Yahoo! News: World News

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• Bomb in Thai capital kills 19, wounds scores in bid 'to destroy economy'
• Syrian army bombards Douma as air raid toll rises: monitor
• Civilians, soldiers die in east Ukraine fighting as Putin visits Crimea
• South Sudan's president declines to sign proposed peace deal
• Mexico blocks military's testimony on slain students: Americas group
• Use Iran deal to prevent nuclear weapons free-for-all, treaty body says
• Guatemala presidential front-runner rebukes Trump for immigrant remarks
• Pentagon plans to increase drone flights by 50 percent
• U.S. Army troops mobilized to help fight Western wildfires
• U.S. State Department says too soon to tell if Thailand blast was terror attack
• EPA to propose rules to curb methane emissions from oil and gas sector: source
• Medium chance of cyclone near Cape Verde Islands in mid week: NHC
• Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT
• Rights group: All sides in Yemen may be guilty of war crimes
• Lawyers ask for new trial outside Boston for marathon bomber
• Fish opens next-to-last tournament with upset of Troicki
• Pro-government fighters chase separatists from Mali village
• Bilbao holds off Barcelona to win Super Cup 5-1 on aggregate
• Militia in northern Mali battles Tuaregs in threat to peace talks
• Cook urges England to pile on the misery for Australia
• About 325,000 live in shadow of Ecuador's Cotopaxi volcano
• Feds allow Shell to drill for oil in Arctic Ocean off Alaska
• Bolivia cuts coca crop by 11%, chides US war on drugs
• US: Computer breach bigger than first thought; 334K victims
• Trump immigration proposal divides Republican field
• California man seeks to legalize pet ferrets - even though they bite
• Rush-hour Bangkok bombing at busy shrine kills 18, hurts 117
• North Korea retaliates against South with loudspeaker propaganda
• 'Straight Outta Compton' soars at N. America box office
• Fierce Ukraine clashes kill 10 as fears grow of broader fighting
• Amazon's data-driven approach becoming more common
• Disputed Benteke goal sinks Bournemouth
• U.S. gives Shell final nod to drill for oil in Arctic
• Brookfield buys Australia freight firm Asciano for $6.6 bn
• Farah backs Coe to save crisis-hit athletics
• G.Bissau marchers demand reinstatement of sacked premier
• Liverpool beats Bournemouth 1-0 in Premier League
• FDA: scope manufacturer waited years to report problems
• Stocks climb as China's currency steadies, homebuilders rise

Bomb in Thai capital kills 19, wounds scores in bid 'to destroy economy' Posted: 17 Aug 2015 04:51 PM PDT By Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Andrew R.C. Marshall BANGKOK (Reuters) - A bomb planted at one of the Thai capital's most renowned shrines on Monday killed 19 people, including three foreign tourists, and wounded scores in an attack the government called a bid to destroy the economy. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast at the Erawan shrine at a major city-center intersection. The Bangkok Post, citing the Royal Thai Police, put the death toll at 19, with 123 injured, as of 11:20 pm (1.20 p.m. EDT).

Syrian army bombards Douma as air raid toll rises: monitor Posted: 17 Aug 2015 01:35 PM PDT The Syrian military bombarded an area northeast of Damascus on Monday, keeping up its attack on a rebel-held district where around 100 people were killed on Sunday in an air strike on a market, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Sunday's air strike on Douma, 10 miles (15 km) northeast of Damascus, was one of the bloodiest attacks of its type in the four-year-long war that has killed an estimated quarter of a million people and driven 10 million from their homes. The U.N. envoy for Syria condemned the air strike, while the United States said it showed that President Bashar al-Assad had lost legitimacy and called for a "genuine political transition".

