Yahoo! News: World News

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• Islamic State says it has full control of Syria's Palmyra
• U.S. vows to continue patrols after China warns spy plane
• A year after Thai coup, stability trumps growth for business
• Bugged phones and double barbed wire: far fewer North Koreans defect
• EU defies Russian 'bully' but disappoints ex-Soviets
• Saudi shells hit Yemen aid office, killing five refugees: local official
• Son of former Honduras president arrested in Haiti
• Puerto Rico legislators narrowly approve sales tax increase
• Colombia bids farewell to victims of deadly flooding
• Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT
• Manchester United-San Jose match to be played in Berkeley
• Malaysia orders rescue of migrants, Myanmar to attend conference
• British PM to start talks on EU renegotiation
• Cormier, Johnson fight for Jon Jones' former belt at UFC 187
• Europe migrant terror threat overblown: experts
• 3 bodies found near Mexico city occupied by vigilantes
• Clashes as Chile's Bachelet seeks to shift focus to reforms
• U.S., Cuba talks on opening embassies head into second day
• Celtics owner Pagliuca takes over Boston's 2024 Olympic bid
• Colombia arrests woman wanted in 2007 New Jersey death
• Canadians have 'no legitimate reason' for joining extremists: Harper
• Despite Obama endorsement, U.S. concerns grow over Iraqi premier
• Malaysia orders sea search-and-rescue for migrants
• Washington state judge denies Shell appeal on rail project review
• The Latest on Rohingya: US military preparing air patrols
• Canadian class actions against Takata over airbags to expand
• US planes keep distance from Chinese 'islands' -- for now
• New York's Westchester County settles U.S. water safety lawsuit, pays record fine
• Mikkelsen takes early lead of Rally of Portugal
• Countries vow to all but eradicate malaria by 2030: WHO
• German spy chief says mistakes made in cooperation with NSA
• Moscow bans Gay Pride march, again
• Guatemala interior minister resigns amid political crisis
• Terror suspect wanted in US wins Irish case, walks free
• China premier arrives in Colombia as part of investment tour
• London cabbie bombmaker 'murdered US soldier in Iraq'
• Pentagon says US anti-armor weapons due in Iraq next week
• US concludes airstrike in Syria killed 2 innocent children

Islamic State says it has full control of Syria's Palmyra Posted: 21 May 2015 02:48 PM PDT By Sylvia Westall BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters tightened their grip on the historic Syrian city of Palmyra on Thursday and overran Iraqi government defenses east of Ramadi, the provincial capital that they seized five days earlier. The twin successes not only pile pressure on Damascus and Baghdad but throw doubt on a U.S. strategy of relying almost exclusively on air strikes to support the fight against Islamic State. U.S. and coalition forces had conducted 18 air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq since Wednesday, the U.S. military said.

U.S. vows to continue patrols after China warns spy plane Posted: 21 May 2015 04:02 PM PDT By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States vowed on Thursday to keep up air and sea patrols in international waters after the Chinese navy repeatedly warned a U.S. surveillance plane to leave the airspace over artificial islands China is creating in the disputed South China Sea. The Chinese navy issued eight warnings to the crew of a U.S. P8-A Poseidon, the U.S. military's most advanced surveillance aircraft, when it conducted the overflights on Wednesday, according to CNN, which was aboard the U.S. aircraft.

A year after Thai coup, stability trumps growth for business Posted: 21 May 2015 04:07 PM PDT By Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK (Reuters) - When Thailand's army seized power in a bloodless coup, much of the business establishment quietly cheered them on. A year on, the captains of Thai industry remain firmly behind the junta, despite a lackluster economy and a delayed return to democracy. At the very least it has made the country peaceful and it has brought order," Poj Aramwattanont, President of Thai Frozen Foods Association (TFFA), told Reuters.

Bugged phones and double barbed wire: far fewer North Koreans defect Posted: 21 May 2015 02:27 PM PDT By Ju-min Park and James Pearson SEOUL (Reuters) - It's much more dangerous, and twice as expensive, to defect from North Korea since Kim Jong Un took power in Pyongyang three and a half years ago, refugees and experts say, and far fewer people are escaping from the repressive and impoverished country. With barbed-wire fencing erected on both sides of the Tumen River that marks the border with China, more guard posts and closer monitoring of cross-border phone calls, the number of North Koreans coming annually to the South via China has halved since 2011. Most defections are arranged through brokers, usually Chinese citizens who are ethnically Korean, and their charges have doubled to about $8,000 per person, beyond the reach of most North Koreans - and that gets them only as far as China.

