Yahoo! News: World News

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• Islamic State faces battle in Iraq, U.S. reassures Abadi
• Houthis suffer first serious setback in south Yemen fighting: residents
• U.S. fighter jets escort Air France flight to New York after threat
• Southeast Asia maritime build-up accelerates, raising risks in disputed seas
• Trial of Iranian-U.S. journalist in Tehran to be closed: family
• Greece says wants to make debt payments but needs aid urgently
• The Latest: North Texas teen is 3rd to die in Texas rains
• Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT
• Worker dies protesting Chinese mining company in Peru
• Mexico rejects abuse claims in deadly gunfight
• Venezuela denies opposition leader Lopez on hunger strike
• China and Chile sign currency swap agreement
• Polish opposition cheers presidential vote win, stock market more wary
• Conservative challenger Duda wins Polish presidential vote
• Strongman looms large as Suriname votes
• Ex-leader of Guyana charged with inciting racial hatred
• Puerto Rico's Senate sends tax bill back to House
• Brazil prison riot leaves 8 dead, officials say
• Cameron meets former foe Juncker for EU reform talks
• FIFA challenger says he was offered Blatter's financial info
• Time running out for Greece, ESM head Regling says
• Volcano erupts in Galapagos Islands, home to unique pink iguanas
• Unusual wake held for Puerto Rican taxi driver
• U.S. does damage control after defense chief's remarks on Iraq
• Texas governor says deadly flooding is worst ever seen
• Last bodies recovered after Colombia mine tragedy that killed 15
• Toughest leg of Solar Impulse's global journey delayed
• What does Ireland vote say about US debate on gay marriage?
• Mexico denies 42 suspected gang members were executed by police
• Biden reassures Iraqi prime minister of US support
• U.S., Canada and Mexico create new climate change partnership
• FRENCH OPEN LOOKAHEAD: Nadal, Djokovic finally get started
• Tornado tears through Mexican city on Texas border, killing 13
• US warplanes scrambled after bogus jetliner threats
• Forest fire forces 10% cut in Canada oil sands output
• Tornado, floods leave deadly trail at Mexico-US border
• Unpopular but defiant, Myanmar ruling party unfazed about poll prospects
• Japan to join U.S., Australia war games amid growing China tensions

Islamic State faces battle in Iraq, U.S. reassures Abadi Posted: 25 May 2015 03:29 PM PDT BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Islamic State poured more fighters into Ramadi as security forces and Shi'ite paramilitaries prepared to try to retake the Iraqi city, while Washington scrambled on Monday to reassure Baghdad after a U.S. official's sharp criticism of Iraqi forces. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi after Defense Secretary Ash Carter questioned Iraqi troops' will to fight when Ramadi fell.

Houthis suffer first serious setback in south Yemen fighting: residents Posted: 25 May 2015 08:23 AM PDT By Mohammed Mukhashaf and Mohammed Ghobari ADEN/CAIRO (Reuters) - Local Sunni Muslim militia ejected Shi'ite Houthi rebels from much of the southern Yemeni city of Dalea on Monday, residents and combatants said, inflicting the first significant setback on the Iranian-backed rebels in two months of civil war. Dalea had been a bastion of southern secessionists in Yemen before the Houthis took widespread control of the city in arch, after having seized the capital Sanaa in the north in September, toppling President Abd-Rabbu Mansour, and then thrust into the center and south of the Arabian Peninsula country. After two months of fighting in which much of Dalea has been destroyed, Sunni fighters on Monday turned the tide by seizing a key military base and the main security directorate in the city, militia sources and local residents said.

U.S. fighter jets escort Air France flight to New York after threat Posted: 25 May 2015 12:00 PM PDT An Air France flight from Paris was escorted by two U.S. F-15 fighter jets to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday after an anonymous threat was made against the flight, the U.S. military said. Air France flight 22, traveling from Charles de Gaulle Airport, landed safely in New York, officials said. The anonymous threat came in a telephone call to a Maryland State Police barracks on Monday morning, and the caller made a bomb threat involving commercial aviation, Maryland State Police said.

