Yahoo! News: World News

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• Islamic State says it has beheaded second Japanese hostage Goto
• Ukraine peace talks collapse, Kiev and separatists trade blame
• Chad army says kills 120 Boko Haram militants in Cameroon
• U.S. general says Syrian town of Kobani taken from Islamic State
• Suspected U.S. drone strike kills al Qaeda militants in Yemen
• Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian in the West Bank
• Kerry: 'Enormous interest' in new relationship with Cuba
• Obama condemns killing of Japanese journalist by IS
• Teen Ko loses title but takes historic top ranking
• IS claims beheading of second Japanese captive
• Top Asian News at 12:30 a.m. GMT
• Scotland's Laird stretches lead at Phoenix Open
• 3 men shot in Afghanistan worked for US firm
• Video: Islamic State group beheads Japanese journalist
• Greek leader tamps down rhetoric, vows to pay off debts
• Obama condemns Islamic State's 'heinous murder' of Japanese hostage
• Islamic State video of Goto killing appears genuine: Japan government
• Win 'almost a miracle' says Equatorial Guinea coach
• British PM condemns apparent Japanese IS hostage murder
• Los Angeles female-only mosque may be first in US
• Ex-spy chief wanted in Colombia for wiretaps surrenders
• Airport authorities: Traveler beats homeless man with chair
• Benzema nets 2 as Madrid beats Sociedad 4-1 without Ronaldo
• A million rare documents damaged in Moscow library blaze
• Title-chasing Roma held to 1-1 by Empoli in Serie A
• Framing ties with Russia in a 'post' post-Cold War era
• Museum, hospital collaborate in scan of mummified remains
• Montreal blocks 'radical' imam's community center
• Benfica beats Boavista 3-0 to increase lead in Portugal
• Banned 'no angel' Costa protests innocence
• Equatorial Guinea stun Tunisia to reach semis
• Bahrain strips 72 of citizenship after unrest
• Japan 'indignant' over purported video of hostage beheading
• Chile's president pushes to ease ban on all abortions
• Paris, Rabat put differences aside, resume judicial cooperation
• Japan expresses indignation of 'despicable terrorist act' at purported IS video of beheading
• Japan self-censors images, words linked to hostage crisis
• Islamic State fighters admit defeat in Syrian town of Kobani

Islamic State says it has beheaded second Japanese hostage Goto Posted: 31 Jan 2015 03:51 PM PST By Sylvia Westall and William Mallard BEIRUT/TOKYO (Reuters) - Islamic State militants said on Saturday they had beheaded a second Japanese hostage, journalist Kenji Goto, after the failure of international efforts to secure his release through a prisoner swap. The hardline Islamist group, which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq, released a video which seemed to show the beheaded body of Goto and threatened further attacks on Japanese targets. Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said the video appeared to be genuine. Islamic State had said Goto, 47, was held along with a Jordanian pilot.

Ukraine peace talks collapse, Kiev and separatists trade blame Posted: 31 Jan 2015 11:44 AM PST By Andrei Makhovsky and Richard Balmforth MINSK/KIEV (Reuters) - Peace talks on Ukraine collapsed on Saturday after just over four hours with no tangible progress towards a new ceasefire but with Ukraine's representative and separatist envoys angrily accusing each other of sabotaging the meeting. Ukraine's representative, former president Leonid Kuchma, left the talks in Minsk, Belarus, telling Interfax news agency that separatist officials had undermined the meeting by making ultimatums and refusing "to discuss a plan of measures for a quick ceasefire and a pull-back of heavy weapons". Denis Pushilin, one of the separatist officials, told the Russian news agency RIA that they were ready for dialogue "but not ready for ultimatums from Kiev while shelling by their forces is going on in the background of towns in the Donbass (industrialised eastern Ukraine)". The meeting of the "contact group", which also involves a Russian envoy and an official from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, took place in the Belarussian capital even as fighting between Kiev's forces and the Russian-backed rebels raged on in Ukraine's east, claiming more civilian and military lives.

