Yahoo! News: World News

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• Ukraine and rebels back peace plan, ceasefire from Friday
• Israel says it gagged reports captive Sotloff was its citizen
• NATO, wary of ceasefire talk, blasts Russia over Ukraine
• Syrian raids kill eighteen Islamic State foreign jihadists
• Afghan candidates' unity pledge eases NATO's worries
• 'Love Jihad' and religious conversion polarize in Modi's India
• 'Beware of gangs' pope tells Salvadoran youth
• Jamaica doubles number of doping control officers
• Peter Quillin vacates WBO middleweight title
• Report slams British oil firm 'corruption' in Africa's oldest park
• Mistaken US bombing blamed on miscommunication
• Year after doping ban, Cilic reaches US Open semis
• Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT
• NHC says 20 percent chance of cyclone near Cape Verde Islands
• World powers, Iran to meet in New York on September 18
• Moeen Ali keen to follow India example
• Hamilton uncertain of rules of combat
• Boy charged in Detroit with street artist's death
• Timeline: BP oil spill litigation at a glance
• Oil spill ruling knocks BP shares to worst one-day loss since 2010
• BP says U.S. court yet to determine penalty
• Member of Cuba 5 says he's optimistic about deal
• Martina Hingis returns to US Open doubles final
• The defenders of Mariupol await their fate and the 'Russians'
• Hurricane Norbert heads up Mexico's Pacific coast
• Brazilian court throws into question Rio 2016 golf
• Australia PM to sign long-awaited nuclear fuel deal with India
• Spain routs Serbia 89-73 to go 5-0 at World Cup
• Spain's rebuilding off to bad start after 1-0 loss
• Stocks flat as oil drop offsets ECB stimulus
• ECB surprises with rate cuts, new stimulus plan
• Over 51,000 affected, 28 killed by Niger flooding: UN
• Ukraine's leader: Careful optimism on peace talks
• Top Asian News at 9:30 p.m. GMT
• Mozambique rebel leader arrives in Maputo to cement peace deal

Ukraine and rebels back peace plan, ceasefire from Friday Posted: 04 Sep 2014 12:30 PM PDT By Adrian Croft and Gabriela Baczynska NEWPORT Wales/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the main pro-Russian rebel leader said they would both order ceasefires on Friday, provided that an agreement is signed on a new peace plan to end the five-month war in Ukraine's east. The breakthrough came after a week in which the pro-Moscow separatists scored major victories with what NATO says is the open support of thousands of Russian troops. Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Wales, Poroshenko said the ceasefire would be conditional on a planned meeting going ahead in Minsk on Friday of envoys from Ukraine, Russia and Europe's OSCE security watchdog.

Israel says it gagged reports captive Sotloff was its citizen Posted: 04 Sep 2014 01:01 PM PDT By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said on Thursday it had prevented local media from reporting that slain U.S. Islamic State, a militant group which has overrun large areas of Syria and Iraq, released a video this week of Sotloff being beheaded, calling the execution retaliation for U.S. Sotloff, who was Jewish, immigrated in 2005 to Israel. Its government became aware "at an early stage" of his captivity that he was Israeli, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said.

NATO, wary of ceasefire talk, blasts Russia over Ukraine Posted: 04 Sep 2014 12:58 PM PDT By Adrian Croft and Guy Faulconbridge NEWPORT Wales (Reuters) - NATO demanded on Thursday that Moscow withdraw its troops from Ukraine as U.S. President Barack Obama and his Western allies vowed to support Kiev and buttress their own defenses against Russia in the biggest strategic shift since the Cold War. NATO leaders made clear at a summit in Wales that their military alliance would not use force to defend Ukraine, which is not a member, but planned tougher economic sanctions to try to change Russian behavior in the former Soviet republic. Western officials voiced deep caution about Kremlin talk of an imminent ceasefire in a five-month-old armed revolt by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, timed just as NATO was meeting and the European Union was preparing new sanctions.

Syrian raids kill eighteen Islamic State foreign jihadists Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:49 PM PDT By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Eighteen foreign fighters from the Islamic State, including an American jihadist, were killed in a Syrian air raid on a town near the militant group's main stronghold city of Raqqa in eastern Syria, a human rights monitoring group said on Thursday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has tracked violence on all sides of the three-year-old conflict, said reliable sources reported that top Islamic State leaders who happened to be in the municipal building of Gharbiya at the time of the raid were among the foreign fighters killed. Another air raid on Thursday that hit a former intelligence headquarters in the city of Abu Kamal near the border with Iraq that was used by the Islamic State also killed an undisclosed number of their members, the monitoring group said. Reuters cannot independently verify reports from Syria due to security conditions and reporting restrictions.

