Yahoo! News: World News

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• Suspected Islamist gunmen take hostages in attack on Burkina Faso hotel
• Syria tells U.N.: No one cares more about our people than us
• North Korea says peace treaty, halt to exercises, would end nuclear tests
• Indonesia kills one militant after attack, search for more
• Report paving way for Iran sanctions relief likely Saturday
• China seeks investment for disputed islands, to launch flights
• American tourist found dead in Belize, homicide suspected
• Top Asian News 12:34 a.m. GMT
• Facts about Taiwan for Saturday presidential election
• Venezuela's Maduro faces off with hostile legislature
• Taiwan goes to polls in historic presidential vote
• Tsai Ing-wen, Eric Chu vying for Taiwan's presidency
• Liverpool, Man Utd look for winning balance
• At least 20 dead in Burkina Faso hotel attack: hospital chief
• First of 8,000 stranded Cuban migrants cross into US
• Russia says West 'politicizing' humanitarian crisis in Syria
• Pro-China party likely to lose power in Taiwan's election
• Honduran team unearths ceramics at 'White City' site
• Mexico's Pena Nieto to tour Gulf states, eye on oil
• UN agency: Starving Syrian teen died 'in front of our eyes'
• Al-Qaeda affiliate claims Ouagadougou attack: monitor group
• Polls open in Taiwan's presidential election with China-friendly Nationalists appearing set to lose power after 8 years
• People killed in Burkina hotel attack: foreign minister
• Peterhansel, Price preserve big leads and set to win Dakar
• Prince Ali asks FIFA to investigate vote rival Sheikh Salman
• Ospreys rally past Clermont to boost European hopes
• Canada top court further delays new assisted dying rules
• Al Qaeda group claims responsibility for Burkina hotel siege
• Burkina Faso imposes curfew from 2300 GMT to 0600 amid attack: French envoy
• Gunfire, explosions in 'terror attack' at Burkina Faso hotel
• Swedish citizens get 11 years in U.S. prison for al Shabaab support
• Jazz parades and glittery parties as fans mourn Bowie
• Harry Potter fans raise a wand to late actor Rickman
• Representative: Singer Celine Dion's brother has cancer
• Snedeker sets the target at Waialae
• DiCaprio has 'no nerves' over Oscar nomination
• Mysterious 'Zuma must fall' billboard baffles Cape Town
• Colombia's Nicolas Echavarria leads Latin American Amateur

Suspected Islamist gunmen take hostages in attack on Burkina Faso hotel Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:31 PM PST By Mathieu Bonkoungou and Nadoun Coulibaly OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - Security forces in Burkina Faso battled suspected Islamist fighters late on Friday who were holding hostages at a hotel used by foreigners in the capital, Ouagadougou, gendarmes and witnesses said. The attack, claimed by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), would be the first by Islamist militants in the capital of Burkina Faso. It follows a deadly raid on a hotel in Mali last November as well as attacks by militants in other countries in West Africa.

Syria tells U.N.: No one cares more about our people than us Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:34 PM PST By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Syria told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that no one cares more about the Syrian people than President Bashar al-Assad's government after the United Nations accused rival parties in the five-year conflict of war crimes by starving civilians. The Security Council met to discuss the besiegement of some 400,000 people in Syria. The United Nations says half are in Islamic State controlled areas, some 180,000 in government areas and about 12,000 in areas controlled by opposition armed groups.

North Korea says peace treaty, halt to exercises, would end nuclear tests Posted: 15 Jan 2016 12:32 PM PST North Korea on Saturday called for the conclusion of a peace treaty with the United States and a halt to U.S. military exercises with South Korea to end its nuclear tests. The isolated state has long sought a peace treaty with the United States, as well as an end to the exercises by South Korea and the United States, which has about 28,500 troops based in South Korea.

Indonesia kills one militant after attack, search for more Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:18 AM PST By Randy Fabi and Fergus Jensen JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian police killed one suspected militant and arrested two more in raids across the country on Friday, a day after an attack by Islamic State suicide bombers and gunmen in the heart of the Southeast Asian nation's capital. Police chiefs across the country were on high alert, some embassies in Jakarta were closed for the day and security was stepped up on the resort island of Bali, a draw for tourists from Australia and other Asian countries. "It's clear that the (Jakarta attackers) didn't set this up themselves.