Chad army says kills 120 Boko Haram militants in Cameroon Posted: 31 Jan 2015 03:10 PM PST N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chadian forces have killed 120 militants from Boko Haram in a battle in the north of neighbouring Cameroon that began when the insurgents attacked its troops, the army said in a statement on Saturday, adding that three of its soldiers were killed. Boko Haram has recently launched cross-border attacks from Nigeria into Cameroon and Chad as part of its five-year drive for an Islamist state in the northeast of Nigeria. Chad and Cameroon have stepped up troop deployments to fight the militants and on Saturday Chad's army said it bombarded Boko Haram militants.

U.S. general says Syrian town of Kobani taken from Islamic State Posted: 31 Jan 2015 12:14 PM PST Kurdish ground forces, helped by U.S. and allied air support, have retaken the Syrian town of Kobani from Islamic State militants, U.S. Lieutenant-General James Terry said on Saturday. Supporting what Kurdish forces said earlier this week, Terry, commander of the Combined Joint Task Force that has been leading air strikes against Islamic State, said in a statement issued by the U.S. military: "Kurdish ground forces, supported by our air component, were successful in retaking the town of Kobani." A monitoring group and Syrian state media reported Kurdish fighters took full control of Kobani on Monday, but on Tuesday a U.S. official said the town on the Turkish border had not been fully retaken.

Suspected U.S. drone strike kills al Qaeda militants in Yemen Posted: 31 Jan 2015 01:37 PM PST A suspected U.S. drone strike on a car in Yemen killed three men believed to be al Qaeda militants on Saturday and possibly another drone crashed in a different part of the country, residents said. The incidents suggest there has been no let up in the U.S. stealth programme against suspected militants despite the resignation of the president who backed the programme. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is considered one of the most powerful branches of the global militant group and claimed responsibility for deadly shootings in Paris on Jan. 7. For years, the United States has cooperated with Yemeni security forces to track and bomb AQAP members in the country's rural badlands - a strategy that rights groups have criticised for causing repeated civilian deaths.

Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian in the West Bank Posted: 31 Jan 2015 11:43 AM PST Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian on Saturday in the occupied West Bank, the military and a Palestinian security official said. An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers saw two Palestinians throwing a fire bomb towards a road near the Palestinian city of Nablus and "identifying an immediate threat shot toward the suspects' lower extremities". A Palestinian security source said one of the Palestinians shot by the soldiers was killed, but gave no further details. The Israeli military said it was searching for the second man.

Kerry: 'Enormous interest' in new relationship with Cuba Posted: 31 Jan 2015 04:44 PM PST BOSTON (AP) — North America has an "enormous interest" in building diplomatic relationships with Cuba, Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday during a weekend meeting with his counterparts from Canada and Mexico.

Obama condemns killing of Japanese journalist by IS Posted: 31 Jan 2015 04:40 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is calling the killing of a Japanese journalist by an Islamic State militant a "heinous murder" and declaring that the United States stands in solidarity with the Japanese people in denouncing a "barbaric act."

Teen Ko loses title but takes historic top ranking Posted: 31 Jan 2015 04:38 PM PST New Zealand teen star Lydia Ko became golf's youngest-ever world number one Saturday even though she only settled for a share of second at the season-opening LPGA Coates Championship. "It's a big honor to be the world number one," Ko said. Ko eclipsed the age marks of South Korean Shin Ji-Yai, who was the youngest prior women's world number one at age 22 in 2010, and US star Tiger Woods, who was 21 when he ascended to number one for the first time in 1997. "Tiger Woods, he's amazing," Ko said.

IS claims beheading of second Japanese captive Posted: 31 Jan 2015 04:34 PM PST The Islamic State group said in a video Saturday it had beheaded a second Japanese hostage, drawing outrage from Tokyo and condemnation from Washington. Japanese journalist Kenji Goto is seen kneeling next to a standing masked man who speaks with a British accent and blames the Japanese government for his "slaughter". The executioner addresses Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, saying the murder of Goto would mark the beginning of "the nightmare for Japan". Goto's killing, he said, was the result of "reckless" decisions by the Japanese government.