Afghan candidates' unity pledge eases NATO's worries Posted: 04 Sep 2014 01:20 PM PDT By Phil Stewart and Sanjeev Miglani NEWPORT Wales/KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's rival presidential candidates pledged to NATO leaders on Thursday that they would form a government of national unity and sign legal agreements allowing foreign troops to stay on next year. The message to a NATO summit from Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah was meant to reassure allies concerned that a lengthy deadlock over the disputed presidential election could force NATO to pull all its troops out of Afghanistan this year.

'Love Jihad' and religious conversion polarize in Modi's India Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:38 PM PDT By Rupam Jain Nair and Frank Jack Daniel HASAYAN India (Reuters) - Fired up and full of vitriol, Hindu activist Rajeshwar Singh is on a mission to end centuries of religious diversity in India, one conversion at a time. His voice echoing off the walls of a Protestant church across a narrow street, Singh railed against foreign faiths at an event last week to convert a Christian family to Hinduism in the rural town of Hasayan, 140 km (87 miles) south of Delhi. We will not let the conspiracy of church or mosque succeed in Bharat (India)," he said, standing in the family's front yard by a ritual fire lit to purify the poor, lower-caste converts. Emboldened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rise to power in May, leaders of his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have joined right-wing activists like Singh to openly declare India a nation of Hindus, posing a challenge to its multi-faith constitutional commitment.

'Beware of gangs' pope tells Salvadoran youth Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:53 PM PDT Pope Francis on Thursday warned adolescents in El Salvador to "beware of gangs" during a videoconference with youth in the violence-wracked country. Speaking to a 15-year-old boy and dozens of his classmates in the town of Soyapango outside San Salvador, the pope urged the youngsters to steer clear of the violent groups which are plaguing the Central American nation. Francis told Gerardo Ernesto Mancia and some 30 of his school mates to instead focus on their studies, sports and to cultivate an interest in culture. "Be very careful when there are groups that seek out destruction, who search for war, who don't know how to work on a team," the pope told the youngsters, warning in particular that they should "beware of gangs."

Jamaica doubles number of doping control officers Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:53 PM PDT KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaica's anti-doping agency has doubled the number of doping control officers on the Caribbean island that has produced the world's most dominant sprinters.

Peter Quillin vacates WBO middleweight title Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:49 PM PDT LOS ANGELES (AP) — Peter Quillin has vacated his WBO middleweight title, turning down a career-high payday to fight mandatory challenger Matt Korobov.

Report slams British oil firm 'corruption' in Africa's oldest park Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:46 PM PDT A British energy company made illicit payments and exploited civil violence in a bid to gain access to oil resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park, an international NGO said Thursday. London-based Soco International benefited from fear and violence during fighting by government and rebel forces as it sought access to Africa's oldest national park, according to the group Global Witness. In a report, the non-profit called on the oil giant to withdraw from the reserve, home to 3,000 species, including the endangered mountain gorillas immortalised in the film "Gorillas in the Mist".

Mistaken US bombing blamed on miscommunication Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:39 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A mistaken bombing in Afghanistan that killed five U.S. soldiers and one Afghan in June was caused by a series of avoidable miscommunications among air and ground forces, according to a military investigation report released Thursday.

Year after doping ban, Cilic reaches US Open semis Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:37 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — Marin Cilic wasn't allowed to play last year in the U.S. Open, forced to the sideline by a four-month doping suspension that he says he didn't deserve.

Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:32 PM PDT NEW DELHI (AP) — Promising to "storm your barricades with cars packed with gunpowder," al-Qaida announced Thursday it had created an Indian branch that the terror network vowed would bring Islamic rule to the entire subcontinent. The announcement by al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri brought few signs of increased security in India even after the government ordered states to be on alert. Instead, al-Zawahri's announcement by online video appeared directed more at his own rivals in the international jihad movement, analysts said.

NHC says 20 percent chance of cyclone near Cape Verde Islands Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:32 PM PDT (Reuters) - A tropical wave accompanied by a broad area of low pressure, located about 200 miles (322 km) east-southeast of the Cape Verde Islands, has a 20 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Thursday. "Some slow development of this disturbance is possible over the next several days while it moves westward at about 15 miles per hour," the Miami-based weather forecaster said. (Reporting by Koustav Samanta in Bangalore; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

World powers, Iran to meet in New York on September 18 Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:58 PM PDT Six world powers and Iran will hold new talks in New York on September 18, EU and US officials said Thursday, as efforts intensify toward clinching a nuclear deal by a November deadline. The talks will involve United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany and be led by European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, her spokesman Michael Mann said. US officials confirmed the talks would be held at the level of political directors, with the American side led by seasoned negotiator Under Secretary Wendy Sherman. State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said she expected the talks will "probably go until the end of the ministerial, the high-level, week" of the United Nations General Assembly.