EU defies Russian 'bully' but disappoints ex-Soviets Posted: 21 May 2015 03:23 PM PDT By Alastair Macdonald and Adrian Croft RIGA (Reuters) - European Union leaders met six ex-Soviet neighbors on Thursday in Riga, rejecting Russian "bullying" in the 18 months since their last summit in a once Kremlin-ruled EU capital sparked conflict in Ukraine. "The European Union stays the course despite the intimidation, the aggression, even the war, of the last year," said summit chair Donald Tusk.

Saudi shells hit Yemen aid office, killing five refugees: local official Posted: 21 May 2015 01:00 PM PDT By Mohammed Ghobari and Sami Aboudi CAIRO/DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi shells hit an international aid office in Yemen on Thursday killing five Ethiopian refugees, a local official said, while violence across the country put United Nations-led peace talks in doubt. The official said that 10 other refugees were wounded when artillery fire and air strikes hit the town of Maydee along Yemen's border with Saudi Arabia in Hajja province, a stronghold of the Iran-allied Houthi rebel group that a Saudi-led Arab alliance has been bombing for eight weeks. Saudi spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri denied Saudi involvement and blamed the Houthis.

Son of former Honduras president arrested in Haiti Posted: 21 May 2015 04:43 PM PDT TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — The son of former President Porfirio Lobo was arrested in Haiti in an apparent anti-drug operation carried out by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Haitian authorities, the ex-president and the Honduran government confirmed Thursday.

Puerto Rico legislators narrowly approve sales tax increase Posted: 21 May 2015 04:40 PM PDT SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Legislation that would increase Puerto Rico's sales tax from 7 percent to 11.5 percent has squeaked by with the minimum amount of votes needed in the island's House of Representatives.

Colombia bids farewell to victims of deadly flooding Posted: 21 May 2015 04:35 PM PDT SALGAR, Colombia (AP) — Thousands of mourners poured into the streets Thursday to bid farewell to dozens of the victims of a deadly mudslide that ravaged this coffee-growing town nestled deep in the Andes

Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 21 May 2015 04:33 PM PDT YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Four Malaysian navy ships began searching the seas for stranded boat people Thursday in the first official rescue operation since desperate migrants started washing onto Southeast Asia's shores, and the U.S. military gave the first indication it was ready to take a direct role in helping address the crisis. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar and Bangladeshis are believed to be trapped on boats with little food or water — some after being pushed back by the navies of at least three countries — and the international community has warned that time to save them is running out.

Manchester United-San Jose match to be played in Berkeley Posted: 21 May 2015 04:28 PM PDT BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Manchester United's exhibition game against Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes on July 21 will be played at Kabam Field at California Memorial Stadium.

Malaysia orders rescue of migrants, Myanmar to attend conference Posted: 21 May 2015 04:26 PM PDT By Praveen Menon and Amy Sawitta Lefevre KUALA LUMPUR/BANGKOK (Reuters) - Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Thursday he had ordered the navy to rescue thousands of migrants adrift at sea, and a Thai official said Myanmar had agreed to attend an emergency conference on the crisis. Diplomats say Myanmar had up to now resisted calls for it to take part in meetings on the stranded "boat people", many of them Rohingya Muslims who have long complained of discrimination in Myanmar. The apparent shift in its position came after Malaysia and Indonesia's foreign ministers held talks with senior officials in Myanmar on Thursday.

British PM to start talks on EU renegotiation Posted: 21 May 2015 04:23 PM PDT Prime Minister David Cameron meets European leaders in Latvia Friday to start talks that he admits will not be easy on renegotiating Britain's ties with the EU ahead of a referendum by 2017 on leaving the bloc. Ahead of his first foreign trip since retaining power at this month's general election, he said that by "working together", European countries could "improve the EU as a whole". "Today I will start discussions in earnest with fellow leaders on reforming the EU and renegotiating the UK's relationship with it," Cameron said in comments released by his Downing Street office.

Cormier, Johnson fight for Jon Jones' former belt at UFC 187 Posted: 21 May 2015 04:08 PM PDT When Daniel Cormier faces Anthony "Rumble" Johnson for the light heavyweight title at UFC 187 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, the third man in the cage isn't the referee.

Europe migrant terror threat overblown: experts Posted: 21 May 2015 04:03 PM PDT The arrest in Italy of a terror suspect posing as a boat migrant has fuelled nightmare scenarios of jihadist infiltration of Europe, but experts say the threat is overblown and attacks by homegrown extremists are more likely. Right-wing parties have seized on the incident as proof that groups like Islamic State (IS) are taking advantage of Europe's migration crisis, in which thousands of refugees are making the risky Mediterranean crossing to flee war and poverty. NATO's chief Jens Stoltenberg also warned this week that battle-hardened "foreign fighters" who have joined jihadist outfits in Iraq and Syria could smuggle themselves into Europe by hiding on asylum-seeker vessels.