Southeast Asia maritime build-up accelerates, raising risks in disputed seas Posted: 25 May 2015 04:10 PM PDT By Siva Govindasamy SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Southeast Asian nations are prioritizing spending on their navies and coastguards amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, but as their capabilities grow, so does the risk that any confrontation in the contested waterway will be harder to contain. Annual defense spending in Southeast Asia is projected to reach $52 billion by 2020, from an expected $42 billion this year, according to IHS Janes Defence Weekly. The 10 nations of Southeast Asia are expected to spend $58 billion on new military kit over the next five years, with naval procurement comprising a large chunk, it said.

Trial of Iranian-U.S. journalist in Tehran to be closed: family Posted: 25 May 2015 04:19 PM PDT The trial in Iran of jailed Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian will be closed to the public when it starts on Tuesday, his brother said on Monday. Rezaian, who is Iranian-American and faces unspecified charges, will be in Revolutionary Court with only his attorney and family members are excluded, his brother Ali Rezaian told Reuters Television. Jason Rezaian, the Post's Tehran bureau chief, has been in Tehran's Evin prison since his arrest in July.

Greece says wants to make debt payments but needs aid urgently Posted: 25 May 2015 11:56 AM PDT By Renee Maltezou ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece intends to make good on its debt obligations but needs aid urgently to be able to do so, the government said on Monday, after several senior officials insisted Athens had no money to pay a loan installment falling due next week. It must repay four loans totaling 1.6 billion euros ($1.76 billion) to the International Monetary Fund next month, starting with a 300 million euro payment on June 5 that is seen as the next crunch point for state coffers. Athens has the money to make monthly wage and pension payments this week, government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis told a news conference.

The Latest: North Texas teen is 3rd to die in Texas rains Posted: 25 May 2015 05:12 PM PDT 7 p.m. CDT

Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT Posted: 25 May 2015 05:02 PM PDT KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban gunmen have surrounded a police compound in the volatile southern province of Helmand after killing 19 policemen and seven soldiers in an ongoing siege, a senior police officer said on Monday from inside the compound. Napas Khan, the police chief in the Naw Zad district, told The Associated Press by telephone that the insurgents had advanced to within 20 meters (65 feet) of the compound after seizing police vehicles and weapons and blocking all roads out of Naw Zad.

Worker dies protesting Chinese mining company in Peru Posted: 25 May 2015 04:53 PM PDT LIMA, Peru (AP) — A worker has died amid a clash between police and protesters at a Chinese-operated iron mine in Peru.

Mexico rejects abuse claims in deadly gunfight Posted: 25 May 2015 04:43 PM PDT Mexican authorities rejected suggestions Monday that police executed criminals in a gunfight that killed 42 suspects and one officer after the one-sided death toll raised doubts among security experts. Senior officials said the suspects refused to surrender, firing at the officers and a Blackhawk helicopter during Friday's three-hour battle on a ranch in the western state of Michoacan, near the border with Jalisco. "There was not one single execution," federal police chief Enrique Galindo told Radio Formula, denying that officers wanted to avenge the killings of several comrades by the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel this year.

Venezuela denies opposition leader Lopez on hunger strike Posted: 25 May 2015 04:33 PM PDT Venezuela's public ombudsman denied Monday that jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez was on hunger strike or in solitary confinement, saying he "had lunch with his children" the day before. Lopez said Saturday he was launching a hunger strike with fellow inmate Daniel Ceballos, a former student leader and ex-mayor, to protest the political situation in the country. After Tintori said she had not been able to visit him since Friday and that he was being held in isolation as punishment, ombudsman Tarek William Saab held a press conference to deny the claim and insist that Lopez was eating normally.

China and Chile sign currency swap agreement Posted: 25 May 2015 04:30 PM PDT SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed a currency swap deal on Monday seeking to deepen economic ties by boosting trade and investment.