Civilians, soldiers die in east Ukraine fighting as Putin visits Crimea Posted: 17 Aug 2015 10:34 AM PDT By Richard Balmforth KIEV (Reuters) - Fighting flared between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels in separate parts of eastern Ukraine overnight, killing at least two Ukrainian soldiers and several civilians, Kiev's military and separatist sources said on Monday. The clashes, near the port of Mariupol in the southeast and at rebel-held Horlivka, further frayed an increasingly tenuous ceasefire as Ukraine prepared to mark its Independence Day next week. Kiev accused the separatists of shelling civilians on the outskirts of Mariupol.

South Sudan's president declines to sign proposed peace deal Posted: 17 Aug 2015 01:38 PM PDT By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir declined to sign a peace deal proposed by regional leaders on Monday, saying he required more time, the mediator of the crisis said. South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, descended into chaos in December 2013 when a political row between Kiir and his deputy Riek Machar spiraled into armed conflict that reopened ethnic faultlines. Seyoum Mesfin, the mediator for IGAD, the East African bloc leading the talks, said Kiir's side required two weeks before signing the peace deal that was accepted by the South Sudanese rebels.

Mexico blocks military's testimony on slain students: Americas group Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:17 PM PDT An international human rights body said on Monday that Mexico's government denied it interviews with military personnel in the case of 43 students who were abducted and apparently massacred last year. A team from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which is part of the Organization of American States, began investigating the case in March at the request of victims' families, with the agreement of the government. Instead, the military personnel, whom the IACHR believes may have witnessed disappearances, could only be questioned via a written questionnaire, which the team opted against submitting.

Use Iran deal to prevent nuclear weapons free-for-all, treaty body says Posted: 17 Aug 2015 10:37 AM PDT By Shadia Nasralla VIENNA (Reuters) - The head of the body trying to secure ratification of a global ban on nuclear testing urged world leaders on Monday to use the momentum of an atomic deal with Iran to prevent a slide toward a nuclear weapons free-for-all. More than 160 countries have ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) since it was finished in 1996. Lassina Zerbo said the near two-year diplomatic marathon that agreed curbs on Iran's nuclear program, featuring all five of the U.N. Security Council's veto-wielding nuclear powers, showed what could be done with enough effort.

Guatemala presidential front-runner rebukes Trump for immigrant remarks Posted: 17 Aug 2015 05:02 PM PDT By Milton Castillo GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - The front-runner in Guatemala's presidential campaign on Monday criticized U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump over his divisive remarks on illegal immigrants, saying Latinos should not put up with "humiliation" for political ends. Manuel Baldizon is leading opinion polls in the run-up to a first round of voting due on Sept. 6 in the Central American country, which has been one of the biggest exporters of illegal immigrants to the United States in recent years. Trump, who leads the Republican field for the presidential ticket, has riled Guatemala's neighbor Mexico by accusing it of sending rapists and drug-runners across the border and pledged to make the country pay for a wall to keep immigrants out.

Pentagon plans to increase drone flights by 50 percent Posted: 17 Aug 2015 04:56 PM PDT JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Virginia (AP) — Faced with escalating aggression from Russia and China, the Pentagon is planning to increase its use of drones by about 50 percent over the next several years, using the U.S. Army and civilian contractors to put more of the unmanned aircraft in the air.

U.S. Army troops mobilized to help fight Western wildfires Posted: 17 Aug 2015 04:53 PM PDT By Laura Zuckerman SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - The U.S. Army mobilized soldiers on Monday to reinforce civilian firefighters stretched thin by dozens of major wildfires roaring largely unchecked across the West, with more than 100 homes reduced to ruins in several states. The 200 troops deployed from Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington, are to be organized into 10 firefighting crews of 20 each, all of whom will be sent to a single fire yet to be determined, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. Fire managers requested the mobilization - the first of its kind since 2006 - as crews from federal, state and local agencies struggled to contain many of the wildfires that have charred more than 1 million acres (405,000 hectares) of the West amid a heat wave gripping the drought-parched region.

