Yahoo! News: World News

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• North Korea denies hacking Sony, U.S. stands by its assertion
• U.S. sends four Guantanamo prisoners home to Afghanistan
• Cuba says U.S. must respect its communist system
• Yazidis cheer Kurds on Iraqi mountain for breaking Islamic State siege
• Putin says Russia won't be intimidated over Crimea
• French police shoot dead knife-wielding man in police station
• North Korea proposes joint probe over Sony hacking
• New York police officers shot dead in Brooklyn
• Top Asian News at 12:30 a.m. GMT
• Egypt's powerful intelligence chief replaced
• US sends 4 Afghans back home from Guantanamo
• N. Korea proposes joint probe with US into Sony cyber attack
• French police kill 'Allahu Akbar' attacker
• Suarez finally scores, Messi nets 2 in Barca win
• AP source: US seeks China's help after cyberattack
• Sony saga blends foreign intrigue, star wattage
• U.N.'s Ban hails Obama for 'courageous' Cuba move
• Australia's walking wounded have extra day to heal
• Guimaraes stumbles 1-0 at Estoril in Portugal
• Roma held to 0-0 at home by 10-man AC Milan
• PSG draws 0-0 against Montpellier amid booing
• At least one killed in clashes at Gabon opposition rally
• Ancient clay seals may shed light on biblical era
• McCullum to bat in middle order against Sri Lanka
• Liberian voter turnout low as Ebola overshadows senate election
• Olympiakos thrashes Kalloni 5-0 to top Greece
• Latest developments on the US-Cuba story
• Ebola-ravaged Liberia holds long-delayed Senate vote
• Prosecutors: Fraudster used funds to freeze wife
• Raul Castro: Don't expect detente to change Cuban system
• French police shoot dead knife-wielding assailant
• Colombia rebels begin indefinite, unilateral ceasefire
• Kurds advance against IS group in Syria, Iraq
• Kenya to US: Our terror laws are better than yours
• Scottish prosecutor reaffirms Lockerbie bomber's guilt
• Greek polls show anti-bailout leftists still ahead but lead slips
• Egypt's Sisi meets Qatari envoy as ties thaw
• Chen survives scare to make Superseries final
• Sudan postpones elections by 11 days: electoral body

North Korea denies hacking Sony, U.S. stands by its assertion Posted: 20 Dec 2014 03:11 PM PST By Jack Kim and Steve Holland SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea said on Saturday U.S. accusations that it was involved in a cyberattack on Sony Pictures were "groundless slander," and that it wanted a joint investigation into the incident with the United States. An unnamed spokesman of North Korea's foreign ministry said there would be serious consequences if Washington refused to agree to the probe and continued to accuse Pyongyang, according to the North Korean U.N. mission and its official KCNA news agency. ...

U.S. sends four Guantanamo prisoners home to Afghanistan Posted: 20 Dec 2014 09:16 AM PST By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four Afghans held for over a decade at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been sent home, the Pentagon said on Saturday, the latest step in a gradual push by the Obama administration to close the jail. The men were flown to Kabul overnight aboard a U.S. military plane and released to Afghan authorities, the first such transfer of its kind to the war-torn country since 2009. With the repatriation of the four Afghans, Guantanamo's detainee population has been whittled down to 132. ...

Cuba says U.S. must respect its communist system Posted: 20 Dec 2014 10:29 AM PST By Daniel Trotta HAVANA (Reuters) - President Raul Castro demanded on Saturday that the United States respect Cuba's communist rule as the two countries work to restore diplomatic ties, and warned that Cuban-American exiles might try to sabotage the rapprochement. U.S. President Barack Obama this week reset Washington's Cold War-era policy on Cuba and the two countries swapped prisoners in a historic deal after 18 months of secret talks. Cubans have treated the end of open U.S. hostility as a triumph, especially the release of three Cuban intelligence agents who served long U.S. ...

Yazidis cheer Kurds on Iraqi mountain for breaking Islamic State siege Posted: 20 Dec 2014 01:06 PM PST By Isabel Coles SINJAR MOUNTAIN, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdish fighters flashed victory signs as they swept across the northern side of Sinjar mountain on Saturday, two days after breaking through to free hundreds of Yazidis trapped there for months by Islamic State fighters. A Reuters correspondent, who arrived on the mountain late Saturday, witnessed Kurdish and Yazidi fighters celebrating their gains after launching their offensive on Wednesday with heavy U.S. air support. The Iraqi Kurdish flag fluttered, with its yellow sun, and celebratory gunfire rang out. ...

