Yahoo! News: World News

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• Saudi Arabia recruits Sunni allies in row with Iran
• South China Sea tensions surge as China lands plane on artificial island
• Syria chemical arms probe found signs of sarin gas exposure: U.N.
• U.N. pushes Syria, Yemen peace amid 'worrying' Saudi break with Iran
• Hezbollah targets Israeli forces with bomb, Israel shells south Lebanon
• Venezuela's Maduro limits congressional oversight of central bank
• U.S. says Venezuelan government interfering in new National Assembly
• Guatemala volcano spews fire, towering ash cloud
• Top Asian News 1:04 a.m. GMT
• 80-year-old Tokyo fish market holds final New Year auction
• Haiti panel says vote irregularities due to incompetence
• National Symphony Orchestra names Noseda music director
• Saudi Arabia sees 'no effect' from break with Iran on Syria, Yemen
• Martinez eyes end to Everton's trophy drought
• First Hondurans deported from US this year arrive home
• Saudi says break in Iran ties will not harm Syria, Yemen peace push
• Governor says Mexican mayor's killing a warning by drug gang
• Armed activists defy US government in Oregon standoff
• U.S. says expects Syria meetings to go forward despite Saudi-Iran tensions
• Britain urged to take 3,000 refugee children at risk of trafficking
• Berlin's Tierpark zoo presents newborn baby elephant
• Andy Friend appointed Australia sevens coach
• The Latest: Saudis insist 47 executed had fair trial
• Rain delays day three start at Windies Test
• UN watchdog finds traces of Syria sarin gas exposure
• 'Rookie' Loeb speeds to maiden Dakar stage win
• 'Affluenza' teen deportation appeal may take months _ or day
• At U.N., Saudi Arabia says 47 executed were granted fair trials
• Rennes downs Nice in French Cup
• Cuban migrants may fly out of Costa Rica next week: minister
• Mississippi River crest rolls toward Tennessee; singer's body found
• Obama to force through gun control measures
• Ex-All Blacks coach John Mitchell hired to lead US team
• Saudi-Iran crisis a rebuke for US policy
• Unusual shooting attack sets off panic in Israeli heartland
• Stocks sink around the world on first trading day of 2016
• Homicides up 70 pct in El Salvador, among deadliest nations
• Virginia governor becomes fourth to visit Cuba since detente

Saudi Arabia recruits Sunni allies in row with Iran Posted: 04 Jan 2016 10:56 AM PST By Sam Wilkin DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia rallied Sunni allies to its side in a growing diplomatic row with Iran on Monday, deepening a sectarian split across the Middle East following the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric. Bahrain and Sudan cut all ties with Iran, following Riyadh's example the previous day. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters Riyadh would also halt air traffic and commercial relations between the rival powers.

South China Sea tensions surge as China lands plane on artificial island Posted: 04 Jan 2016 01:11 PM PST By Greg Torode and Michael Martina HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's first landing of a plane on one of its new island runways in the South China Sea shows Beijing's facilities in the disputed region are being completed on schedule and military flights will inevitably follow, foreign officials and analysts said. China's increasing military presence in the disputed sea could effectively lead to a Beijing-controlled air defense zone, they said, ratcheting up tensions with other claimants and with the United States in one of the world's most volatile areas. Chinese foreign ministry officials confirmed on Saturday that a test flight by a civilian plane landed on an artificial island built in the Spratlys, the first time Beijing has used a runway in the area.

Syria chemical arms probe found signs of sarin gas exposure: U.N. Posted: 04 Jan 2016 12:58 PM PST By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A fact-finding mission of the global anti-chemical weapons watchdog has found indications that some people in Syria were exposed to deadly sarin gas, or a compound like it, according to a report the United Nations released on Monday. The findings come in the latest monthly report on Syria from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) chief Ahmet Uzumcu. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attached it in a Dec. 29 letter to the 15-nation Security Council.

U.N. pushes Syria, Yemen peace amid 'worrying' Saudi break with Iran Posted: 04 Jan 2016 04:21 PM PST By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations worked quickly on Monday to salvage fragile international bids to broker peace in Syria and Yemen from a spillover of tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran after Riyadh's decision to cut off ties with Tehran. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday told Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir he was extremely troubled by the break in ties, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Hezbollah targets Israeli forces with bomb, Israel shells south Lebanon Posted: 04 Jan 2016 10:19 AM PST By John Davison and Suleiman Al-Khalidi BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah set off a bomb targeting Israeli forces at the Lebanese border on Monday in an apparent response to the killing in Syria last month of a prominent commander, triggering Israeli shelling of southern Lebanon. Israel has struck its Iran-backed Shi'ite enemy Hezbollah in Syria several times, killing a number of fighters and destroying weapons it believes were destined for the group, whose support for President Bashar al-Assad has been crucial in the country's civil war. Israel's army said Monday's blast, targeting military vehicles in the Shebaa farms area, prompted Israeli forces to respond with artillery fire.

