Yahoo! News: World News

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• Islamic State captures Jordanian pilot after warplane crashes in Syria
• Russia says NATO turning Ukraine into 'frontline of confrontation'
• Baghdad's Christians gather defiantly for Christmas Eve mass
• Pope, on Christmas Eve, urges world to be open to God
• Suicide bomber kills 33 people south of Baghdad
• Out of tragedy, fortune for Sri Lankan tsunami village
• Top Asian News at 12:30 a.m. GMT
• Faithful flock to Bethlehem for Christmas
• Obama tees off in Hawaii with Malaysian leader
• US think tank proposes shake-up of Taiwan defense
• Mexico wants to ban nets, save endangered porpoise
• Prosecutors: No delayed start in marathon trial
• Spain: New king says corruption must be eliminated
• Burns to make debut batting 6th for Australia
• Central Michigan falls to Western Kentucky, 49-48
• Western Kentucky tops Central Michigan 49-48
• White Christmas expected in parts of U.S., rain elsewhere
• U.S. South menaced by storms as Mississippi cleans up from tornadoes
• Cuba relations with Catholic Church at high point
• North Korea: No 'physical reaction' to new film
• Peru evacuates remote village after indigenous attacks
• IS captures Jordanian pilot after plane crashes over Syria
• Text of Pope Francis' homily during Christmas Eve Mass
• Anger after latest police killing of black teen in US
• Priests march, protest attacks in southern Mexico
• Cavaliers' Varejao out for season with torn tendon
• Madagascar pardons five political prisoners after reconciliation
• Police deny two killed in Nicaragua canal protests
• Pope celebrates Christmas Eve Mass and calls Iraqi refugees
• Pope offers Christmas phone greetings to Iraqi refugees
• US removes Gambia from trade agreement
• 'Difficult' Ukraine talks end without new date agreement
• Gabon opposition figures summoned over deadly demonstration
• 10 years after tsunami, Indonesian family reborn
• Nicaragua moves to break highway blockade
• Islamic State extremists capture Jordanian pilot
• Pakistan to set up military courts for terrorism
• Rise of Brazil's ranching queen sparks green protests

Islamic State captures Jordanian pilot after warplane crashes in Syria Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:24 PM PST By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters took a Jordanian pilot prisoner after his warplane came down in northeast Syria on Wednesday, the first captive taken from the U.S.-led coalition battling the jihadi group. Jordan's armed forces said one of its pilots had been captured after a coalition air raid over the province of Raqqa. There were contradictory accounts as to whether his aircraft had been shot down or not. "Jordan holds the group (IS) and its supporters responsible for the safety of the pilot and his life," said a statement read out on state television. ...

Russia says NATO turning Ukraine into 'frontline of confrontation' Posted: 24 Dec 2014 04:03 AM PST By Thomas Grove MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday NATO was turning Ukraine into a "frontline of confrontation" and threatened to sever remaining ties with the Atlantic military alliance if Ukraine's hopes of joining it were realized. The Kiev parliament's renunciation of Ukraine's neutral status on Tuesday in pursuit of NATO membership has outraged Moscow and deepened the worst confrontation between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War. ...

Baghdad's Christians gather defiantly for Christmas Eve mass Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:13 PM PST By Saif Hameed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Baghdad's embattled Christian community worshipped defiantly Wednesday night at Christmas Eve mass. The pews filled at Baghdad's Sacred Heart church, as people remembered the darkest year in memory. Blast walls shielded the church and seven policeman flanked the outside of the house of worship, in an indication of the government's fear of an attack on the religious groups by jihadists who consider them non-believers. The congregation sang in unison: "Praise Jesus, our Lord. Oh praise him" as incense burnt in the darkened church. ...

Pope, on Christmas Eve, urges world to be open to God Posted: 24 Dec 2014 02:38 PM PST By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis ushered the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics into Christmas on Wednesday, urging them to allow God to enter their lives to help combat darkness and corruption. The 78-year-old Argentine pope led a solemn Christmas Eve Mass for thousands of people in St. Peter's Basilica. It is the second Christmas season for the pope, who was elected last year as the first non-European pontiff in 1,300 years. ...

Suicide bomber kills 33 people south of Baghdad Posted: 24 Dec 2014 02:10 AM PST BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed 33 people and wounded 55 others in Madaen, about 25 km (15 miles) south of Baghdad, on Wednesday, Iraqi police and medical officials said. The bomber blew himself up near a line of Sunni pro-government fighters waiting for their salaries, the officials said, adding they expected the toll to rise. The dead were mostly pro-government fighters, but included at least three soldiers. "The attacker was wearing an Iraqi army uniform, and an explosive vest packed with ball bearings," a police officer said. ...