Top Asian News at 12:30 a.m. GMT Posted: 31 Jan 2015 04:33 PM PST TOKYO (AP) — Japan condemned with outrage and horror on Sunday an online video that purported to show an Islamic State group militant beheading Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. The video posted on militant websites late Saturday Middle East time ended days of negotiations to save the man and heightened fears for the life of a Jordanian fighter pilot also held hostage.

Scotland's Laird stretches lead at Phoenix Open Posted: 31 Jan 2015 04:29 PM PST Scotsman Martin Laird fired a three-under par 68 and stretched his PGA Phoenix Open lead to three shots despite a charge from Japan's Hideki Matsuyama in Saturday's third round. Laird, who began the day with a two-shot cushion, fired six birdies against three bogeys to stand on 13-under 200 after 54 holes with Matsuyama, who fired a bogey-free 63 sharing second on 203 with Americans Brooks Koepka and Zach Johnson. Spanish amateur Jon Rahm shared fifth on 204 with Americans Justin Thomas and Ryan Palmer.

3 men shot in Afghanistan worked for US firm Posted: 31 Jan 2015 04:25 PM PST FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (AP) — A North Carolina-based firm says it employed the three military contractors who were shot to death earlier this week in Afghanistan.

Video: Islamic State group beheads Japanese journalist Posted: 31 Jan 2015 04:17 PM PST TOKYO (AP) — Japan condemned with outrage and horror on Sunday an online video that purported to show an Islamic State group militant beheading Japanese journalist Kenji Goto.

Greek leader tamps down rhetoric, vows to pay off debts Posted: 31 Jan 2015 03:55 PM PST ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A day after Greece appeared on a collision course with its creditors, new radical left Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has tamped down the rhetoric by vowing to pay off debts and not act unilaterally.

Obama condemns Islamic State's 'heinous murder' of Japanese hostage Posted: 31 Jan 2015 03:42 PM PST U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday condemned the "heinous murder" of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto by Islamic State militants and vowed that the United States would continue its actions to destroy the hardline Islamist group. "The United States condemns the heinous murder of Japanese citizen and journalist Kenji Goto by the terrorist group ISIL," Obama said in a statement released by the White House, using an acronym for the Islamic State group, which released a video on Saturday appearing to show the beheading of Goto. "Standing together with a broad coalition of allies and partners, the United States will continue taking decisive action to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL," Obama added.

Islamic State video of Goto killing appears genuine: Japan government Posted: 31 Jan 2015 03:41 PM PST TOKYO (Reuters) - A video purporting to show the beheading of Japanese journalist Kenji Goto by Islamic State militants appears genuine, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said on Sunday. Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department reported to a meeting of ministers from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government that the video "has a high degree of credibility," Nakatani told reporters. (Reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo; Writing by William Mallard)

Win 'almost a miracle' says Equatorial Guinea coach Posted: 31 Jan 2015 03:38 PM PST Esteban Becker refused to get into a debate about the referee after his Equatorial Guinea side beat Tunisia 2-1 after extra time in a contoversial Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final on Saturday. The tournament hosts trailed heading into injury time in Bata, only to win a soft penalty for a foul on Ivan Bolado by Hamza Mathlouthi. Javier Balboa converted from the spot and then netted a wonderful free-kick in extra time to take Equatorial Guinea through 2-1. "Tunisia played very well.

British PM condemns apparent Japanese IS hostage murder Posted: 31 Jan 2015 03:32 PM PST British Prime Minister David Cameron Saturday condemned as "appalling" the purported killing of a Japanese hostage after the Islamic State (IS) group released a video. "I utterly condemn what appears to be the despicable and appalling murder of Kenji Goto," Cameron said in a statement. A masked man with a British accent is shown in the video blaming the Japanese government for Goto's "slaughter". Cameron added that Japan was "right not to bow to terrorism" following the killing of Goto and another Japanese citizen, Haruna Yukawa.

