegal migration, human smuggling and migratory document fraud in Washington on Wednesday, a rare moment of dialogue between countries that cut ties more than five decades ago.

Netherlands-Argentina semifinal goes to extra time Posted: 09 Jul 2014 02:54 PM PDT SAO PAULO (AP) — The Netherlands and Argentina are heading to extra time in their World Cup semifinal after finishing the regulation 90 minutes locked at 0-0.

De Mistura succeeds Brahimi as U.N. Syria mediator: diplomats Posted: 09 Jul 2014 02:53 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols and Tom Miles UNITED NATIONS/GENEVA (Reuters) - Veteran United Nations official Staffan de Mistura, a former U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan and Iraq, will replace Lakhdar Brahimi as the international mediator seeking an end to Syria's civil war, diplomats said on Wednesday. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters later on Wednesday that consultations were still continuing on the appointment and he hoped to make an announcement "very soon." The move comes amid worsening violence as Islamist militants seized swathes of Syria and Iraq and after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was re-elected in a June 3 poll described by Ban as a blow to international efforts to end to the conflict.

Obama heads to Texas with no plans to visit border Posted: 09 Jul 2014 02:47 PM PDT DALLAS (AP) — President Barack Obama, resisting calls to visit the U.S.-Mexico border, greeted Texas Gov. Rick Perry for a businesslike encounter on an airport tarmac Wednesday as the humanitarian crisis caused by the flow of Central American minors is increasingly becoming a political liability for the president and a test of his administration's competence.

Border surge overwhelming, US officials say Posted: 09 Jul 2014 02:45 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Tens of thousands of children streaming from Central American nations to the U.S. border have overwhelmed the government's ability to respond, senior Obama administration officials testified Wednesday as they urged senators to agree to the president's emergency spending request for the crisis.

Groups: Immigrant kids need deportation lawyers Posted: 09 Jul 2014 02:33 PM PDT SEATTLE (AP) — A coalition of U.S. immigrant rights advocacy groups sued the federal government Wednesday, saying the vast majority of minors in deportation proceedings lack legal representation.

Top Asian News at 9:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 09 Jul 2014 02:33 PM PDT JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The rival candidates in Indonesia's presidential election each claimed victory Wednesday, raising uncertainty about the political and legal landscape in a nation that made the transition from dictatorship to democracy less than two decades ago. According to the three most reputable quick-count surveys, soft-spoken Jakarta Gov. Joko Widodo won the election in Southeast Asia's largest economy with 52 percent of the vote, but his Suharto-era opponent, Prabowo Subianto, said other data indicated he had won. Widodo is the first candidate in an Indonesian direct presidential election with no connection to former dictator Suharto's 1966-1998 regime and its excesses.

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