Venezuela's Maduro limits congressional oversight of central bank Posted: 04 Jan 2016 05:08 PM PST Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday eliminated the National Assembly's control over nomination and removal of central bank directors through a legal reform that the opposition slammed as aimed to curtail its power a day before it takes leadership of the legislature. Venezuela's opposition trounced the ruling Socialist Party and its allies in legislative elections in December, winning two-thirds of the Congress, in large part due to voter fury over a brutal economic crisis. One of the opposition's key economic aims was to try to overhaul the central bank amid triple-digit inflation, recession and widespread shortages.

U.S. says Venezuelan government interfering in new National Assembly Posted: 04 Jan 2016 05:13 PM PST The United States expressed concern on Monday that the Venezuelan government is trying to obstruct the actions of the country's National Assembly, which convenes on Tuesday for its first session with an opposition majority in more than 16 years. "We are concerned by the Venezuelan government's efforts to interfere with the newly elected National Assembly exercising its constitutionally mandated duties," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters, without giving details. President Nicolas Maduro responded saying that Venezuela would "not accept imperialism." "Why does the State Department and the U.S. government care about the installation of the National Assembly?" Maduro said during a television address on Monday evening.

Guatemala volcano spews fire, towering ash cloud Posted: 04 Jan 2016 05:06 PM PST GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala's Volcano of Fire erupted in dramatic fashion, spewing incandescent material and sending columns of ash up to 23,000 feet (7,000 meters) above sea level.

Top Asian News 1:04 a.m. GMT Posted: 04 Jan 2016 05:04 PM PST PATHANKOT, India (AP) — A fifth gunman was killed Monday on the third day of a siege at a heavily fortified Indian air base near the border with Pakistan and at least one attacker remained as troops worked to secure the sprawling compound, a military official said. Seven troops have been killed. The search operations at Pathankot air force base will continue until all areas have been completely secured, Maj. Gen. Dushyant Singh, from India's elite National Security Guard, told reporters. The attack has dragged on since early Saturday morning as government troops struggle to contain the heavily armed attackers. At least twice over the weekend it appeared that the attack had ended but fresh gunfire and explosions erupted both times.

80-year-old Tokyo fish market holds final New Year auction Posted: 04 Jan 2016 05:04 PM PST TOKYO (AP) — It's among the biggest of Japan's many New Year holiday rituals: Early on Tuesday, a huge, glistening tuna was auctioned for about 14 million Japanese yen ($118,000) at Tokyo's 80-year-old Tsukiji market. Next year, if all goes as planned, the tradition won't be quite the same.

Haiti panel says vote irregularities due to incompetence Posted: 04 Jan 2016 05:03 PM PST PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A commission that evaluated Haiti's contested presidential election said Monday that most of the irregularities it found in first-round voting were the result of widespread ineptitude by poll workers and not political mischief.

National Symphony Orchestra names Noseda music director Posted: 04 Jan 2016 05:03 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Symphony Orchestra has named Gianandrea Noseda as its musical director for the 2017-18 season.

Saudi Arabia sees 'no effect' from break with Iran on Syria, Yemen Posted: 04 Jan 2016 04:55 PM PST Saudi Arabia's decision to break off relations with Iran should have no impact on peace efforts in Syria and Yemen, Riyadh's envoy to the United Nations said Monday. "From our side, it should have no effect because we will continue to work very hard to support the peace efforts in Syria and Yemen," Saudi Ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi told reporters.

Martinez eyes end to Everton's trophy drought Posted: 04 Jan 2016 04:53 PM PST It is more than 20 years since Everton last won a trophy and Roberto Martinez says more silverware is long overdue as his side prepare for Wednesday's League Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester City. The FA Cup in 1995 was the last addition to the trophy cabinet at Goodison Park, which during the 1980s had also been home to two league titles and a further FA Cup success in 1984.

First Hondurans deported from US this year arrive home Posted: 04 Jan 2016 04:41 PM PST The first 115 Hondurans to be deported from the United States this year arrived home on Monday, a group that looks after them said. The expulsion on a flight to the northern city of San Pedro Sula is a relatively common occurrence. In 2014, a total 36,416 Hondurans were deported from America, and last year around 19,000 were sent back.