Moeen Ali keen to follow India example Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:54 PM PDT England all-rounder Moeen Ali said watching India's Suresh Raina had encouraged him to maintain an attacking approach to batting in one-day internationals. Ali's 67 -- his team's first fifty of the series -- was the lone highlight for England in their nine-wicket thrashing by world champions India in Birmingham on Tuesday. The match marked Ali's series debut and his first ODI in England.

Hamilton uncertain of rules of combat Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:48 PM PDT Lewis Hamilton said he was uncertain about how hard he can race to beat Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg following the fallout from their Belgian crash as the pair tried to present a united front on Thursday. Briton Hamilton, who is 29 points behind Rosberg in the battle for the drivers' championship, was whimsical about how their collision had been handled by the sport's ruling body after the German had been punished by the team and later admitted responsibility and apologised. He said the decision of the International Motoring Federation (FIA) not to punish Rosberg had left him uncertain as to how they, and other drivers, can race hard against each other. "I think the FIA have a really tough job and particularly over the last couple of years they have done an exceptional job on a majority of the calls," Hamilton told an at times tense news conference where he and Rosberg flanked Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Boy charged in Detroit with street artist's death Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:36 PM PDT A 14-year-old boy was charged Thursday with first-degree murder and armed robbery in the fatal shooting of a French street artist whose body was discovered a year ago near an abandoned Detroit public housing project.

Timeline: BP oil spill litigation at a glance Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:30 PM PDT (Reuters) - BP Plc was found "grossly negligent" on Thursday by a federal judge in connection with its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The decision by U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans, who oversees litigation related to the disaster, is likely to boost the British oil company's costs emerging from the biggest offshore spill in U.S. history. * April 20, 2010 RIG EXPLODES: An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig at the Macondo exploration well kills 11 workers and releases millions of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The well is capped in mid-July. ...

Oil spill ruling knocks BP shares to worst one-day loss since 2010 Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:30 PM PDT BP shares were set for their worst one-day fall on Thursday since June 2010 after a judge in the United States said the oil major had been negligent in events leading up to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP was down by 6 percent at 454.35 pence going into the close of trading in London, making the stock the worst-performer on Britain's benchmark FTSE 100 index . BP's drop is poised to be the worst single-day percentage fall since June 2010, a particularly volatile month for its shares which were hit by the fallout from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico earlier that year. "Obviously the market's not taken it well and it was a little bit unexpected but you would expect BP to appeal the level of the fines, the decision made," said Manoj Ladwa, head of trading at TJM Partners.

BP says U.S. court yet to determine penalty Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:30 PM PDT BP said it will immediately appeal to the United States Court of Appeals as it believes the findings of the District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana were not supported by the evidence at trial. "The law is clear that proving gross negligence is a very high bar that was not met in this case. BP believes that an impartial view of the record does not support the erroneous conclusion reached by the District Court," it said. The District Court will hold additional proceedings, which are currently scheduled to begin in January 2015, to consider the application of statutory penalty factors in assessing a per-barrel Clean Water Act penalty," it said. It added that the Clean Water Act requires the District Court to consider a number of factors in determining an appropriate penalty. The statutory maximum penalty is $1,100 per barrel where the court finds simple negligence and $4,300 per barrel where the court finds gross negligence or willful misconduct.

Member of Cuba 5 says he's optimistic about deal Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:28 PM PDT HAVANA (AP) — A Cuban intelligence agent who spent more than 15 years in a United States prison said Thursday that he's optimistic that softening U.S. attitudes will lead to the liberation of three fellow agents who remain behind bars.

Martina Hingis returns to US Open doubles final Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:23 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — Martina Hingis will play in the U.S. Open women's doubles final for the first time since winning the 1998 title.