3 bodies found near Mexico city occupied by vigilantes Posted: 21 May 2015 04:02 PM PDT ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Mexican police found at least three dismembered bodies wrapped in blankets near a southern city where residents have reported that 10 people disappeared during a vigilante takeover earlier this month.

Clashes as Chile's Bachelet seeks to shift focus to reforms Posted: 21 May 2015 03:58 PM PDT Valparaíso (Chile) (AFP) - Chile's embattled President Michelle Bachelet sought to get her reform agenda back on track in her annual address to Congress Thursday, as anti-government protests outside descended into clashes with police. Bachelet, who has been struggling to reboot her administration amid a series of corruption scandals, fulfilled a key promise from her 2013 election campaign by announcing a bill to provide free university education to 260,000 of the poorest students, starting next year. The announcement did little to placate some 6,000 protesters outside the Congress building in the port city of Valparaiso, many of them students demanding greater participation in the reform process.

U.S., Cuba talks on opening embassies head into second day Posted: 21 May 2015 03:58 PM PDT By Lesley Wroughton and Daniel Trotta WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Talks between the United States and Cuba will go into a second day on Friday as the sides try to reach agreement on reopening embassies shut for more than half a century, the crucial next step in their historic detente. The opening of embassies in Washington and Havana is part of an agreement struck between U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro in December to reestablish diplomatic ties severed by the United States in 1961 soon after Cuba's revolution.

Celtics owner Pagliuca takes over Boston's 2024 Olympic bid Posted: 21 May 2015 03:58 PM PDT BOSTON (AP) — The group leading the bid to bring the 2024 Olympics to Boston shook up its management Thursday, making Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca the new chairman in an attempt to revive the city's chances of hosting the Summer Games.

Colombia arrests woman wanted in 2007 New Jersey death Posted: 21 May 2015 03:56 PM PDT BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Police have arrested a former New Jersey resident wanted in the U.S. to face charges over the 2007 death of a woman on whom she allegedly performed plastic surgery without a medical license, Colombian officials said Thursday.

Canadians have 'no legitimate reason' for joining extremists: Harper Posted: 21 May 2015 03:55 PM PDT Prime Minister Stephen Harper blasted would-be Canadian jihadists Thursday, saying there is "no legitimate reason" in a liberal democracy to join any extremist group. Harper announced fresh funding for border and federal police agencies, during a visit to the Montreal airport where days earlier 10 teenagers who allegedly hoped to join the Islamic State group were arrested boarding a flight to the Middle East. "There is no legitimate reason of any kind in this country for someone to become a violent jihadist or become a terrorist or join any group that is involved and advocates that kind of activity.

Despite Obama endorsement, U.S. concerns grow over Iraqi premier Posted: 21 May 2015 03:55 PM PDT By Matt Spetalnick and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration is publicly voicing confidence in Iraq's prime minister in the fight against surging Islamic State militants, but privately some U.S. officials question whether he is too weak to bridge the sectarian divide. Washington is still betting on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who stands at the center of President Barack Obama's strategy to roll back the latest conquests of Islamic State while keeping the United States from being pulled deeper into a conflict U.S. combat troops left in 2011.

Malaysia orders sea search-and-rescue for migrants Posted: 21 May 2015 03:46 PM PDT YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Four Malaysian navy ships began searching the seas for stranded boat people Thursday in the first official rescue operation since desperate migrants started washing onto Southeast Asia's shores, and the U.S. military gave the first indication it was ready to take a direct role in helping address the crisis.

Washington state judge denies Shell appeal on rail project review Posted: 21 May 2015 03:40 PM PDT By Kristen Hays HOUSTON (Reuters) - A judge on Thursday denied Royal Dutch Shell's appeal of a ruling that a proposed oil-by-rail project at its Washington state refinery must undergo a full environmental review, just two weeks after a crude train derailment caused a fire in North Dakota. On Thursday, a Skagit County Superior Court judge denied Shell's appeal, according to court officials. The denial came two weeks after an eastbound crude train derailed in North Dakota, the latest in a spate of fiery mishaps since 2013 that have stoked fears about moving oil by rail.

The Latest on Rohingya: US military preparing air patrols Posted: 21 May 2015 03:33 PM PDT 4 a.m. (2200 GMT)

Canadian class actions against Takata over airbags to expand Posted: 21 May 2015 03:32 PM PDT A Canadian law firm said Thursday it planned to expand its class actions against embattled Japanese auto parts giant Takata and car manufacturers over defective airbags. The plaintiffs are seeking more than Can$3.0 billion from Takata and auto manufacturers Chrysler, Honda, Nissan and Toyota for the loss of value of their vehicles caused by the recall, according to Sutts, Strosberg LLP. Once revised Canadian figures are released, Sutts, Strosberg LLP will amend its lawsuit to reflect the increased number of cars affected by the recall, a spokesman for the firm told AFP.

