Yahoo! News: World News

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• Obama condemns Russia over downed plane in Ukraine, gunmen hamper inquiry
• U.N. accuses Islamic State of executions, rape, forced child recruitment in Iraq
• Israel steps up Gaza ground offensive, civilian casualties grow
• Iran, six powers agree to four-month extension of nuclear talks: envoys
• Pope calls for justice in 1994 attack on Argentine Jewish center
• Lebanon's Hariri calls for lawmakers to elect a president
• Israel air strike kills 7 in southern Gaza: medics
• At least two dead in attack on Kenyan coast: police
• US: Can't rule out Russian role in plane downing
• British Lords hold ten-hour debate on assisted dying
• Iran nuclear talks extended to November 24
• Iran nuke talks to be extended for 4 months
• UN chief Ban heading to Mideast in Gaza peace bid
• Worldwide legal claims could await Malaysia Airlines after jet downed
• US building case tying separatists to plane crash
• Downed jet claimed victims from 11 countries
• Credible probe sought in downing of Malaysian jet
• Obama says Europe should see downed jet as 'wake-up call'
• US drone strike kills eleven in northwest Pakistan
• Tour de France 13th stage at a glance
• New York City mayor delays start of Italy vacation
• Family of 8 killed in Gaza, as UN's Ban heads to region
• US judge finds Chinese drywall maker in contempt
• Central American leaders to meet with Obama
• U.S. EPA pushes ahead with plan to block Alaska copper mine
• Judge finds Chinese drywall maker in contempt
• Israel pushes in Gaza, expanding ground operation
• US terrorist database growing at rapid rate
• Top Asian News at 10:30 p.m. GMT
• Ethiopian bloggers, journalists handed 'terrorism' charges
• In US, fearful campers eye Middle East conflict
• OSCE says it did not receive proper access to Ukraine crash site
• CNN reassigns reporter after 'scum' tweet
• Gatlin, Bowie set year-best times
• Oil price remains high on global turmoil
• 270 killed in Syrian gas field fighting: NGO

Obama condemns Russia over downed plane in Ukraine, gunmen hamper inquiry Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:22 PM PDT By Anton Zverev HRABOVE Ukraine (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama demanded Russia stop supporting separatists in Ukraine after the downing of a Malaysian airliner by a surface-to-air missile he said was fired from rebel territory raised the prospect of more sanctions on Moscow. Calling the deaths of almost 300 people from 11 countries "an outrage of unspeakable proportions", Obama stopped short of directly blaming Russia for the incident, saying there must be a rapid and credible investigation. More than half of the victims were Dutch, and Obama said a U.S. citizen was among the dead in what has become a pivotal incident in deteriorating relations between Russia and the West. Obama ruled out U.S. military intervention, but said he was prepared to tighten sanctions.

U.N. accuses Islamic State of executions, rape, forced child recruitment in Iraq Posted: 18 Jul 2014 10:40 AM PDT By Dominic Evans and Maggie Fick BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United Nations accused Islamic State fighters in Iraq of executions, rape and forced recruitment of children during a campaign to seize much of northern Iraq, part of a conflict it said has killed almost 5,600 civilians this year. In a report, the U.N. focused on a range of violations committed against civilians, particularly by the Islamic State, though it also said Iraqi forces and allied fighters had not taken precautions to protect civilians from violence. "(This)...may also amount to war crimes," it said in its report into months of unrest which culminated in advances by Sunni militants led by the al Qaeda offshoot Islamic State, formerly known as ISIL, across the north of the country.

Israel steps up Gaza ground offensive, civilian casualties grow Posted: 18 Jul 2014 01:29 PM PDT By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Jeffrey Heller GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel warned on Friday it could "significantly widen" a Gaza land offensive but was cautioned by its main ally, the United States, about the risks of further escalation as Palestinian civilian deaths mounted. Palestinian officials said 58 Palestinians, at least 15 of them under the age of 18, have been killed since Israel sent ground forces on Thursday into the densely-populated enclave of 1.8 million Palestinians. U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday he had spoken to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, underscoring Washington's support for Israel to defend itself but raising concerns about "the risks of further escalation" and additional loss of innocent lives. "We are hopeful that Israel will continue to approach this process in a way that minimises civilian casualties," Obama told reporters at the White House.