U.S. State Department says too soon to tell if Thailand blast was terror attack Posted: 17 Aug 2015 04:51 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Monday said it was too soon to tell if a blast at a renowned shrine in Thailand's capital that killed at least 16 people was a terrorist attack. State spokesman John Kirby said authorities in Thailand were investigating and had not requested assistance from U.S. officials so far. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Writing by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Sandra Maler)

EPA to propose rules to curb methane emissions from oil and gas sector: source Posted: 17 Aug 2015 04:45 PM PDT The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will propose regulations on Tuesday aimed at cutting methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40 to 45 percent over the next decade from 2012 levels, a source familiar with the issue said on Monday. The regulations on methane are one part of the Obama administration's strategy to curb greenhouse gases and combat climate change. The targets in Tuesday's proposal are in line with a January announcement by the Obama administration that it wanted to reduce oil and gas industry methane emissions by up to 45 percent from 2012 levels by 2025, the source said.

Medium chance of cyclone near Cape Verde Islands in mid week: NHC Posted: 17 Aug 2015 04:42 PM PDT (Reuters) - A low-pressure area located several hundred miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands has a medium or 60 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone over the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday. A tropical depression will likely form by the middle of the week while the system moves westward or west-northwestward near 15 miles per hour (24 km per hour), the Miami-based weather forecaster said. (Reporting by Anupam Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 17 Aug 2015 04:32 PM PDT BANGKOK (AP) — A bomb exploded Monday within a central Bangkok shrine that is among the city's most popular tourist spots, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 100 across a hectic intersection surrounded by five-star hotels and upscale shopping malls. With a powerful flash caught on security video and a boom heard blocks away, the blast from the improvised explosive device scattered body parts across Rachaprasong intersection, spattered blood, blasted windows and burned motorbikes to the metal. It exploded during evening rush hour as the area was filled with tourists, office workers and shoppers.

Rights group: All sides in Yemen may be guilty of war crimes Posted: 17 Aug 2015 04:21 PM PDT CAIRO (AP) — A leading international rights group said Tuesday that all sides fighting in Yemen have left a "trail of civilian death and destruction" in the conflict, killing scores of innocent people in what could amount to war crimes.

Lawyers ask for new trial outside Boston for marathon bomber Posted: 17 Aug 2015 04:21 PM PDT BOSTON (AP) — Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev say his trial should have been held outside the city because jurors couldn't avoid widespread outrage over the deadly attack and he deserves a new trial elsewhere.

Fish opens next-to-last tournament with upset of Troicki Posted: 17 Aug 2015 04:08 PM PDT MASON, Ohio (AP) — Mardy Fish surprised even himself.

Pro-government fighters chase separatists from Mali village Posted: 17 Aug 2015 04:04 PM PDT BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Government-allied militia forces chased Tuareg separatists from a village in Mali's troubled north after days of fighting, the United Nations mission said Monday as it announced a safety parameter around a northern city to ensure civilian protection.

Bilbao holds off Barcelona to win Super Cup 5-1 on aggregate Posted: 17 Aug 2015 04:03 PM PDT BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Athletic Bilbao ended a 31-year trophy drought with a 1-1 draw at Barcelona on Monday, claiming the Spanish Super Cup with a 5-1 aggregate victory over the reigning European champions.

Militia in northern Mali battles Tuaregs in threat to peace talks Posted: 17 Aug 2015 03:46 PM PDT By Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - A pro-government militia in Mali said on Monday it had killed 20 separatists in three days of fighting that the U.N. peacekeeping mission said undermined efforts to pacify the northern region of the country. The fighting occurred as neighboring Niger prepares to hold peace talks on Wednesday between the pro-government Platform group, which includes the Gatia militia, and the Tuareg-dominated Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA). The talks are aimed at restoring a peace agreement signed in June that the government had hoped would allow Mali's army to focus on stamping out Islamist groups.

Cook urges England to pile on the misery for Australia Posted: 17 Aug 2015 03:44 PM PDT Stuart Broad on Monday revealed that England captain Alastair Cook has urged his side to pile on the misery for beleaguered Australia in the final Ashes Test this week. Cook's men wrapped up the Ashes with a victory in the fourth Test that put them 3-1 up in the five-match series.