Los Angeles female-only mosque may be first in US Posted: 31 Jan 2015 03:30 PM PST LOS ANGELES (AP) — A downtown Los Angeles mosque that forbids men from attending may be the first of its kind in the United States.

Ex-spy chief wanted in Colombia for wiretaps surrenders Posted: 31 Jan 2015 03:11 PM PST BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The former head of Colombia's intelligence agency ended several years on the run and surrendered to face charges of spying on opponents of former President Alvaro Uribe.

Airport authorities: Traveler beats homeless man with chair Posted: 31 Jan 2015 03:09 PM PST NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) — A Guatemalan man who remained at Newark Liberty International Airport after missing two flights faced numerous charges Saturday for allegedly beating a homeless man with a chair as the man was sleeping.

Benzema nets 2 as Madrid beats Sociedad 4-1 without Ronaldo Posted: 31 Jan 2015 03:04 PM PST BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Karim Benzema scored twice as Real Madrid brushed off an early goal and thrashed Real Sociedad 4-1 without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo, ensuring it remained top of the Spanish league on Saturday.

A million rare documents damaged in Moscow library blaze Posted: 31 Jan 2015 03:02 PM PST The blaze, which started Friday and was still not completely out on Saturday evening, ravaged 2,000 square metres (21,500 square feet) of the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences (INION) in Moscow, which was created in 1918 and holds 10 million documents with some dating back to the 16th century. This is the largest collection of its kind in the world, probably equivalent to the (United States) Library of Congress," Vladimir Fortov, president of the Russian Academy of Sciences was quoted as saying by Russia press agencies. The fire broke out on Friday evening on the library's second floor and continued burning all day Saturday despite 200 firefighters' efforts to douse the blaze.

Title-chasing Roma held to 1-1 by Empoli in Serie A Posted: 31 Jan 2015 02:52 PM PST MILAN (AP) — Title-chasing Roma was held to 1-1 at home by relegation-threatened Empoli on Saturday and looks set to lose more ground on Serie A leader Juventus.

Framing ties with Russia in a 'post' post-Cold War era Posted: 31 Jan 2015 02:51 PM PST Whatever happened to that reset button Hillary Clinton gave her Russian counterpart in 2009 as a sign of renewed ties? No doubt gathering dust, while the West figures out how to handle Moscow now. As the war in Ukraine goes from bad to worse, with more than 5,100 dead in nine months, the United States and its EU partners are pondering what to do about Russia and its President Vladimir Putin, who doesn't seem ready to blink yet in an escalating game of chicken. "We face a dual challenge to overcome the immediate threat... along the borders, especially of Ukraine," veteran US diplomat Henry Kissinger, who steered the opening up of China, told lawmakers this week.

Museum, hospital collaborate in scan of mummified remains Posted: 31 Jan 2015 02:49 PM PST CINCINNATI (AP) — Museum officials in Ohio hope medical scans will reveal more about the mummified remains of a child that may have lived over 500 years ago in Peru.

Montreal blocks 'radical' imam's community center Posted: 31 Jan 2015 02:40 PM PST Mayor Denis Coderre cited safety considerations as he explained the decision to deny permits for Hamza Chaoui's proposed center. Though he had not yet applied for permits, Chaoui announced on Facebook on January 14 that the Muslim community would benefit from a new religious center where young people could study. Quebec Public Security Minister Lise Theriault said Muslim residents at the site of the proposed center told her he is not welcome there.

Benfica beats Boavista 3-0 to increase lead in Portugal Posted: 31 Jan 2015 02:39 PM PST LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Benfica beat Boavista 3-0 at home on Saturday to increase its overnight lead of the Portuguese league to nine points.