Iran, six powers agree to four-month extension of nuclear talks: envoys Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:34 PM PDT Iran and six world powers on Friday agreed to a four-month extension of negotiations on a long-term nuclear deal that would gradually end sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, diplomats close to the talks said. Iran, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China had set a July 20 deadline to complete a long-term agreement that would resolve the decade-old dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. It has been clear for days that Iran and the six powers would miss the Sunday deadline to reach an accord due to disagreements on a number of key issues in the discussions. Among the issues dividing them are the permissible scope of Iran's nuclear fuel production capacity and how to address the country's suspected past atomic bomb research.

Pope calls for justice in 1994 attack on Argentine Jewish center Posted: 18 Jul 2014 02:07 PM PDT Pope Francis called for justice to be served in his native Argentina on Friday, the twentieth anniversary of the deadly bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish commuity center that local courts blamed on Iran. Investigations into the attack in which an explosives-laden truck exploded outside the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) building, killing 85, have advanced little in two decades. "We tend to archive things in order not to burden ourselves with history, with suffering," the pope said in a video address in Spanish that was screened during an anniversary event organized by the Jewish community in Buenos Aires. May justice be done!" An Argentine Federal court on Thursday struck down a 2013 agreement between the South American country and Iran to investigate together the bombing - a deal that had been delayed anyway by Iranian reluctance to move forward in implementing it.

Lebanon's Hariri calls for lawmakers to elect a president Posted: 18 Jul 2014 01:19 PM PDT By Alexander Dziadosz BEIRUT (Reuters) - Former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri on Friday called on lawmakers to elect a president after nearly two months of a power vacuum in Lebanon. He also demanded that Shi'ite movement Hezbollah pull out of the war in neighboring Syria. Lebanon has not had a president since May because politicians have been unable to agree on a candidate that would satisfy the country's two main political blocs - Hariri's Sunni-led March 14 alliance and Hezbollah's March 8 coalition. Lebanon's sectarian tensions have been worsened by the three-year-old war in Syria, which pits overwhelmingly Sunni rebels against President Bashar al-Assad, a member of the Shi'ite-derived Alawite minority, and allied Shi'ite groups including Hezbollah.

Israel air strike kills 7 in southern Gaza: medics Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:52 PM PDT An Israeli air strike on the southern Gaza Strip killed seven people early Saturday, medics said, on day 12 of a major operation against the Palestinian territory. The strike hit a group of people outside a mosque in the southern city of Khan Yunis, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP, adding that three of the dead were from the same family. The deaths took the toll from an Israeli operation to stamp out rocket fire from Gaza to 303, many of them women and children.

At least two dead in attack on Kenyan coast: police Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:52 PM PDT At least two people were killed when gunmen opened fire on a bus and police vehicle on Friday in the latest attack on Kenya's restive southeastern coast, police said. The Kenyan Red Cross said there had been "six casualties" in the shooting, without specifying if the victims were injured or killed. A local police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said armed men opened fire on a bus travelling to the tourist island of Lamu. They then targeted a police car which stopped to intervene, and also hit a third car.

US: Can't rule out Russian role in plane downing Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:51 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday that the United States cannot rule out that Russia helped in the launch of the surface-to-air missile that shot down a Malaysian Airlines jet over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

British Lords hold ten-hour debate on assisted dying Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:42 PM PDT Among the supporters of the bill are former archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, who once backed the official Church of England position against assisted dying but recently changed his mind. Surveys suggest as many as 80 percent of the public support legalising assisted dying in some form.

Iran nuclear talks extended to November 24 Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:38 PM PDT Washington (AFP) - World powers and Iran agreed to extend talks on Tehran's nuclear program until November 24, officials said Friday, as Washington said it would unblock some $2.8 billion in frozen Iranian funds.

Iran nuke talks to be extended for 4 months Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:36 PM PDT VIENNA (AP) — Iran and six powers on Saturday extended nuclear talks until Nov. 24, in recognition that their differences were too big to reach a deal by the informal deadline of Sunday.

UN chief Ban heading to Mideast in Gaza peace bid Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:34 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will leave Saturday for the Middle East to help end the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, the U.N. political chief said Friday.

