2016年1月26日星期二

Yahoo! News: World News

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: World News


U.N. invites warring parties to Syria talks this week

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 12:17 PM PST

A girl carrying a baby inspects damage in a site hit by what activists said were airstrikes carried out by the Russian air force in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, SyriaBy Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Tom Perry and Tom Miles AMMAN/BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations invited Syria's government and opposition to peace talks in Geneva on Friday, but Saudi-backed opponents of President Bashar al-Assad have yet to decide whether to drop their objections to taking part. The U.N. Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, sent out invitations to the delayed talks on Tuesday, without saying who had been invited or how many groups might participate. Earlier, the opposition had cast doubt on whether it would go to Geneva, accusing the United States of adopting unacceptable Iranian and Russian ideas on solving the conflict.


Boosting Middle East economy is way to beat extremism: Iranian president

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 08:17 AM PST

Iran President Hassan Rouhani talks during a business forum in RomeBy Steve Scherer and Antonella Cinelli ROME (Reuters) - Generating economic growth in the Middle East is crucial to defeating extremism, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday, putting forward his country as a regional trade hub and pillar of stability. Rouhani is on a four-day trip to Italy and France, looking to rebuild Iranian relations with the West some two weeks after financial sanctions on Tehran were rolled back following the implementation of its nuclear deal with world powers. Italy announced some 17 billion euros ($18.4 billion) of business deals with Iran on Monday.


Police give all clear after Saudi, Qatar missions to U.N. evacuated

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:44 PM PST

New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers arrive at 809 First Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York to investigate suspicious packagePolice cleared a suspicious package on Tuesday that had led to the evacuation of a building opposite the United Nations headquarters in New York that houses the U.N. missions of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. "It's all over," said John Miller, New York Police Department deputy commissioner for intelligence and counter-terrorism. A U.N. security official said the package was found in the Saudi Arabian U.N. mission.


Al Qaeda group releases video of Swiss hostage: monitor

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 03:28 PM PST

The Swiss embassy is seen in BamakoAl Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) released a video of a Swiss nun who had been kidnapped in northern Mali nearly three weeks ago in the first claim of responsibility for the hostage-taking, according to SITE Intelligence Group. The video, which outlined the conditions for the release of Beatrice Stockly, a Swiss missionary who was based in Timbuktu, is the latest indication of deteriorating security in Mali's north just months after a peace accord was signed. Stockly, who had been kidnapped once before in 2012, appeared in a veil and stated the clip was filmed on Jan. 19 in the eight-minute video, which could not be independently verified.


More than 1,200 boat migrants rescued off Libya on Tuesday: Italian coast guard

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 10:13 AM PST

Italy's coast guard said on Tuesday it had coordinated the rescue of 1,271 migrants from rubber and wooden boats in several operations off the coast of Libya. Italy was long at the frontier of seaborne migration from North Africa, but most of the hundreds of thousands of people arriving in Europe on rickety boats last year took a less risky route to Greece. Vessels from the Italian navy and coast guard and a Slovenian military ship working as part of the European Union naval operation Eunavfor Med conducted the rescues.

Canada to lift Tehran sanctions, allow Bombardier to export to Iran

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:58 PM PST

By Randall Palmer and Allison Lampert OTTAWA/MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canada confirmed for the first time on Tuesday that it plans to lift its sanctions on Tehran and said that if Airbus is allowed to sell to Iran, then its aircraft maker Bombardier Inc should be allowed to export there as well. "If Airbus is able to do it, why (will) Bombardier not be able to do it? In which way (is it) helping Canada, or the Iranian people, or Israel, or anyone, that Canada is hurting its own industry?" Dion said in an exchange with reporters.

Cruise line restarts Haiti port calls after recent protest

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 04:48 PM PST

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A U.S. cruise line on Tuesday re-established port calls to its fenced-in site and beach attraction in northern Haiti after suspending visits just over a week ago following a peaceful protest by area residents.