Putin says Russia won't be intimidated over Crimea Posted: 20 Dec 2014 07:59 AM PST By Vladimir Soldatkin MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will not be intimidated over its actions in Ukraine and Crimea, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday as his foreign ministry warned that it was preparing to retaliate against fresh Western sanctions. Both the European Union and United States adopted tighter restrictions on investments in Crimea this week, while Canada rachetted up its own sanctions directed at Moscow. ...

French police shoot dead knife-wielding man in police station Posted: 20 Dec 2014 11:48 AM PST PARIS (Reuters) - French police on Saturday shot dead a man shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is the greatest") who stabbed and wounded three officers in a police station, authorities said. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, who rushed to the scene, said the man was killed after he attacked the policemen with a knife in a station in Joue-les-Tours, a suburb of the city of Tours in central France. Cazeneuve confirmed the attacker had shouted "Allahu Akbar" during the attack, which he said was "extremely violent". ...

North Korea proposes joint probe over Sony hacking Posted: 20 Dec 2014 04:40 PM PST SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea proposed a joint investigation with the U.S. into the hacking attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment, warning of "serious" consequences if Washington rejects a probe that it believes would prove Pyongyang had nothing to do with the cyberattack.

New York police officers shot dead in Brooklyn Posted: 20 Dec 2014 04:38 PM PST Two New York police officers were shot dead in broad daylight Saturday as they sat in a patrol car by an assailant who then killed himself, officials and reports said. The shootings, just days before Christmas, follow weeks of protests condemning a series of deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of white police officers and decisions by grand juries not to prosecute those responsible. The two officers were shot at 2:50 pm (1950 GMT) at the corner of Myrtle and Tompkins avenues in Brooklyn's gentrifying neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, police spokesman Sergeant Lee Jones told AFP. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and police commissioner Bill Bratton were due to later hold a press conference at Brooklyn's Woodhull Hospital, where local media reported that the two officers died.

Top Asian News at 12:30 a.m. GMT Posted: 20 Dec 2014 04:32 PM PST PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — One of the gravediggers at Peshawar's largest graveyard has a rule. He says he never cries when he buries the dead. He's a professional, he says. But as the dead bodies — mostly children — started coming in from a school massacre this week that killed 148 people, he began to weep.

Egypt's powerful intelligence chief replaced Posted: 20 Dec 2014 04:01 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's powerful intelligence chief, a longtime mentor of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, was removed and replaced by his deputy, security officials said Saturday

US sends 4 Afghans back home from Guantanamo Posted: 20 Dec 2014 03:59 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon said Saturday that four Afghans from the Guantanamo Bay detention center have been returned to their home country in what U.S. officials are citing as a sign of their confidence in new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

N. Korea proposes joint probe with US into Sony cyber attack Posted: 20 Dec 2014 03:33 PM PST North Korea called Saturday for a joint investigation with the US into a crippling cyber attack on Sony Pictures, denouncing Washington's "slandering" after President Barack Obama warned Pyongyang of retaliation. The US blames the isolated state for the hacking which prompted the cancellation of the Christmas Day release of "The Interview", a madcap romp about a CIA plot to kill leader Kim Jong-Un which infuriated North Korea. Mark Stroh, a National Security Council spokesman, Saturday reiterated the White House's confidence that North Korea was behind the attack on Sony, adding, "if the North Korean government wants to help, they can admit their culpability and compensate Sony for the damages this attack caused".

French police kill 'Allahu Akbar' attacker Posted: 20 Dec 2014 03:28 PM PST Joué-lès-Tours (France) (AFP) - French police on Saturday shot dead a knife-wielding man who attacked three officers in a police station while shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great"). The man wounded one officer's face at the entrance to the police station in Joue-les-Tours near the central city of Tours and injured two others before he was killed. The attacker "shouted 'Allahu Akbar' from the moment he entered until his last breath," the source said. "It looked like the sort of act called for by Islamic State," the source said.

Suarez finally scores, Messi nets 2 in Barca win Posted: 20 Dec 2014 03:16 PM PST BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Luis Suarez's long wait for a goal in the Spanish league finally ended when he added to Lionel Messi's brace to give Barcelona a 5-0 win over Cordoba on Saturday.

AP source: US seeks China's help after cyberattack Posted: 20 Dec 2014 03:12 PM PST HONOLULU (AP) — The United States is asking China for help as it weighs potential responses to a cyberattack against Sony Pictures Entertainment that the U.S. has blamed on North Korea.

Sony saga blends foreign intrigue, star wattage Posted: 20 Dec 2014 03:09 PM PST LOS ANGELES (AP) — The hackers who hit Sony Pictures Entertainment days before Thanksgiving crippled the network, stole gigabytes of data and spilled into public view unreleased films and reams of private and sometimes embarrassing executive emails.