Banned 'no angel' Costa protests innocence Posted: 31 Jan 2015 02:32 PM PST Chelsea striker Diego Costa accepted he was "no angel" but insisted he had not done anything wrong in the incident that led to him receiving a three-match ban. The 26-year-old was suspended for three games by the Football Association, after being found guilty of violent conduct when it was ruled he had deliberately stamped on the ankle of Liverpool's Emre Can during Chelsea's League Cup semi-final leg victory on Tuesday. Costa, who was hit with an immediate three-game ban by the FA on Friday and so missed Premier League leaders Chelsea's 1-1 draw with second-placed champions Manchester City on Saturday, said he accepted the punishment. The Brazil-born forward added: "I'm not saying I'm an angel.

Equatorial Guinea stun Tunisia to reach semis Posted: 31 Jan 2015 02:25 PM PST Former Real Madrid winger Javier Balboa scored twice as hosts Equatorial Guinea reached the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals with a stunning 2-1 extra-time victory over Tunisia on Saturday. The quarter-final winner came 12 minutes into extra time in port city Bata when Balboa superbly curled a free-kick into the top corner of the net past goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi. The result was among the greatest upsets in the 58-year competition with Tunisia 96 places above Equatorial Guinea in the FIFA world rankings. Ahmed Akaichi put Tunisia ahead on 70 minutes with a close-range shot and Balboa levelled in stoppage time by converting a controversially awarded penalty.

Bahrain strips 72 of citizenship after unrest Posted: 31 Jan 2015 02:20 PM PST Sunni-ruled Bahrain said Saturday it had revoked the citizenship of 72 people convicted of "harming the interests of the kingdom", which has experienced unrest by its Shiite majority since 2011. The official BNA news agency said their nationality had been rescinded in a decree as part of measures to "preserve security and stability and fight the danger of terrorist threats". Information Minister Isa Abdulrahman al-Hammadi said that "most" of those deprived of their citizenship "are abroad and can challenge the decision legally". This is the largest number of Bahrainis to be stripped of their nationality since a law passed in 2013 on the punishment of those convicted of "terrorist" acts.

Japan 'indignant' over purported video of hostage beheading Posted: 31 Jan 2015 02:04 PM PST TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed outrage Sunday over a video purportedly from the Islamic State group that shows a militant beheading hostage Kenji Goto.

Chile's president pushes to ease ban on all abortions Posted: 31 Jan 2015 01:50 PM PST SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The president of Chile has sent legislation to Congress proposing to loosen the socially conservative South American nation's total ban on abortions.

Paris, Rabat put differences aside, resume judicial cooperation Posted: 31 Jan 2015 01:44 PM PST France and Morocco are to resume judicial cooperation after a year-long row, according to a joint statement Saturday, in a move that will help French investigators gather intelligence on terror suspects. The agreement will allow the two countries -- each of which has an unknown number of nationals believed to be fighting with the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq -- to resume working together on security issues, seen as critical following Islamist attacks in Paris earlier this month in which 17 people died. Morocco broke off cooperation with France in late February 2014 after French authorities attempted to question the head of Morocco's DGST domestic intelligence service, Abdellatif Hammouchi, over torture allegations while he was on a visit to Paris.

Japan expresses indignation of 'despicable terrorist act' at purported IS video of beheading Posted: 31 Jan 2015 01:38 PM PST TOKYO (AP) — Japan expresses indignation of 'despicable terrorist act' at purported IS video of beheading .

Japan self-censors images, words linked to hostage crisis Posted: 31 Jan 2015 01:34 PM PST TOKYO (AP) — Images or mentions of knives, ransom or blood — or anything else that can be seen alluding to the hostage crisis involving two Japanese in Syria — have been omitted. Some anime and other entertainment programs are altering, canceling or postponing episodes violating those sensitivities — typical of the kind of self-restraint shown here to avoid controversy.

Islamic State fighters admit defeat in Syrian town of Kobani Posted: 31 Jan 2015 01:30 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group has acknowledged for the first time that its fighters have been defeated in the Syrian town of Kobani and vowed to attack the town again.

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