Report paving way for Iran sanctions relief likely Saturday Posted: 15 Jan 2016 02:02 PM PST By Shadia Nasralla and Arshad Mohammed VIENNA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An IAEA report verifying that Iran has kept its promises under last year's nuclear deal with world powers and triggering sanctions relief for Tehran is likely to be issued on Saturday, a diplomatic source said on Friday. Under the deal, Iran agreed to shrink its atomic program in exchange for the lifting of some EU, U.S. and U.N sanctions, which would allow billions of dollars of investment to flow into the country. In a sign its implementation may be at hand, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini will meet in Vienna on Saturday, the U.S. State Department said.

China seeks investment for disputed islands, to launch flights Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:07 PM PST By Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China will invite private investment to build infrastructure on islands it controls in the disputed South China Sea and will start regular flights to one of them this year, state media said on Friday, moves likely to anger other claimants. A U.S. research institute, meanwhile, said China appeared to have stepped up construction work on artificial islands it has built in the South China Sea and was close to finishing two more military-length airstrips on them. China claims almost all of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of maritime trade passes each year.

American tourist found dead in Belize, homicide suspected Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:47 PM PST BELIZE CITY, Belize (AP) — Belizean authorities are investigating the suspicious death of an American tourist who was vacationing in the town of Benque Viejo del Carmen on the Belize-Guatemala border.

Top Asian News 12:34 a.m. GMT Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:34 PM PST TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Voting began Saturday in Taiwan's presidential election in which the island's China-friendly Nationalist Party appears likely to lose power to the pro-independence opposition, amid concerns that the island's economy is under threat from China and broad opposition among voters to Beijing's demands for political unification. The Democratic Progressive Party's Tsai Ing-wen is poised to become the self-governing island's first female president, returning the main opposition party to power after eight years under Nationalist President Ma Ying-jeou, who is constitutionally barred from another term. The outcome of the contest for a majority in the 133-seat legislature remains uncertain, with independents and smaller parties posing a threat to both the Nationalists and the DPP.

Facts about Taiwan for Saturday presidential election Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:33 PM PST TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Some basic information about the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan, which is holding elections for president and the 133-seat national legislature Saturdauy:

Venezuela's Maduro faces off with hostile legislature Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:30 PM PST Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro made his first appearance before a hostile legislature Friday, hours after decreeing a two-month state of "economic emergency" in the crisis-hit, oil-rich nation. Maduro's first state of the nation address before the newly opposition-held National Assembly, which is locked in a bitter power struggle with his administration, came as Venezuela's central bank released its first official economic growth and inflation statistics in more than a year. The leftist president was alternately conciliatory and defiant as he launched into his speech, telling the opposition he was ready for dialogue to preserve the peace but chastising them for such measures as removing portraits of his late predecessor Hugo Chavez from the legislature.

Taiwan goes to polls in historic presidential vote Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:25 PM PST Polls opened in Taiwan Saturday with the island expected to elect its first female president in a historic vote likely to end eight years of closer China ties. The boisterous democracy is expected to push back against Beijing by bringing scholar-turned-politician Tsai Ing-wen to power, unseating the China-friendly ruling party. Voters are uneasy about warming relations with Beijing and, as the economy stagnates, many are frustrated that trade pacts signed with China have failed to benefit ordinary Taiwanese.

Tsai Ing-wen, Eric Chu vying for Taiwan's presidency Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:24 PM PST TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A look at the two main candidates running in Taiwan's presidential election on Saturday.

Liverpool, Man Utd look for winning balance Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:24 PM PST Despite starkly contrasting playing philosophies, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and his Manchester United counterpart Louis van Gaal are grappling with similar problems ahead of their meeting at Anfield on Sunday. While Klopp espouses hard-running, high-pressing, "heavy metal" football, Van Gaal is all about patient ball retention, but both men are yet to find a consistent formula for scoring goals. Liverpool's return of 22 goals from their first 20 league games this season was the worst in their history, while United have not scored so few goals at this stage of a season (27) since the 1992-93 campaign.

At least 20 dead in Burkina Faso hotel attack: hospital chief Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:20 PM PST Ouagadougou (AFP) - At least 20 people have been killed and another 15 wounded in an ongoing assault on a hotel in the capital of Burkina Faso on Friday night, a hospital chief told AFP.

First of 8,000 stranded Cuban migrants cross into US Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:19 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — The first of 8,000 Cuban migrants recently stranded in Central America have crossed the Mexican border into the United States.

Russia says West 'politicizing' humanitarian crisis in Syria Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:18 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia dismissed a Security Council meeting Friday on the siege of Syrian towns as "unnecessary noise" that politicizes a humanitarian crisis and risks derailing upcoming peace talks.