Saudi says break in Iran ties will not harm Syria, Yemen peace push Posted: 04 Jan 2016 04:34 PM PST Saudi Arabia's decision to break off diplomatic ties with Iran will not affect its own efforts to secure peace in Syria and Yemen, the kingdom's ambassador to the United Nations, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, said on Monday. "From our side it should have no effect because we will continue to work very hard to support the peace efforts in Syria, in Yemen," he told reporters.

Governor says Mexican mayor's killing a warning by drug gang Posted: 04 Jan 2016 04:30 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — A drug gang killed a newly installed mayor over the weekend as a warning to other officials to reject state police control of local cops and let cartels co-opt low-paid local officers, the governor of Morelos state said Monday.

Armed activists defy US government in Oregon standoff Posted: 04 Jan 2016 04:28 PM PST A band of armed anti-government activists occupying a federal wildlife reserve in rural Oregon dug in for a third day Monday, as the ranchers they claimed to be defending denounced the siege and turned themselves in to the law. The loose-knit band of farmers, ranchers and survivalists -- who have dubbed themselves "citizens for constitutional freedom" -- began the siege in protest at the jailing of Dwight Hammond, 73, and his son Steven, 46, convicted of arson for setting fire to federal land. Up to a hundred protesters are believed to be holed up at the snowy visitor's center for the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, which they took over to show solidarity with the Hammonds, and demand that a court rescind an order for their arrest.

U.S. says expects Syria meetings to go forward despite Saudi-Iran tensions Posted: 04 Jan 2016 04:21 PM PST The United States expects meetings planned for this month to bring together warring parties in Syria to go forward despite a flare-up in tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran triggered by the execution of a Shi'ite cleric in the kingdom, the U.S. State Department said on Monday. "We still hope and expect that meetings between opposition groups and regime can happen this month," State Department spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing when asked about the effect of the Iran-Saudi tensions on the efforts to bring an end to the nearly 5-year-old conflict in Syria.

Britain urged to take 3,000 refugee children at risk of trafficking Posted: 04 Jan 2016 04:20 PM PST By Magdalena Mis LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Britain should take in 3,000 refugee children who are traveling through Europe alone and are at risk of falling prey to human traffickers, a parliamentary committee said on Tuesday. Resettling unaccompanied children should be on top of the current commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees, said the International Development Committee, which monitors the performance of Britain's development aid ministry (DFID). "Children are clearly some of the most vulnerable refugees this crisis has created," Stephen Twigg, chair of the committee, said in a statement.

Berlin's Tierpark zoo presents newborn baby elephant Posted: 04 Jan 2016 04:20 PM PST Berlin's Tierpark zoo has a new addition -- a baby elephant born during the night between New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Andreas Knieriem, director of the zoo, said on Monday mum Kewa gave birth to the yet unnamed Asian elephant, her sixth calf, without help from vets or keepers.  "We knew of course that there was an elephant birth coming up.

Andy Friend appointed Australia sevens coach Posted: 04 Jan 2016 04:14 PM PST SYDNEY (AP) — Former ACT Brumbies coach Andy Friend has been appointed coach of the Australia rugby sevens team and will guide the side to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

The Latest: Saudis insist 47 executed had fair trial Posted: 04 Jan 2016 04:07 PM PST TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The latest developments after Saudi Arabia severs diplomatic ties with Tehran amid a dispute over Riyadh's execution of an opposition Shiite cleric and attacks on Saudi diplomatic posts in Iran. (All times local.)

Rain delays day three start at Windies Test Posted: 04 Jan 2016 04:01 PM PST Sydney (AFP) - Rain delayed the start of the third day of the third Test between Australia and the West Indies at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

UN watchdog finds traces of Syria sarin gas exposure Posted: 04 Jan 2016 03:33 PM PST A fact-finding mission by the UN chemical weapons watchdog has found that some people in Syria may have been exposed to sarin or a sarin-like gas, according to a report released Monday. The mission by the Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said it was investigating 11 incidents of the use of toxic chemicals reported by the Syrian government. "In one instance, the analysis of some blood samples indicates that individuals were at some point exposed to sarin or a sarin-like substance," said the OPCW report sent to the Security Council last week.

'Rookie' Loeb speeds to maiden Dakar stage win Posted: 04 Jan 2016 03:19 PM PST Termas de Río Hondo (Argentina) (AFP) - Nine-time rally world champion Sebastien Loeb won his first Dakar Rally stage on Monday, the 387km run between Villa Carlos Paz and Termas de Rio Hondo in Argentina. At the wheel of a Peugeot the 41-year-old Frenchman took 3 hours 45mins and 46sec to complete the second stage, which had been shortened due to a section being badly effected by heavy overnight rain. Stephane Peterhansel, a 50-year-old Frenchman, also in a Peugeot and a multiple Dakar winner, came in second some 2min 30sec adrift.