Polish opposition cheers presidential vote win, stock market more wary Posted: 25 May 2015 04:24 PM PDT By Pawel Sobczak and Jakub Iglewski WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's main opposition party celebrated its first national election win in a decade on Monday, after its candidate for the presidency unexpectedly defeated incumbent Bronislaw Komorowski. The Warsaw stock market fell, as Andrzej Duda's Law and Justice party is considered less business-friendly and less pro-European Union than the governing Civic Platform. Duda won Sunday's run-off vote by 51.6 percent to 48.4 percent, official voting results showed.

Conservative challenger Duda wins Polish presidential vote Posted: 25 May 2015 04:18 PM PDT WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Conservative challenger Andrzej Duda has won Poland's presidential election and ousted the incumbent in a runoff vote, according to official results Monday.

Strongman looms large as Suriname votes Posted: 25 May 2015 04:07 PM PDT Suriname voted in general elections Monday with its convicted drug trafficker president, Desi Bouterse, seeking to tighten his controversial grip on power. Bouterse, who has ruled the small South American country on and off since 1980, is looking to end his alliance with one-time nemesis Ronnie Brunswijk and preside over the first non-coalition democratic government in Suriname's history. Bouterse's National Democratic Party formed a government at the last elections in 2010 by forging a motley mega-coalition, returning him to power for the second time since his 1980-1987 military government.

Ex-leader of Guyana charged with inciting racial hatred Posted: 25 May 2015 04:02 PM PDT GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — A former president of Guyana was released on bail after formally being charged Monday with inciting racial hatred ahead of general elections.

Puerto Rico's Senate sends tax bill back to House Posted: 25 May 2015 04:01 PM PDT (Reuters) - Puerto Rico's Senate sent a tax bill that seeks to raise $1.2 billion back to the lower chamber on Monday in a further delay to the law which the U.S. territory needs to raise financing and ease its precarious fiscal situation. Puerto Rico is trying to negotiate a bond deal of up to $2.95 billion with hedge funds, which have been pushing for revenue-raising tax measures. José Nadal Power, chairman of the Senate's treasury committee, said after a caucus meeting on Monday that he hoped it would "only take a few more days" to send the bill to the governor to sign.

Brazil prison riot leaves 8 dead, officials say Posted: 25 May 2015 03:59 PM PDT RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A prison riot in northeastern Brazil left eight inmates dead after a fight between two gangs quickly escalated, prison officials said.

Cameron meets former foe Juncker for EU reform talks Posted: 25 May 2015 03:43 PM PDT British Prime Minister David Cameron hosted European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Monday as he kickstarted diplomatic efforts to secure EU reforms ahead of a referendum on the country's membership. Cameron promised British voters an in-out EU referendum by 2017 as part of his successful campaign to win a second term in office in this month's general election. "The talks focused on reforming the EU and renegotiating the UK's relationship with it," a spokesman for Cameron's office said.

FIFA challenger says he was offered Blatter's financial info Posted: 25 May 2015 03:42 PM PDT ZURICH (AP) — Prince Ali bin al-Hussein's FIFA election team says it rejected a potentially illegal offer to help him oust President Sepp Blatter in Friday's election and informed law enforcement agencies about the approach.

Time running out for Greece, ESM head Regling says Posted: 25 May 2015 03:37 PM PDT By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN (Reuters) - Time is running out for Greece to reach an agreement on reforms with lenders and there will be no further funds for Athens without it, the head of the European Stability Mechanism Klaus Regling told Germany's Bild newspaper on Tuesday. "There is little time left," Regling told the best-selling newspaper. The Greek government said on Monday it intends to make good on its debt obligations but needs aid urgently to be able to do so after several senior officials insisted Athens had no money to pay a loan installment falling due next week.

Volcano erupts in Galapagos Islands, home to unique pink iguanas Posted: 25 May 2015 03:35 PM PDT A volcano perched atop one of Ecuador's Galapagos Islands erupted in the early hours of Monday, the local authorities said, potentially threatening a unique species of pink iguanas. The roughly 1.7-kilometer (1.1-mile) high Wolf volcano is located on Isabela Island, home to a rich variety of flora and fauna typical of the archipelago that helped inspire Charles Darwin's theory of evolution following his 1835 visit. "The Wolf volcano is not located near a populated area.