Out of tragedy, fortune for Sri Lankan tsunami village Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:06 PM PST By Shihar Aneez SEENIGAMA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - As towering waves came crashing into the southern coast of Sri Lanka on Dec. 26, 2004, Kushil Gunasekera gathered up his children and they ran for their lives to a nearby temple, the highest point they could find. Returning later to his village in Seenigama district, he found a heart-breaking scene of death and devastation: one in four had been killed by the Boxing Day tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean. ...

Top Asian News at 12:30 a.m. GMT Posted: 24 Dec 2014 04:32 PM PST MEULABOH, Indonesia (AP) — It all started with a dream that led to a chance meeting: A girl who had been swept away by the Indian Ocean tsunami a decade ago. For three nights, the child's uncle said she visited him in his sleep. When he told the girl's mother, Jamaliah, it was hard to believe at first. The daughter was only 4 when a towering wave ripped her away with her 7-year-old brother, clinging to a board.

Faithful flock to Bethlehem for Christmas Posted: 24 Dec 2014 04:32 PM PST BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Several thousand Christian pilgrims on Wednesday flocked to the biblical town of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations at the traditional birthplace of Jesus, lifting spirits after a year of conflict and failed peace efforts.

Obama tees off in Hawaii with Malaysian leader Posted: 24 Dec 2014 04:22 PM PST KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii (AP) — President Barack Obama is adding a new player to his golf foursome: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

US think tank proposes shake-up of Taiwan defense Posted: 24 Dec 2014 04:14 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Fears of war between Taiwan and China have eased in recent years, but the growing gap in their military capabilities has prompted a U.S. think tank to lay out a radical new approach in how Taiwan could defend itself if China invaded, relying less on conventional forces and more on guerrilla-style tactics and cyberwarfare.

Mexico wants to ban nets, save endangered porpoise Posted: 24 Dec 2014 04:03 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities are proposing a $37 million plan to ban gillnet fishing in most of the upper Sea of Cortez to save the critically endangered vaquita marina, the world's smallest porpoise.

Prosecutors: No delayed start in marathon trial Posted: 24 Dec 2014 03:59 PM PST BOSTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors are opposing a request by lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to delay the start of his trial until September.

Spain: New king says corruption must be eliminated Posted: 24 Dec 2014 03:55 PM PST MADRID (AP) — Spain's new King Felipe VI insisted in his first Christmas Eve speech Wednesday that seemingly endless examples of corruption across the country incensing voters must be stamped out.

Burns to make debut batting 6th for Australia Posted: 24 Dec 2014 03:45 PM PST MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Joe Burns will make his test debut batting No. 6 for Australia in the third test match against India beginning Friday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Central Michigan falls to Western Kentucky, 49-48 Posted: 24 Dec 2014 03:43 PM PST NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — For Central Michigan, there was a comeback, a record, a miracle and a gamble.

Western Kentucky tops Central Michigan 49-48 Posted: 24 Dec 2014 03:41 PM PST NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Western Kentucky knows its defensive blunders on what became the final touchdown of the Bahamas Bowl will stay on highlight reels for a long, long time.

White Christmas expected in parts of U.S., rain elsewhere Posted: 24 Dec 2014 03:23 PM PST By Mark Guarino CHICAGO (Reuters) - Fresh snowfall was expected to bring a white Christmas to parts of the U.S. West, Midwest and the Appalachian Mountains, while other regions of the country would slog through rain and fog, the National Weather Service said on Wednesday. The forecast comes amid one of the busiest travel times of the year. The AAA travelers' association estimates that 98.6 million people, up 4 percent from last year, will travel more than 50 miles during the period from Tuesday to Jan. 4. ...

U.S. South menaced by storms as Mississippi cleans up from tornadoes Posted: 24 Dec 2014 02:33 PM PST By Emily Le Coz JACKSON, Miss. (Reuters) - Severe thunderstorms menaced the U.S. Southeast on Wednesday, with a small tornado and flooding reported in parts of North Carolina, while emergency workers in Mississippi surveyed damage from tornadoes that killed at least four people and injured 20. As the storms moved eastward on Christmas Eve, damaging wind gusts and possibly more tornadoes threatened northern Florida, parts of Georgia and the Carolinas, according to the National Weather Service. ...