'Affluenza' teen deportation appeal may take months _ or day Posted: 04 Jan 2016 03:19 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican lawyer for a Texas teenager known for using an "affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving accident said Monday that his appeal against deportation could delay his client's return to the United States for weeks, perhaps months — or just a single day.

At U.N., Saudi Arabia says 47 executed were granted fair trials Posted: 04 Jan 2016 03:18 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia defended its judicial process at the United Nations on Monday, saying that 47 people executed at the weekend had been granted "fair and just trials without any consideration to their intellectual, racial, or sectarian affiliation." The Saudi U.N. mission expressed "deep regret" that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had raised concerns about the nature of the charges and fairness of the trials of those executed, which included a prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Chris Reese)

Rennes downs Nice in French Cup Posted: 04 Jan 2016 03:17 PM PST NICE, France (AP) — Rennes grabbed the final spot available in the round of 32 of the French Cup with a 7-6 victory on penalties over fellow first-division side Nice on Monday.

Cuban migrants may fly out of Costa Rica next week: minister Posted: 04 Jan 2016 03:16 PM PST San José (AFP) - A first group of US-bound Cuban migrants stranded in Costa Rica may fly out of the country to continue their journey next week, Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez said Monday. Under the "pilot" plan worked out with other Central American nations and Mexico, the first group of around 180 Cubans was meant to have been flown out this week to El Salvador, where they were to be put on buses for an overland journey through Guatemala and Mexico to the US border. The flight depended on finding an aircraft big enough to take the group -- a challenge during the current tourism high season in Central America -- and coordination with the other governments involved, he said.

Mississippi River crest rolls toward Tennessee; singer's body found Posted: 04 Jan 2016 03:15 PM PST Tennessee residents girded on Monday for the rapidly rising Mississippi River to crest within days as Oklahoma officials found the body of a country-rock singer whose boat capsized on a lake in late December. The swollen Mississippi and rivers that feed into it wreaked havoc in Missouri and Illinois after late December heavy rain and severe storms brought flooding across several central U.S. states, leaving at least 33 people dead. Officials on Monday found the body of Craig Strickland, 29, lead singer of the country-rock band Backroad Anthem, in an Oklahoma lake.

Obama to force through gun control measures Posted: 04 Jan 2016 03:04 PM PST President Barack Obama will on Tuesday introduce a raft of executive actions to tackle US gun violence, bypassing Congress and its staunch opposition to gun control. Obama is scheduled to unveil the measures in the East Room of the White House, his adminstration said in a statement Monday. Speaking ahead of the announcement, Obama used Oval Office remarks to decry high rates of mass shooting and gun suicide in America that far exceed levels in other countries.

Ex-All Blacks coach John Mitchell hired to lead US team Posted: 04 Jan 2016 03:02 PM PST Former New Zealand coach John Mitchell has been hired by the United States to lead the national team into the 2020 World Cup.

Saudi-Iran crisis a rebuke for US policy Posted: 04 Jan 2016 03:00 PM PST Washington's single-minded pursuit of the Iran nuclear deal damaged its alliance with Saudi Arabia, experts say, and fed the escalating crisis in the Gulf. The United States failed to manage its traditional Sunni Arab allies in the region while it reached out to mend ties with their bitter Shiite foes in Tehran. As a result, experts warn, Washington has suffered a loss of influence at a time when it needs to implement the nuclear accord and work with both Tehran and Riyadh to end the Syrian war.

Unusual shooting attack sets off panic in Israeli heartland Posted: 04 Jan 2016 02:59 PM PST TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — For all its years of strife, Israel has rarely seen anything quite like this: an armed, wanted Arab killer on the loose, spreading fear across the land.

Stocks sink around the world on first trading day of 2016 Posted: 04 Jan 2016 02:54 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — The new year got off to an inauspicious start on Wall Street as stocks tumbled Monday in a global sell-off triggered by new fears of a slowdown in China and rising tensions in the Middle East.

Homicides up 70 pct in El Salvador, among deadliest nations Posted: 04 Jan 2016 02:53 PM PST SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Killings spiked by nearly 70 percent last year in this gang-plagued Central American nation, authorities said Monday, resulting in a homicide rate that could make it the world's most violent country.

Virginia governor becomes fourth to visit Cuba since detente Posted: 04 Jan 2016 02:43 PM PST HAVANA (AP) — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe began a trade mission to Cuba on Monday, expressing optimism about imminent changes in the U.S. relationship with the island but seeming less certain his trip would quickly generate new business for his state.

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