Unusual wake held for Puerto Rican taxi driver Posted: 25 May 2015 03:32 PM PDT SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rican taxi driver Victor Perez Cardona's final fare was highly unusual: a wreath of flowers for his own funeral.

U.S. does damage control after defense chief's remarks on Iraq Posted: 25 May 2015 03:29 PM PDT By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden reassured Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi of the U.S. commitment to help fight Islamic State militants in an effort at damage control on Monday after Defense Secretary Ash Carter questioned Iraqi troops' desire to fight. Carter told CNN on Sunday that Iraqi forces showed no will to battle against Islamic State militants during the fall of Ramadi a week ago, and U.S. forces were trying to encourage them to engage more directly.

Texas governor says deadly flooding is worst ever seen Posted: 25 May 2015 03:16 PM PDT By Jim Forsyth SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday described the flash flooding that had killed at least three people in his state as "a relentless wall of water that mowed down huge trees like they were grass." Abbott declared states of disaster in 24 counties and flew over the area south of Austin to assess the damage caused by tornadoes, heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and flooding that forced evacuations and rooftop rescues and left thousands of residents without electrical power. "This is the biggest flood this area of Texas has ever seen," Abbott said. Widespread severe thunderstorms were forecast to continue on Monday in north-central and northeast Texas and southern Oklahoma, likely bringing destructive winds, tornadoes and hail, the National Weather Service said.

Last bodies recovered after Colombia mine tragedy that killed 15 Posted: 25 May 2015 03:14 PM PDT Emergency workers have recovered the final bodies of people killed in a collapsed, unlicensed gold mine on an indigenous reservation in central Colombia, bringing the official toll to 15 dead, authorities said Monday. The May 13 accident -- inside a reservation for indigenous Colombians in Caldas department -- rocked the central-western town of Riosucio.

Toughest leg of Solar Impulse's global journey delayed Posted: 25 May 2015 03:13 PM PDT The most challenging leg of Solar Impulse 2's landmark flight around the world powered only by the sun was delayed on Tuesday due to concerns about the weather, organisers said. The single-seater aircraft was due to leave Nanjing, in eastern China, for the 8,500 kilometre (5,270 mile) flight over the Pacific Ocean to the US island of Hawaii in the early hours of the morning. "The flight that we've been looking forward to tonight is not going to happen," Solar Impulse spokesman Connor Lennon said in a video post on the group's YouTube channel.

What does Ireland vote say about US debate on gay marriage? Posted: 25 May 2015 03:12 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — Ireland's national referendum on same-sex marriage, which was approved by 62 percent of the voters, comes just weeks ahead of an expected ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on whether to legalize gay marriage throughout the United States. A look at some of the parallels and contrasts in the two countries' situations:

Mexico denies 42 suspected gang members were executed by police Posted: 25 May 2015 03:03 PM PDT By Ana Isabel Martinez MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's national security spokesman denied on Monday that 42 suspected gang members killed in a gunfight last week, in which government forces suffered just one fatality, were executed after the one-sided death toll raised doubts. The 42 deaths on Friday came less than a year after 22 suspected gang members were killed without loss by security forces in an incident the government originally labeled a shootout. Asked whether the 42 deaths on a ranch near the border of Michoacan and Jalisco states had been an execution, National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido said the suspected gangsters had been killed in battle with government forces.

Biden reassures Iraqi prime minister of US support Posted: 25 May 2015 02:52 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden reassured Iraq's government on Monday of U.S. support in the fight against the Islamic State group, telephoning Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi with thanks for "the enormous sacrifice and bravery of Iraqi forces" one day after Defense Secretary Ash Carter questioned the Iraqi military commitment.