Mexico Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage in Jalisco state

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 04:44 PM PST

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's Supreme Court has struck down language in a Jalisco state law that defines marriage as between a man and woman.

Nevada justices hear arguments in casino company Macau case

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 04:41 PM PST

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The question of whether casino magnate Sheldon Adelson's company has to pay a $70 million judgment to a Hong Kong businessman for helping to secure business in Macau is now before the Nevada Supreme Court.

Jihadists claim kidnap of Swiss woman in Mali: report

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 04:25 PM PST

Beatrice Stockly (C) is pictured on board a helicopter on her way to Ouagadougou airport on April 24, 2012Private Mauritanian news agency Al-Akhbar said Tuesday that it had received a video purportedly from the Al-Qaeda-linked Emirate of the Sahara group claiming responsibility for this month's kidnapping of Swiss woman Beatrice Stockly in northern Mali. "We announce our responsibility for the kidnapping of this evangelising disbeliever who, through her work, has succeeded in driving large numbers of Muslim sons from Islam," Al-Akhbar quoted a spokesman for the group as saying in the video, which was not broadcast. Abu Ahmad Tourab is the nom de guerre of Ahmad al-Faki al-Mahdi, who is accused of ordering the destruction of historical monuments in Mali's fabled city of Timbuktu in 2012.


Police search California communities where inmates have ties

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 04:17 PM PST

This undated booking photo provided by the Orange County, Calif., Sheriff's Department on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2016, shows 43-year-old Bac Duong, one of three jail inmates charged with violent crimes, who escaped from the Central Men's Jail in Santa Ana, Calif. The men include 20-year-old Jonathan Tieu, who is charged with murder; 37-year-old Hossein Nayeri, charged with kidnapping and torture; and Duong, charged with attempted murder. Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock said Saturday that the inmates were last seen at 5 a.m. and could have escaped anytime between then and late Friday night. (Orange County Sheriff's Department via AP)SANTA ANA, California (AP) — Unlike similar escapes where dangerous inmates fled into rural areas, the three men who broke out of a Southern California lockup escaped into densely populated suburban communities where they have close ties.


States ask Supreme Court to block Obama carbon emissions plan

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 04:06 PM PST

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of U.S. states led by coal producer West Virginia and oil producer Texas on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to put a hold on President Barack Obama's plan to curb carbon dioxide emissions from power plants to combat climate change. The 26 states filed a stay application with U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts after an appeals court in Washington declined last week to block Obama's Clean Power Plan while litigation over its lawfulness goes ahead.

El Paso leaders approve plans for Pope visit to border

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 04:04 PM PST

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Declaring it an "unparalleled high profile event," the El Paso City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a set of plans for Pope Francis' visit to neighboring Ciudad Juárez.

February snow could dig into sky-high U.S. fuel inventories

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 03:55 PM PST

By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) - The blizzard that battered the U.S. East Coast over the weekend may be just a taste of what is to come, as February is usually the snowiest month and is likely to be snowier this year because of the El Nino weather phenomenon, weather experts say. The historic storm paralyzed much of the heavily populated East Coast and snowy gridlock closed government and businesses in Washington for 2-1/2 days. More snow heading into February, beginning with flurries expected in some parts of the northeast on Thursday and Friday, could boost demand for home heating fuels and begin to dig into inventories as storm-related disruptions keep people at home.

'Last chance' for Moldova after mass protests: PM

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 03:40 PM PST

Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip speaks during a press conference at Victoria Palace in Bucharest on January 26, 2016Moldova's new Prime Minister Pavel Filip said Tuesday that his government faces a "last chance" to regain public trust as the country a battles deep political crisis, calling for calm from protesters demanding his resignation. "The political class now has its last chance to restore Moldovans' and our international partners' trust," Filip said in an interview with BBC television. On a visit to neighbouring Romania, Filip said the elite was responsible for a political crisis that has seen Moldova rocked by mass protests in recent weeks.