Worldwide legal claims could await Malaysia Airlines after jet downed Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:28 PM PDT By Andrew Chung and David Ingram NEW YORK (Reuters) - Malaysia Airlines may need to convince judges from several countries that it was not negligent to send a plane over wartorn eastern Ukraine if the airline hopes to avoid an outsize legal exposure for the downing of Flight MH17, aviation lawyers said. The lawyers told Reuters they expected at least some of the families of the 283 passengers on board the flight to sue Malaysia Airlines for damages above the amount they can already seek under an international agreement. There was no consensus among the lawyers about whether there was a strong case that Malaysia Airlines was negligent. He said the national airline took no undue risk in flying over Ukraine.

US building case tying separatists to plane crash Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:28 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States began building a case Friday linking pro-Russian separatists to the shocking downing of a passenger jet in Ukraine. A somber President Barack Obama declared the deaths of those on board, including at least one American, an "outrage of unspeakable proportions."

Downed jet claimed victims from 11 countries Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:26 PM PDT THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The human cost of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 hit home around the world Friday, upending scores of families and small communities spanning half of the planet, from a Dutch fishing village to an Australian soccer club and a Dubai cake store.

Credible probe sought in downing of Malaysian jet Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:14 PM PDT ROZSYPNE, Ukraine (AP) — World leaders demanded Friday that pro-Russia rebels who control the eastern Ukraine crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 give immediate, unfettered access to independent investigators to determine who shot down the plane.

Obama says Europe should see downed jet as 'wake-up call' Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:12 PM PDT By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday the downing of a Malaysian jetliner in a Ukrainian region controlled by Russian-backed separatists should be a "wake-up call" for the West in its drive to hold Moscow accountable for a crisis that appears to be at a turning point. While stopping short of blaming Russia for Thursday's crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17, in which 298 people died, Obama accused Russia of failing to stop the violence that made it possible to shoot down the plane. The United States has said the jetliner was hit by a surface-to-air missile fired from rebel territory. Obama spoke by phone later with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

US drone strike kills eleven in northwest Pakistan Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:02 PM PDT A US drone strike targeting a Pakistani Taliban compound on Saturday killed eleven insurgents in the country's restive northwestern tribal region near the border with Afghanistan, officials said. The attack came in North Waziristan, where for the past month the Pakistani military has been fighting to wipe out longstanding bases of Taliban and other militants. "The drone fired eight missiles on the compound around 2:00am (2100 GMT) on Saturday killing eleven members of the Punjabi faction of the Pakistani Taliban," a senior security official in the region told AFP. The official said the dead included two "important" commanders of the Pakistani Taliban, but he refused to reveal their identities.

Tour de France 13th stage at a glance Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:01 PM PDT CHAMROUSSE, France (AP) — A brief look at the 13th stage of the Tour de France Friday:

New York City mayor delays start of Italy vacation Posted: 18 Jul 2014 04:00 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has postponed his much-discussed family vacation to Italy by a day.

Family of 8 killed in Gaza, as UN's Ban heads to region Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:57 PM PDT Israel's Gaza ground assault sent the Palestinian death toll soaring to 296 as UN chief Ban Ki-moon headed to the region Saturday to bolster efforts to clinch a truce. The new peace effort came as eight members of a single family were killed in Israeli tank fire in northern Gaza, after Israel warned it was poised to broaden its ground operations. Earlier, US President Barack Obama said he had telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to voice concerns about the crisis and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas met foreign leaders for talks.

US judge finds Chinese drywall maker in contempt Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:57 PM PDT NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has ordered a China-based maker of drywall to pay $55,000 in penalties and attorney fees — and to stop doing business in the United States — as punishment for refusing to take part in court proceedings over harm allegedly done by the product.

Central American leaders to meet with Obama Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:46 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The presidents of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras will come to Washington next week to discuss the surge of unaccompanied minors from their countries across the U.S border.