U.S., Canada and Mexico create new climate change partnership Posted: 25 May 2015 02:48 PM PDT By Mike De Souza OTTAWA (Reuters) - North American energy ministers said on Monday they had set up a working group on climate change and energy, a partnership designed to help Canada, the United States and Mexico harmonize policies. The partnership does not include binding targets, but will enhance cooperation and integrate more climate change-related policies into energy discussions between the countries, Canadian Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford said during a conference call. All three governments said they will prioritize working together on issues, including efficiency of electricity grids, pursuing new clean energy technologies and aligning regulations to control emissions from the oil and gas sector.

FRENCH OPEN LOOKAHEAD: Nadal, Djokovic finally get started Posted: 25 May 2015 02:47 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — Two most-talked-about men at this year's French Open, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, finally play their first matches on Tuesday.

Tornado tears through Mexican city on Texas border, killing 13 Posted: 25 May 2015 02:28 PM PDT By Jaime Escamilla CIUDAD ACUNA, Mexico (Reuters) - At least 13 people died and dozens more were injured after a freak tornado ripped through the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Acuna on Monday morning, flipping over cars and tearing down homes, the government said. Among the dead were three children as the whirlwind damaged an estimated 750 homes in the city across the Rio Grande from Del Rio, Texas, said Jesus Garcia, spokesman for the local state of Coahuila. "We're not used to such destruction," Ciudad Acuna's mayor Evaristo Lenin Perez told local radio.

US warplanes scrambled after bogus jetliner threats Posted: 25 May 2015 02:22 PM PDT US warplanes were scrambled to escort an Air France passenger jet flying from Paris to New York on Monday, following one of several threats against commercial aircraft that proved to be unfounded. Flight AF022 landed at JFK airport without incident after being escorted to land by two F-15 fighter jets ordered to accompany the aircraft as a precaution by NORAD, the joint US-Canadian monitoring force. The FBI said the plane was searched upon landing and the threat had turned out to be false.

Forest fire forces 10% cut in Canada oil sands output Posted: 25 May 2015 02:17 PM PDT Two oil companies announced Monday the temporary shuttering of their Canadian oil sands mines and the evacuation of hundreds of staff as a massive forest fire creeped close. It usually produces an average of 135,000 barrels of oil per day. Canadian Natural's Primerose operations -- which produce 80,000 barrels of oil per day -- were also temporarily shut down as a precaution.

Tornado, floods leave deadly trail at Mexico-US border Posted: 25 May 2015 02:09 PM PDT A tornado ripped into a town in northern Mexico on Monday, killing at least 13 people and flattening hundreds of homes in a deadly six-second blast of carnage, officials said. The savage twister roared through the Mexican border town of Ciudad Acuna at dawn, tossing cars and big rig trucks into the air before they smashed into houses and buildings. The tornado came as ferocious weather battered swathes of Mexico and the southern United States, where rescuers hunted for 12 people missing in flash floods across Texas and Oklahoma that left three people dead.

Unpopular but defiant, Myanmar ruling party unfazed about poll prospects Posted: 25 May 2015 02:07 PM PDT By Andrew R.C. Marshall NAYPYITAW (Reuters) - Myanmar's ruling party is led by former members of a military junta, evolved from an organisation that democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi once compared to a Nazi militia, and took office through electoral fraud. This dubious history doesn't seem to faze the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), as it prepares for an historic election likely to be held in November. "I have a strong belief the USDP will win the election," senior party adviser Aung Thaung told Reuters in a rare interview at the USDP's monumental headquarters in the capital, Naypyitaw.

Japan to join U.S., Australia war games amid growing China tensions Posted: 25 May 2015 02:03 PM PDT By Matt Siegel SYDNEY (Reuters) - Japan will join a major U.S.-Australian military exercise for the first time in a sign of growing security links between the three countries as tensions fester over China's island building in the South China Sea. While only 40 Japanese officers and soldiers will take part in drills involving 30,000 U.S. and Australian troops in early July, experts said the move showed how Washington wanted to foster cooperation among its security allies in Asia. The Talisman Sabre biennial exercises, to be held in locations around Australia, will encompass maritime operations, amphibious landings, special forces tactics and urban warfare.

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