About 325,000 live in shadow of Ecuador's Cotopaxi volcano Posted: 17 Aug 2015 03:41 PM PDT QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorean authorities said Monday that up to 325,000 people live in areas that could be threatened by fast-moving mud and rock flows if there is a major eruption of the Cotopaxi volcano.

Feds allow Shell to drill for oil in Arctic Ocean off Alaska Posted: 17 Aug 2015 03:39 PM PDT ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The federal government on Monday gave Royal Dutch Shell the final permit it needs to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska's northwest coast for the first time in more than two decades.

Bolivia cuts coca crop by 11%, chides US war on drugs Posted: 17 Aug 2015 03:39 PM PDT The amount of farmland in Bolivia dedicated to cultivating coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine, fell by 11 percent last year, the fourth straight drop, the United Nations said Monday. The world's third-largest producer of the plant had 20,400 hectares (50,400 acres) of coca farms in 2014, a drop of more than a third -- or nearly 15,000 football fields -- since 2010, said the head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Bolivia, Antonino de Leo. President Evo Morales said the new figures showed the US-led war on drugs was less effective than his government's softer approach, which allows limited coca farming and works with farmers to help them develop alternative crops.

US: Computer breach bigger than first thought; 334K victims Posted: 17 Aug 2015 03:30 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A computer breach at the U.S. tax collecting agency in which thieves stole tax information from thousands of taxpayers is much bigger than the agency originally disclosed.

Trump immigration proposal divides Republican field Posted: 17 Aug 2015 03:17 PM PDT DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Donald Trump is dividing his Republican presidential rivals anew with his call to rewrite the U.S. Constitution to crack down on millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, and to force Mexico to pay for a wall along the border.

California man seeks to legalize pet ferrets - even though they bite Posted: 17 Aug 2015 03:08 PM PDT By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - Pat Wright loves his three ferrets - even though they do sometimes bite and he's had to replace the baseboards in part of his house after they urinated for years along the walls - and he really wants them to become legalized as pets in California. On Monday, Wright was anxiously preparing what he admits may be a quixotic campaign to legitimize Tiger, Bailey and Jethro after a decision on Friday by state officials in Sacramento to allow him to gather signatures to place a referendum on the ballot making it legal to own and import ferrets. "I had two cats, but I wanted something more interactive." He drove to Yuma, Arizona, and bought Chester, a neutered male who has since died, from a breeder there, bringing the ferret back to California even though the state, along with Hawaii, is one of two in the U.S. that bans them.

Rush-hour Bangkok bombing at busy shrine kills 18, hurts 117 Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:58 PM PDT BANGKOK (AP) — A bomb exploded Monday within a central Bangkok shrine that is among the city's most popular tourist spots, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 100 across a hectic intersection surrounded by five-star hotels and upscale shopping malls.

North Korea retaliates against South with loudspeaker propaganda Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:55 PM PDT North Korea on Monday resumed a campaign of loudspeakers blasting propaganda across its border with South Korea, days after the South took a similar step in response to a landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Tension between Pyongyang and Seoul is rising as U.S. and South Korean forces on Monday began annual joint military exercises that the North regularly protests. On Aug. 4, two South Korean soldiers were wounded by a landmine in the heavily-fortified demilitarized zone, which Seoul said was planted by the North.

'Straight Outta Compton' soars at N. America box office Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:51 PM PDT Los Angeles (AFP) - "Straight Outta Compton," a biopic about the pioneering rap group N.W.A., crushed the competition in its debut weekend to top the North American box office, industry data showed Monday. Racing past its rivals, the film -- named after the 1988 debut studio album from the group that gave birth to the gangsta rap genre and launched the careers of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre -- took in an impressive $60.2 million, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations reported. The Tom Cruise action-thriller, the fifth installment in the blockbuster franchise, has earned a total of $138.3 million after three weeks in theaters.