U.S. EPA pushes ahead with plan to block Alaska copper mine Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:41 PM PDT U.S. environmental regulators laid out proposed protections for Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed on Friday that would effectively block the development of the Pebble deposit, which could be one of the world's largest copper mines. In a 214-page document posted to its website, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to restrict the use of certain waters in the region for disposal of dredged or fill material associated with mining the Pebble deposit. "The science is clear that mining the Pebble deposit would cause irreversible damage to one of the world's last intact salmon ecosystems," said Dennis McLerran, regional administrator for the EPA, in a statement. "Bristol Bay's exceptional fisheries deserve exceptional protection." Project owner Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd, meanwhile, has sued the EPA for trying to derail development before the company has even applied for its permit or environmental assessment.

Judge finds Chinese drywall maker in contempt Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:40 PM PDT NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has ordered a China-based maker of drywall to pay $55,000 in penalties and attorney fees — and to stop doing business in the United States — as punishment for refusing to take part in court proceedings over harm allegedly done by the product.

Israel pushes in Gaza, expanding ground operation Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:36 PM PDT Israeli troops pushed deeper into Gaza on Friday in a ground offensive that officials said could last up to two weeks as the prime minister ordered the military to prepare for a "significantly" wider campaign.

US terrorist database growing at rapid rate Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:33 PM PDT ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (AP) — The U.S. government is rapidly expanding the number of names it accepts for inclusion on its terrorist watch list, with more than 1.5 million added in the last five years, according to numbers divulged by the government in a civil lawsuit.

Top Asian News at 10:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:32 PM PDT ROZSYPNE, Ukraine (AP) — World leaders demanded Friday that pro-Russia rebels who control the eastern Ukraine crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 give immediate, unfettered access to independent investigators to determine who shot down the plane. At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, the U.S. pointed blame at the separatists, saying Washington believes the jetliner carrying 298 people, including 80 children, likely was downed by an SA-11 missile, and "we cannot rule out technical assistance from Russian personnel."

Ethiopian bloggers, journalists handed 'terrorism' charges Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:30 PM PDT A group of Ethiopian bloggers and journalists detained for nearly three months have been charged with terrorism for having links to an outlawed group and for planning attacks, a judge said Friday. The seven members of the blogging collective Zone Nine and three journalists were arrested in April, prompting an outcry from rights groups who said the case was an assault on press freedom. The group is accused of planning attacks in Ethiopia and working in collusion with the US-based opposition group Ginbot 7, labelled by Ethiopian authorities as a terrorist organisation. "They took training in how to make explosives and planned to train others," Judge Tareke Alemayehu told the court.

In US, fearful campers eye Middle East conflict Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:30 PM PDT OTISFIELD, Maine (AP) — Fighting in the Middle East has made for a summer of high tension, tearful phone calls and unlikely friendships between Israelis and Palestinians attending camps in the U.S. that host participants from the region.

OSCE says it did not receive proper access to Ukraine crash site Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:22 PM PDT By Anton Zverev DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) - Gunmen prevented monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe from observing the site where a Malaysian airliner crashed in rebel-held eastern Ukraine on Friday, the rights and security watchdog said. Calling their behavior "impolite and unprofessional", an OSCE spokesman said some gunmen in the area seemed intoxicated while others would not let the team of about 25 observers look at the wreckage of the Boeing 777. "We had expected unfettered access, that's the way we work," Michael Bociurkiw told a news conference. Earlier, the OSCE's permanent council chairman, Thomas Greminger, told Reuters monitors had not been able to secure an access corridor for the crash-site and that investigators had stayed there for only about 75 minutes before setting off back to Donetsk.

CNN reassigns reporter after 'scum' tweet Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:21 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — CNN has pulled reporter Diana Magnay out of the Middle East after she referred to a group of Israelis who had allegedly threatened her while reporting on Gaza as "scum" in a tweet.

Gatlin, Bowie set year-best times Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:13 PM PDT MONACO (AP) — American sprinters Justin Gatlin and Tori Bowie set the fastest times this year in the 200 and 100 meters respectively at the Herculis meeting on Friday.

Oil price remains high on global turmoil Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:10 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil retreated slightly Friday but remained elevated because of political turmoil around the world.

270 killed in Syrian gas field fighting: NGO Posted: 18 Jul 2014 03:09 PM PDT Beirut (AFP) - Jihadists have killed 270 Syrian regime fighters, civilian security guards and employees after seizing a gas field in Homs province, a monitoring group said Friday.

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