Pro-China party likely to lose power in Taiwan's election Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:17 PM PST TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Voting began Saturday in Taiwan's presidential election in which the island's China-friendly Nationalist Party appears likely to lose power to the pro-independence opposition, amid concerns that the island's economy is under threat from China and broad opposition among voters to Beijing's demands for political unification.

Honduran team unearths ceramics at 'White City' site Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:16 PM PST TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Honduran officials said Friday that archaeologists have begun excavations at a mysterious site on Honduras' Caribbean coast that may be the long-rumored "White City" ruins.

Mexico's Pena Nieto to tour Gulf states, eye on oil Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:11 PM PST Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto will depart Sunday for state visits to Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, focused on economic and energy issues, his government said. Pena Nieto, who is trying to breathe new life into Mexico's key oil sector, will seek to increase trade and investment ties with "a part of the world that is continually growing in importance," said Foreign Minister Claudia Ruiz Massieu. Mexico is keen to attract investment to its oil sector after Pena Nieto undertook reforms that ended state-run firm Pemex's 77-year monopoly.

UN agency: Starving Syrian teen died 'in front of our eyes' Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:10 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — The U.N. children's agency said Friday that it witnessed the death of a teenager who died of starvation "in front of our eyes," as well as several cases of severe malnutrition among children trapped in the besieged Syrian town of Madaya near Damascus.

Al-Qaeda affiliate claims Ouagadougou attack: monitor group Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:02 PM PST An Al-Qaeda affiliate in Africa has claimed responsibility for Friday's attack on a restaurant in Ouagadougou in which a witness said several people were killed, according to a US-based jihadist monitoring group. The "mujahideen brothers" of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb "broke into a restaurant of one of the biggest hotels in the capital of Burkina Faso, and are now entrenched and the clashes are continuing with the enemies of the religion," the SITE Intelligence Group quoted an Arabic-language AQIM message as saying. A Burkina Faso official said there were victims in the ongoing attack as well as hostages, and that the government was planning a counter-assault that may include foreign forces.

Polls open in Taiwan's presidential election with China-friendly Nationalists appearing set to lose power after 8 years Posted: 15 Jan 2016 04:01 PM PST TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Polls open in Taiwan's presidential election with China-friendly Nationalists appearing set to lose power after 8 years .

People killed in Burkina hotel attack: foreign minister Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:58 PM PST OUAGADOUGOU (Reuters) - People have died at a hotel in Burkina Faso's capital under attack on Friday by suspected Islamist militants who have taken hostages, the country's foreign minister Alpha Barry told Reuters. Security forces have secured a perimeter around the Splendid Hotel and await an order to begin an assault and the government does not rule out calling for help from French special forces stationed in the country, he said in a telephone interview. (Reporting by Mathieu Bonkoungou; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Chris Reese)

Peterhansel, Price preserve big leads and set to win Dakar Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:50 PM PST VILLA CARLOS PAZ, Argentina (AP) — Stephane Peterhansel will take a 41-minute lead into the final stage of the Dakar Rally on Saturday, enough to win the world's toughest rally a record-extending 12th time.

Prince Ali asks FIFA to investigate vote rival Sheikh Salman Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:46 PM PST LONDON (AP) — FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali bin al-Hussein on Friday accused rival Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al Khalifa of attempting to break election rules and asked soccer's governing body to investigate a contentious deal.

Ospreys rally past Clermont to boost European hopes Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:37 PM PST Sam Davies came off the bench to lift Ospreys to a gritty 21-13 comeback win over French side Clermont to top Pool 2 in the European Champions Cup on Friday. Fly-half Davies kicked 15 points after the break to put the Welsh region within touching distance of the quarter-finals. Clermont, last year's runners-up, had held the advantage until the final 15 minutes but paid for ill-discipline with their progress now out of their own hands.

Canada top court further delays new assisted dying rules Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:33 PM PST Canada's high court gave parliament another four months Friday to rewrite the law in order to allow doctors to help gravely ill patients die upon request. The government had asked for time to amend the nation's Criminal Code after the court in February 2014 quashed a section prohibiting assisted suicide, effectively authorizing it for consenting adults with serious health problems.