Fierce Ukraine clashes kill 10 as fears grow of broader fighting Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:48 PM PDT The European Union and the United Nations on Monday expressed alarm over a spike in violence in east Ukraine that claimed 10 lives as Russia warned Kiev could be preparing a fresh offensive. "We really strongly condemn this escalation of fighting and we call all sides to cease it and to observe the ceasefire," European Commission spokeswoman Catherine Ray told journalists in Brussels. Russia -- accused by Kiev and the West of sending troops and weapons across the border to fuel the insurgency -- turned the spotlight on Kiev, warning Ukraine could be readying for fresh fighting.

Amazon's data-driven approach becoming more common Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:45 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon isn't the only company that is using data on employees to improve productivity.

Disputed Benteke goal sinks Bournemouth Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:45 PM PDT Christian Benteke scored a contentious first Liverpool goal as his team shaded promoted Bournemouth 1-0 at Anfield on Monday to claim their second victory of the Premier League season. The teams' first ever league meeting was settled by £32.5 million ($50.8 million, 45.8 million euros) striker Benteke's 26th-minute strike in front of the Kop, but Bournemouth felt that in attempting to play the ball before it reached his team-mate, Philippe Coutinho had been offside. Having previously won 1-0 at Stoke City in their opening game, Brendan Rodgers's Liverpool moved level on points with Manchester City, Leicester City and Manchester United at the top of the two-game table.

U.S. gives Shell final nod to drill for oil in Arctic Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:42 PM PDT By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration granted Royal Dutch Shell final clearance on Monday to resume drilling for oil and gas in the environmentally fragile Arctic Ocean for the first time since 2012, a move green groups vowed to fight. The U.S. Department of the Interior permit allows Shell to drill in the oil-rich Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska. Shell interrupted its drilling program in the region in 2012 after suffering a series of mishaps, including losing control of an enormous rig, from which the Coast Guard had to rescue 18 workers.

Brookfield buys Australia freight firm Asciano for $6.6 bn Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:41 PM PDT Canada's Brookfield Infrastructure Partners announced a deal Monday to buy Australian ports and rail operator Asciano for US$6.6 billion in cash and stock. The transaction is the Canadian asset manager's largest takeover, adding Asciano's Australian container terminals with Brookfield's hubs in North America and Europe. Asciano's rail operations also pair well with Brookfield's Australian and Brazilian logistics businesses, according to Brookfield chief executive officer Sam Pollock.

Farah backs Coe to save crisis-hit athletics Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:37 PM PDT British Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah believes Sebastian Coe will clean up crisis-ridden athletics if he is elected International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) president this week. Coe will find out on Wednesday if he has won the vote to succeed 82-year-old Senegalese Lamine Diack as president of the battered sport's embattled world governing body. The 58-year-old, a double Olympic 1,500 metres champion, is running against pole vault legend Sergey Bubka for the top job at the IAAF.

G.Bissau marchers demand reinstatement of sacked premier Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:37 PM PDT Some 1,000 people marched in the capital of Guinea Bissau on Monday calling for the restitution of the prime minister, who was sacked after a standoff by the west African country's president. The marchers, including deposed premier Domingos Simoes Pereira himself, gathered outside the headquarters of the ruling PAIGC party in the centre of the capital Bissau. "With such a huge mobilisation... the institutions of the republic must respect the will of the people," Pereira told the crowd.

Liverpool beats Bournemouth 1-0 in Premier League Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:35 PM PDT LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Christian Benteke scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool on Monday to give his new team a 1-0 win over promoted Bournemouth in a game that was marked by two disputed refereeing decisions.

FDA: scope manufacturer waited years to report problems Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:34 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators have uncovered new violations by the manufacturer of medical scopes recently linked to outbreaks of deadly "superbug" bacteria at U.S. hospitals.

Stocks climb as China's currency steadies, homebuilders rise Posted: 17 Aug 2015 02:29 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market climbed on Monday as China's currency steadied and optimism among homebuilders rose.

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