The defenders of Mariupol await their fate and the 'Russians' Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:18 PM PDT Mariupol (Ukraine) (AFP) - "Will the Russians come today or tomorrow?" That is what the men defending the southeastern port of Mariupol were thinking as world leaders sat down Thursday to hammer out a ceasefire to end months of bloody conflict in Ukraine. "Everyone can see what Putin says and what he does," said Dmytro Linkov, a commander in the pro-Kiev volunteer force, the Azov Battalion, on the barricades on the edge of the strategic city. Earlier in the afternoon his men were attacked on the eastern approaches to Mariupol by what he claimed were regular Russian troops, wounding at least one of them. Now, even as Kiev prepares for talks with rebels on Friday to end the conflict that has killed some 2,600 people, there are fears that pro-Moscow rebels reinforced by what the West claims are regular Russian military units, could be preparing for a possible attack.

Hurricane Norbert heads up Mexico's Pacific coast Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:16 PM PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Norbert scattered rain along Mexico's Pacific coast on Thursday as it headed for a brush with the Los Cabos resorts.

Brazilian court throws into question Rio 2016 golf Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:11 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — In a move to protect a nature reserve, a Brazilian court has proposed changes that throw into question the future of the golf course being built for the 2016 Olympics.

Australia PM to sign long-awaited nuclear fuel deal with India Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:00 PM PDT Australia's prime minister is due to sign a deal Friday allowing nuclear fuel exports to energy-hungry India, as he meets the country's new premier on a visit to boost economic ties. Tony Abbott, who flew into New Delhi late on Thursday after meeting business leaders in Mumbai, said the long-awaited agreement was a sign of "mutual trust" after a long-standing ban on uranium sales to India was lifted in 2012. The world's third biggest uranium producer, Australia had previously ruled out such exports to nuclear-armed India because it has not signed the global non-proliferation treaty. "India has an absolutely impeccable non-proliferation record and India has been a model international citizen," he told reporters in Mumbai.

Spain routs Serbia 89-73 to go 5-0 at World Cup Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:55 PM PDT GRANADA, Spain (AP) — Pau Gasol scored 20 points as Spain routed Serbia 89-73 to finish the group phase of the Basketball World Cup undefeated on Thursday and remain the United States' biggest challenger.

Spain's rebuilding off to bad start after 1-0 loss Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:56 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — Spain's rebuilding following its shambolic World Cup got off to a bad start, failing even to manage a shot on target as France coasted to a 1-0 win in their friendly on Thursday.

Stocks flat as oil drop offsets ECB stimulus Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:55 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — A slump in oil prices weighed on the stock market Thursday, pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its third straight loss.

ECB surprises with rate cuts, new stimulus plan Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:46 PM PDT FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European economy needs help. Most people didn't expect it would arrive quite this quickly.

Over 51,000 affected, 28 killed by Niger flooding: UN Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:44 PM PDT At least 28 people have been killed and more than 51,000 affected by flooding in Niger after heavy rains in June inundated swathes of the impoverished nation, the United Nations said Thursday. The weather has destroyed more than 4,500 homes and more than 250 acres (100 hectares) of fields and gardens, according to data from the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Niamey. Floods are an annual problem in Niger as seasonal rains often cause streams and rivers to burst their banks, sweeping away homes and destroying crops. Niger ranks at the bottom of the United Nations' Human Development Index, with more than 60 percent of the population living below the poverty line.

Ukraine's leader: Careful optimism on peace talks Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:41 PM PDT NEWPORT, Wales (AP) — Ukraine's president expressed "careful optimism" Thursday that a peace deal could be reached with Russian-backed separatists at their upcoming talks, even as he and NATO leaders agreed that Moscow should be punished for its role in the insurgency.

Top Asian News at 9:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:32 PM PDT NEW DELHI (AP) — Promising to "storm your barricades with cars packed with gunpowder," al-Qaida announced Thursday it had created an Indian branch that the terror network vowed would bring Islamic rule to the entire subcontinent. The announcement by al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri brought few signs of increased security in India even after the government ordered states to be on alert. Instead, al-Zawahri's announcement by online video appeared directed more at his own rivals in the international jihad movement, analysts said.

Mozambique rebel leader arrives in Maputo to cement peace deal Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:14 PM PDT Mozambican rebel leader Afonso Dhlakama came out of hiding Thursday, returning to Maputo in a symbolic end to a two-year conflict that has rekindled memories of a brutal civil war and spooked investors. An AFP reporter witnessed the Renamo leader touch down in the capital Maputo, flanked by foreign diplomats -- there as a guarantee of his safety -- ahead of a meeting to cement a peace deal with President Armando Guebuza Friday. "I want you all to vote Afonso Dhlakama, number one and number 2 Renamo!" he said in reference to the presidential and parliamentary vote. Dhlakama and his supporters staged a victory lap around the airport before making his way to the Renamo headquarters in Maputo escorted by a phalanx of armed guards.

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