U.N.'s Ban hails Obama for 'courageous' Cuba move Posted: 20 Dec 2014 02:52 PM PST BAMAKO (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon praised U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday for what he called courage and vision in renewing ties with Cuba and said he had asked Washington to pursue such a course. Cuban President Raul Castro also demonstrated leadership in reciprocating the opening, Ban said. Obama announced on Wednesday that the United States would renew diplomatic relations it severed 50 years ago, and expand commercial ties with the communist-ruled island. ...

Australia's walking wounded have extra day to heal Posted: 20 Dec 2014 02:37 PM PST BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australia's four-day defeat of India in the second test gave the cricketers extra time for holiday shopping. And for the home side's various injuries to heal ahead of the third test which begins on Friday in Melbourne.

Guimaraes stumbles 1-0 at Estoril in Portugal Posted: 20 Dec 2014 02:28 PM PST LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Kleber scored in the 74th minute to give Estoril a 1-0 win at home over Guimaraes in the Portuguese league on Saturday.

Roma held to 0-0 at home by 10-man AC Milan Posted: 20 Dec 2014 02:27 PM PST Roma was held to a goalless draw at home by 10-man AC Milan as its Serie A title ambition took a blow in the final round of the year on Saturday.

PSG draws 0-0 against Montpellier amid booing Posted: 20 Dec 2014 02:14 PM PST Paris Saint-Germain was booed at home in its last match of the year after the defending French league champion was held to a goalless draw by Montpellier on Saturday.

At least one killed in clashes at Gabon opposition rally Posted: 20 Dec 2014 02:05 PM PST A student was killed in clashes at an opposition rally in Gabon's capital, where police fired tear gas to disperse protesters demanding the resignation of President Ali Bongo Ondimba. At least 20 people were arrested in scuffles between police and demonstrators, an AFP journalist saw. Public prosecutor Sidonie Flore Ouwe, who told reporters shops "were ransacked" and cars set on fire in the unrest, confirmed that a 30-year-old male student was killed in the clashes. Security forces were out in large numbers Saturday to prevent hundreds of demonstrators from gathering at Libreville's Rio Intersection for a rally that had been outlawed by the interior ministry the day before.

Ancient clay seals may shed light on biblical era Posted: 20 Dec 2014 01:54 PM PST Impressions from ancient clay seals found at a small site in Israel east of Gaza are signs of government in an area thought to be entirely rural during the 10th century B.C., says Mississippi State University archaeologist James W. Hardin.

McCullum to bat in middle order against Sri Lanka Posted: 20 Dec 2014 01:43 PM PST WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Captain Brendon McCullum will return to the middle order in the New Zealand cricket team which will play Sri Lanka in the first of two test matches at Christchurch from Friday.

Liberian voter turnout low as Ebola overshadows senate election Posted: 20 Dec 2014 01:42 PM PST By James Harding Giahyue MONROVIA (Reuters) - Turnout for Liberian parliamentary elections on Saturday appeared to be low as concerns about Ebola kept many voters at home. Polling stations were largely empty after voting began at 8 a.m. (3.00 a.m. ET) in the seafront capital Monrovia, with voters occasionally drifting in, despite precautions put in place by the National Elections Commission (NEC). Staff with temperature guns at polling stations checked voters for any signs of the hemorrhagic fever, which is spread via bodily fluids. ...

Olympiakos thrashes Kalloni 5-0 to top Greece Posted: 20 Dec 2014 01:38 PM PST ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A 15-minute, four-goal spree by Olympiakos midway through the second half turned a fragile 1-0 lead into a 5-0 rout for the defending champion over host Kalloni in the Greek league on Saturday.

Latest developments on the US-Cuba story Posted: 20 Dec 2014 01:29 PM PST NOT SO FAST

Ebola-ravaged Liberia holds long-delayed Senate vote Posted: 20 Dec 2014 01:21 PM PST Liberians voted Saturday in long-delayed Senate elections in the Ebola-ravaged west African nation as UN chief Ban Ki-moon wound up a regional tour to assess the fight against the epidemic. In nearby Guinea, where the UN chief staged a one-day Saturday before heading to Mali, violence broke out in southern Kissidougou when hundreds of youngsters went on the rampage against an Ebola health centre set up by Doctors Without Borders (MSF). In Liberia, the vote for 15 of the 30 seats in the upper house of parliament had been postponed twice already since October as the epidemic swept the impoverished nation. More than 3,340 people have now died from Ebola in Liberia, making it the country with the highest number of fatalities in the current outbreak, followed by Sierra Leone and Guinea.

Prosecutors: Fraudster used funds to freeze wife Posted: 20 Dec 2014 01:20 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors say a financial fraudster used backers' money to have his wife's body cryogenically frozen before fleeing New York for South America.