Cuba relations with Catholic Church at high point Posted: 24 Dec 2014 02:29 PM PST HAVANA (AP) — Golden rays of tropical sunlight slant through the caved-in roof of Saint Thomas de Villanueva chapel, illuminating tiles graced by the faces of saints. Vandals shattered the stained-glass windows and scrawled their names on the thick walls during decades of frigid relations between the Roman Catholic Church and Cuba's communist government.

North Korea: No 'physical reaction' to new film Posted: 24 Dec 2014 02:18 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — North Korea says it likely will have no "physical reaction," just condemnation, to the release of the comedy film "The Interview," which depicts the assassination of leader Kim Jong Un.

Peru evacuates remote village after indigenous attacks Posted: 24 Dec 2014 02:13 PM PST An isolated Peruvian village in the Amazon rainforest that came under attack by indigenous people wielding bows and arrows is being evacuated by boat, authorities said Wednesday. Last week some 200 members of the Mashco-Piro ethnic group assaulted Monte Salvado, a small village near Peru's border with Brazil. The Mashco-Piro attacked twice, killing villagers' pets and livestock and carting off food, machetes, pots, pans and rope, according to the government. There were no reports of injuries but frightened villagers have since been sheltering in a lookout post, prompting authorities to evacuate Monte Salvado and the nearby village of Puerto Nuevo.

IS captures Jordanian pilot after plane crashes over Syria Posted: 24 Dec 2014 02:09 PM PST The Islamic State group captured a Jordanian pilot Wednesday after his warplane from the US-led coalition crashed while on a mission against the jihadists over Syria. A senior Jordanian military official said the pilot was taken hostage by the "IS terrorist organisation" in its northern stronghold region of Raqa. Both the jihadists and activists reporting to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the plane was hit by an anti-aircraft missile. US Central Command, the body overseeing the coalition air war over Iraq and Syria, gave no reason for the "crash", and confirmed IS militants had taken the lost jet's Jordanian pilot captive.

Text of Pope Francis' homily during Christmas Eve Mass Posted: 24 Dec 2014 02:01 PM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican's official English-language translation of Pope Francis' prepared homily, to be delivered in Italian, during Christmas Eve Mass on Wednesday in St. Peter's Basilica. Spelling and style are the Vatican's.

Anger after latest police killing of black teen in US Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:56 PM PST Officials scrambled to head off renewed anger Wednesday after an armed black teenager was shot dead by a white officer in a St Louis suburb, insisting the use of force was justified. The killing took place late Tuesday at a gas station in Berkeley, near Ferguson, Missouri -- ground zero of a protest movement over police killings of black men -- and triggered immediate demonstrations. Nationwide protests were sparked after unarmed black teenager Michael Brown was shot dead by a white officer in Ferguson, a mainly African American town with a mostly white police force. After several weeks, demonstrations gained momentum in reaction to several other killings of black suspects by police, including that of Eric Garner, who died in a chokehold in New York last July.

Priests march, protest attacks in southern Mexico Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:48 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — Dozens of Roman Catholic priests and hundreds of parishioners marched through the southern Mexico city of Ciudad Altamirano on Wednesday to demand the release of a kidnapped priest and protest a series of kidnappings, killings and robberies of priests.

Cavaliers' Varejao out for season with torn tendon Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:43 PM PST CLEVELAND (AP) — Anderson Varejao's season has ended, dealing a major blow to the Cavaliers' NBA title hopes.

Madagascar pardons five political prisoners after reconciliation Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:27 PM PST Madagascar's President Hery Rajaonarimampianina on Wednesday pardoned five political prisoners who had got stiff prison sentences for allegedly plotting against his predecessor, who took power in a coup. The five men bore allegiance to former president Marc Ravalomanana and were accused of plotting against the capital city's ex-mayor Andry Rajoelina, who ultimately toppled Ravalomanana. They include Ravalomanana's former military adviser Jean Heriniaina Raoelina, who was sentenced to life for the February 2009 massacre of Rajoelina's supporters in front of the presidential palace during riots that led to Ravalomanana's ouster.

Police deny two killed in Nicaragua canal protests Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:26 PM PST An opposition leader and activist had said earlier two protesters were killed at the demonstration against the expropriation of land by Chinese firm Hong Kong Nicaragua Development Investment (HKND) to build a massive canal. At least 21 people were injured and 33 arrested in violence during a police eviction of protesters, police director Aminta Granera said at a conference. Protest leader Eduardo Montealegre had told AFP he saw the bodies of two people, but police blocked protesters from approaching them. Protests followed the inauguration of the canal on Monday by President Daniel Ortega and Chinese billionaire Wang Jing.