Al Qaeda group claims responsibility for Burkina hotel siege Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:27 PM PST DAKAR (Reuters) - Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said on Friday it was responsible for an ongoing attack on a hotel in Burkina Faso's capital, SITE Intelligence Group reported. A senior member of the ultra hardline group had called in December for Muslims in several countries, including Burkina Faso, to wage jihad. AQIM, along with two other groups, also claimed responsibility for killing 20 people and taking hostages in the capital of neighboring Mali in November. (Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Burkina Faso imposes curfew from 2300 GMT to 0600 amid attack: French envoy Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:27 PM PST A curfew has been put in place in the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou from 2300 GMT (1800 ET) to 0600, France's ambassador to the country said on Saturday, as suspected Islamist gunmen held hostages at a hotel in the capital. Gilles Thibault said on his Twitter account the attack in its former colony was ongoing and that the embassy had set up a crisis unit for its citizens. Describing the assault on the Splendid Hotel in the capital's business district as a "terrorist attack," the embassy had earlier told French nationals to say at home and avoid the area.

Gunfire, explosions in 'terror attack' at Burkina Faso hotel Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:27 PM PST Gunshots and explosions were heard coming from one of Ouagadougou's main hotels and a nearby restaurant on Friday night, with a witness saying several people had been killed in what the French embassy called a terrorist attack. Around 10 vehicles were on fire in the street where the four-star Splendid hotel and the Cappuccino restaurant opposite -- both popular with United Nations staff and westerners -- are located in a busy, central area of Burkina Faso's capital not far from the international airport. The attack comes less than two months after a jihadist hostage siege at the luxury Radisson Blu Hotel in the Malian capital Bamako in November, in which 20 people died including 14 foreigners.

Swedish citizens get 11 years in U.S. prison for al Shabaab support Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:20 PM PST By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two Swedish citizens who U.S. prosecutors said fought alongside the Islamist militant group al Shabaab in Somalia in battles to take control of the country's capital of Mogadishu were sentenced to 11 years in prison on Friday. Ali Yasin Ahmed, 31, and Mohamed Yusuf, 33, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Gleeson in Brooklyn, New York, in light of their guilty pleas in May to conspiring to provide material support to al Shabaab.

Jazz parades and glittery parties as fans mourn Bowie Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:17 PM PST From an outrageously costumed parade to a bacchanalian party in heaps of glitter, memorial events to David Bowie are multiplying as fans find their own ways to mourn the rock legend. Bowie -- a pioneer of glam rock at the start of a half-century career marked by constant reinvention -- apparently did not want a soppy public funeral. Arcade Fire, the Canadian indie rockers championed by Bowie when they started out, announced that the group would lead a parade Saturday through New Orleans.

Harry Potter fans raise a wand to late actor Rickman Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:17 PM PST Fans of the Harry Potter saga paid tribute Friday to the late actor Alan Rickman at the mythical platform 9 3/4 at London's King's Cross station. One letter left among the flowers at King's Cross reflected how Rickman had made the character his own. "Dear Alan, I was so shocked to hear of your death," it read.

Representative: Singer Celine Dion's brother has cancer Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:16 PM PST MONTREAL (AP) — Pop singer Celine Dion's representative said Friday that Dion's brother has cancer and doesn't have long to live, even as funeral arrangements were announced for Dion's husband, who died a day earlier.

Snedeker sets the target at Waialae Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:06 PM PST HONOLULU (AP) — Brandt Snedeker had a 5-under 65 and never came seriously close to a bogey Friday to build a one-shot lead midway through the second round of the Sony Open.

DiCaprio has 'no nerves' over Oscar nomination Posted: 15 Jan 2016 03:06 PM PST US actor Leonardo DiCaprio on Friday claimed to feel no nerves at the prospect of claiming his first Oscar for his role in "The Revenant", saying he had "done the work" and could do no more. "The Revenant" is an odyssey of survival and revenge in which DiCaprio ate raw buffalo liver, climbed snowy mountains and bathed in icy rivers as he played the legendary trapper Hugh Glass. The film, directed by Alejandro Inarritu, is up for 12 Oscars, it was announced Thursday.

Mysterious 'Zuma must fall' billboard baffles Cape Town Posted: 15 Jan 2016 02:58 PM PST A giant billboard calling for President Jacob Zuma to be ousted appeared in central Cape Town Friday, startling the normally sleepy city into feverish speculation over who was behind it. Twitter lit up with speculation over suspects, with perhaps the most trenchant suggestion being that it was "Someone with big balls & deep pockets". The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, which has repeatedly called for Zuma's impeachment, denied it was responsible.

Colombia's Nicolas Echavarria leads Latin American Amateur Posted: 15 Jan 2016 02:52 PM PST LA ROMANA, Dominican Republic (AP) — Colombia's Nicolas Echavarria shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead after the second round of the Latin American Amateur Championship.

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