Raul Castro: Don't expect detente to change Cuban system Posted: 20 Dec 2014 01:17 PM PST HAVANA (AP) — Cuban President Raul Castro sent a blunt message to Washington Saturday as the White House works to reverse a half-century of hostility between the U.S. and Cuba: Don't expect detente to do away with the communist system.

French police shoot dead knife-wielding assailant Posted: 20 Dec 2014 01:13 PM PST PARIS (AP) — Officials say a man armed with a knife has attacked a police station and been killed by an officer in a suburb of Tours, a city in central France.

Colombia rebels begin indefinite, unilateral ceasefire Posted: 20 Dec 2014 01:10 PM PST Leftist rebels in Colombia began a unilateral ceasefire Saturday hailed as a key step in peace negotiations -- but uncertainty marred the truce, which the guerrillas threatened to break if attacked by the army. "Today, the FARC's unilateral and indefinite ceasefire began. I hope it will turn into a bilateral and final ceasefire, and we can put an end to a war that's lasted more than 50 years," President Juan Manuel Santos said at a ceremony in La Guajira in the country's northeast. Santos, who earlier had called the ceasefire "a positive gesture that goes in the right direction," added that he hoped the move would facilitate ongoing peace talks in Havana.

Kurds advance against IS group in Syria, Iraq Posted: 20 Dec 2014 01:07 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Kurdish fighters advanced on the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq and Syria on Saturday, pushing into the contested, refugee-packed Sinjar mountains and gaining ground in the embattled Syrian border town of Kobani after heavy clashes, Kurdish officials and an activist group said.

Kenya to US: Our terror laws are better than yours Posted: 20 Dec 2014 01:06 PM PST NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An official in Kenya is criticizing the United States for raising concerns about a new Kenyan law aimed at fighting terrorism.

Scottish prosecutor reaffirms Lockerbie bomber's guilt Posted: 20 Dec 2014 12:30 PM PST London (AFP) - Scotland's leading prosecutor on Saturday reaffirmed the guilt of Libyan Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi over the bombing of a Pan Am jet over the town of Lockerbie 26 years ago, killing 270 people.

Greek polls show anti-bailout leftists still ahead but lead slips Posted: 20 Dec 2014 12:22 PM PST ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's radical leftist Syriza party would beat the ruling conservatives if an election were held now but its lead has shrunk from last month, two opinion polls showed on Saturday. A survey by Rass for Sunday's Eleftheros Typos newspaper, conducted on Dec. 17-18 after Greek lawmakers failed to elect a president in a first-round vote, showed support for Syriza at 27.1 percent versus 23.7 percent for Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's New Democracy. Syriza's lead of 3.4 percentage points was down from 5.3 points in a Rass poll in November. ...

Egypt's Sisi meets Qatari envoy as ties thaw Posted: 20 Dec 2014 12:20 PM PST Egypt said Saturday it aims to end differences with Qatar as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who ousted his Doha-backed Islamist predecessor met with an envoy from the Gulf emirate. Ties between Cairo and Doha deteriorated after then army chief Sisi ousted Mohamed Morsi, whose Muslim Brotherhood movement was backed by Qatar. Since Morsi's ouster in July last year, a crackdown overseen by Sisi against the Brotherhood has left hundreds dead. Qatar repeatedly denounced Sisi's ouster of Morsi and it still provides shelter for some Brotherhood leaders who fled Egypt.

Chen survives scare to make Superseries final Posted: 20 Dec 2014 12:19 PM PST China's world champion and tournament top seed Chen Long survived a scare against India's Kidambi Srikanth on his way to the men's final at the World Superseries finals on Saturday. Srikanth, India's remaining hope in the competition and the 2014 China Open winner, raced to a 16-10 lead in the first game before Chen found his rhythm, eventually running out the winner 21-18, 21-9. "I was slow to get into the match and Srikanth was showing skills that I'm not familiar with so it took me a while to figure out how to play him," explained the 25-year-old Chinese star. Chen will now meet Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark, who overcame a 0-5 head-to-head record to defeat his countryman Jan O Jorgensen in the other semi-final, 21-11, 21-17.

Sudan postpones elections by 11 days: electoral body Posted: 20 Dec 2014 12:16 PM PST Sudan's electoral body said on Saturday it had postponed elections planned for next year by 11 days to April 13, without giving reasons for the decision. Voters had been due to head to the polls on April 2 to elect the president, members of parliament and state governors. "All the election process will be delayed for 11 days," National Electoral Commission chief Mukhtar al-Assam told AFP by phone. It also remains unclear whether polling for state governors will take place as President Omar al-Bashir suggested a constitutional amendment last month that would allow people to be appointed to the posts, rather than elected.

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