Pope celebrates Christmas Eve Mass and calls Iraqi refugees Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:25 PM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis celebrated Christmas Eve with a late-night Mass Wednesday in St. Peter's Basilica and a phone call to some Iraqi refugees forced to flee their homes by Muslim militants.

Pope offers Christmas phone greetings to Iraqi refugees Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:23 PM PST Pope Francis spoke by telephone to Iraqis living in a displaced people's camp near the main Kurdish city Arbil on Wednesday, assuring them they were in his Christmas thoughts. The refugees were among those driven from their homes around Mosul last summer in an offensive by the jihadist Islamic State group (IS), and the pontiff used a satellite phone connection provided by Catholic channel TV 2000 to offer them his support. "The children and the elderly are in my heart," Francis also told the Iraqi refugees in the Ankawa camp, just hours before celebrating midnight mass in Saint Peter's basilica. This Christmas has been particularly difficult for the estimated 150,000 Christians displaced in Iraq, the Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako told AFP in Baghdad.

US removes Gambia from trade agreement Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:19 PM PST DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Activists have praised the U.S. government's decision to remove Gambia from a trade agreement in response to human rights abuses, including a law signed in October that imposes life imprisonment for some homosexual acts.

'Difficult' Ukraine talks end without new date agreement Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:17 PM PST Ukranian and rebel envoys concluded "difficult" marathon talks on Wednesday without agreeing the date of a new round aimed at ending the pro-Russian uprising devastating the ex-Soviet state's industrial east. The five-hour preliminary discussion in the Belarussian capital Minsk had been tentatively due to be followed by a second meeting on Friday at which a final accord was to be signed. "We had a difficult preliminary meeting," Donetsk separatist region mediator Denis Pushilin told a pro-rebel news site. Sharply contrasting visions of Ukraine's place in Europe and its system of government have been persistently blocking a solution to the eight-month-old war.

Gabon opposition figures summoned over deadly demonstration Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:06 PM PST Leaders of Gabon's political opposition were summoned for questioning Wednesday following violent weekend protests against President Ali Bongo Ondimba that left at least one person dead, an official said. The summons to appear before judicial authorities came four days after banned demonstrations in Libreville on Saturday erupted in violence between protesters and a large police deployment, resulting in scores of injuries, widespread property damage and around 100 arrests. Late Wednesday morning, a delegation of opposition leaders -- including Jean Eyeghe Ndong, the last premier of late Gabon president Omar Bongo Ondimba, and former African Union secretary general Jean Ping -- answered the judicial police summons for questioning.

10 years after tsunami, Indonesian family reborn Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:04 PM PST MEULABOH, Indonesia (AP) — It all started with a dream that led to a chance meeting: A girl who had been swept away by the Indian Ocean tsunami a decade ago.

Nicaragua moves to break highway blockade Posted: 24 Dec 2014 01:00 PM PST MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — National police special forces and soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets on Wednesday to clear a roadblock erected by residents in southern Nicaragua to protest a proposed transoceanic canal.

Islamic State extremists capture Jordanian pilot Posted: 24 Dec 2014 12:59 PM PST AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Islamic State militants captured a Jordanian pilot after his warplane crashed in Syria while carrying out airstrikes Wednesday, making him the first foreign military member to fall into the extremists' hands since an international coalition launched its bombing campaign against the group months ago.

Pakistan to set up military courts for terrorism Posted: 24 Dec 2014 12:59 PM PST ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's prime minister announced Thursday the country will set up special trial courts under the supervision of military officers to prosecute terrorism cases in the wake of the Taliban school massacre.

Rise of Brazil's ranching queen sparks green protests Posted: 24 Dec 2014 12:54 PM PST Brasília (AFP) - Before her husband died, Katia Abreu was a housewife who didn't know a cow from a bull. The post is a high-profile job in Brazil, the world's seventh-largest economy and an agricultural powerhouse. Abreu, the head of powerful industry group the Agriculture and Livestock Confederation of Brazil (CNA), won environmental group Greenpeace's "Golden Chainsaw" award in 2010 for her "contributions" to destroying the Amazon. Indigenous communities and Brazil's landless workers movement have accused her of trying to expand commercial farming at the expense of the environment.

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