US planes keep distance from Chinese 'islands' -- for now Posted: 21 May 2015 03:29 PM PDT Although the United States does not recognize China's claims of sovereignty around the manmade structures, American P-8 surveillance planes and naval vessels patrolling the area have not ventured within 12 nautical miles of the artificial islands -- the standard territorial zone around natural land. US officials have said they are weighing sending warships and surveillance aircraft within 12 nautical miles of the manmade islands in the South China Sea to test Beijing's controversial territorial claims.

New York's Westchester County settles U.S. water safety lawsuit, pays record fine Posted: 21 May 2015 03:27 PM PDT New York's Westchester County will spend roughly $12 million to settle a federal government lawsuit alleging that its failure to properly treat drinking water exposed thousands of residents to greater risk of severe gastrointestinal illness. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara on Thursday said that under a consent decree, the county will spend about $10 million on capital improvements in Water District No. 1, which serves about 175,000 residents of Yonkers, White Plains, Mount Vernon, Scarsdale and North Castle, all suburbs north of New York City. Westchester will also pay a $1.11 million fine, a record civil penalty against a public water system operator under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, and spend $691,000 on other environmental projects, Bharara said.

Mikkelsen takes early lead of Rally of Portugal Posted: 21 May 2015 03:27 PM PDT LOUSADA, Portugal (AP) — Andreas Mikkelsen of Norway took the early lead of the Rally of Portugal after Thursday's opening stage.

Countries vow to all but eradicate malaria by 2030: WHO Posted: 21 May 2015 03:23 PM PDT Countries have agreed to rid the world of malaria almost completely over the next 15 years, the World Health Organization said Thursday. Diplomats gathered in Geneva for the UN health body's annual decision-making assembly agreed late Wednesday to a plan to cut malaria cases by 40 percent by 2020 and by 90 percent by 2030, WHO said. The plan also calls for completely eliminating malaria in at least 35 new countries over the next 15 years.

German spy chief says mistakes made in cooperation with NSA Posted: 21 May 2015 03:20 PM PDT BERLIN (AP) — Germany's foreign spy chief said Thursday that his agency made mistakes in its dealings with U.S. counterparts, but warned that probes intended to shed light on possible wrongdoing could threaten intelligence cooperation with allies.

Moscow bans Gay Pride march, again Posted: 21 May 2015 03:18 PM PDT Moscow's town hall announced Thursday that it would not allow a Gay Pride march in the Russian capital that activists wanted to hold later this month -- a ban that it repeats every year. "We have warned the organisers that the demonstration will not be authorised," and told them of the risks should they ignore the ban, the Ria Novosti agency quoted mayoral spokesman Alexey Mayorov as saying. No explanations for the ban were given but it would have come as no surprise to the Gay Pride organisers, who have attempted since 2006 to obtain permission to hold their event in Moscow.

Guatemala interior minister resigns amid political crisis Posted: 21 May 2015 03:13 PM PDT GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala's interior minister and three other Cabinet officials stepped down Thursday amid a growing political crisis over corruption scandals that have prompted calls for President Otto Perez Molina and others close to him to resign.

Terror suspect wanted in US wins Irish case, walks free Posted: 21 May 2015 03:11 PM PDT DUBLIN (AP) — An Algerian-born terror suspect wanted in the United States walked free from a Dublin court Thursday after five years behind bars and a two-year legal battle against extradition.

China premier arrives in Colombia as part of investment tour Posted: 21 May 2015 03:03 PM PDT BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — China's Premier Li Keqiang arrived Thursday in Colombia as part of a four-nation South American tour aimed at boosting trade and investment.

London cabbie bombmaker 'murdered US soldier in Iraq' Posted: 21 May 2015 03:00 PM PDT A London taxi driver who made bombs targeting coalition troops in the Iraq war was on Thursday convicted in a British court of murdering a US soldier eight years ago. Anis Sardar, 38, built an improvised explosive device (IED) which killed Sergeant First Class Randy Johnson of 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment when it exploded under his armoured vehicle outside Baghdad on September 27, 2007. Sardar was arrested in London in September 2014 after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation found his fingerprints on two bombs which were planted in the area at the time, although not the one which killed Johnson.

Pentagon says US anti-armor weapons due in Iraq next week Posted: 21 May 2015 02:57 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — An expedited shipment of 2,000 lightweight shoulder-fired weapons intended to help the Iraqi army stop the Islamic State group's increasingly effective use of car bombs should arrive in Iraq as soon as next week, the Pentagon said Thursday.

US concludes airstrike in Syria killed 2 innocent children Posted: 21 May 2015 02:55 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Two children were likely killed during an American airstrike targeting al-Qaida-linked militants in Syria last year, and two other adults were wounded, according to an investigation released Thursday by the U.S. military.

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