Explosions near Venezuelan legislature trigger panic

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 03:33 PM PST

Members of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service walk outside the National Assembly in Caracas on January 26, 2016Four explosions near the Venezuelan legislature triggered panic Tuesday but caused no injuries or damage. The homemade explosive devices were apparently loaded with pamphlets that were sent flying into the air with propaganda purportedly written by a radical group loyal to late leftist president Hugo Chavez, whose party recently lost the legislature to the opposition. The pamphlets, signed by a group called the Bolivarian Liberation Forces (FBL), criticized the government of Chavez's hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, and called for a more radical response to the socialist party's rout in the December legislative polls.


South Sudan's president, rebel leader should face sanctions: UN panel

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 03:22 PM PST

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar (C) greets people as he arrives to hold a press conference in Kampala, Uganda on January 26, 2016A UN panel of experts has recommended imposing sanctions on South Sudan's president, rebel leader and two other top officials for their role in the country's brutal war, diplomats said Tuesday. A list of four names was submitted to the UN Security Council in a confidential annex to a report by the panel, which also calls for an arms embargo on South Sudan. President Salva Kiir, rebel chief Riek Machar, army chief of staff Paul Malong and internal security chief Akol Koor were listed for a series of serious rights abuses, according to diplomats familiar with the document.


Meet the young Canadians poised for breakout at Aussie Open

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 03:21 PM PST

In this Sunday Jan. 24, 2016 photo Canada's junior tennis player Felix Auger Aliassime plays a forehand return during his singles match against Italy's Andres Gabriel Ciurletti at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne. Growing up in Quebec City, Auger Aliassime learned to play tennis from his father, a tennis instructor who had emigrated from Togo in West Africa. It wasn't until he saw Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal play their classic Wimbledon final in 2008, though, that he fell in love with the game.(AP Photo/Vincent Thian)MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Growing up in Quebec City, Felix Auger Aliassime learned to play from his father, a tennis instructor who had emigrated from Togo in West Africa. It wasn't until he saw Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal play their classic Wimbledon final in 2008, though, that he fell in love with the game.


AP Source: Review coming of tennis' anti-corruption group

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 03:16 PM PST

Novak Djokovic, left, of Serbia plays a return to Kei Nishikori of Japan on Rod Laver Arena during their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016.(AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)Responding to reports that possible evidence of match fixing was not properly investigated, tennis' governing bodies are setting up an independent review of the sport's anti-corruption group, a person familiar with the plans tells The Associated Press.


Argentina's government fights plague of locusts

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 03:10 PM PST

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina's agricultural inspection agency said Thursday that it is keeping up efforts to control a locust infestation threatening crops in at least three states.

US 'affluenza' teen faces Mexico deportation soon

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 03:06 PM PST

Photo released by the Jalisco State Public Prosecutor's Office shows Ethan Couch in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on December 28, 2015A US teenager known for using an "affluenza" defense in a deadly Texas drunk-driving accident could soon be deported from Mexico after dropping an appeal, his lawyer said Tuesday. Ethan Couch, 18, has been held in a migration detention facility in Mexico City since he and his mother were caught in a Pacific resort town in late December. Couch had been sought by US authorities after he missed a mandatory meeting with his probation officer.


Mignolet save sends Liverpool to Wembley

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 03:01 PM PST

Liverpool's midfielder Jordon Ibe (L) chases the ball during the English League Cup semi-final second leg football match between Liverpool and Stoke City at Anfield in Liverpool, England, on January 26, 2016Simon Mignolet produced a decisive spot-kick save from Marc Muniesa as Liverpool edged Stoke City 6-5 on penalties at Anfield on Tuesday to reach the League Cup final. After Marko Arnautovic had cancelled out Liverpool's 1-0 aggregate lead with a goal that seemed to have been scored from an offside position, the game went to extra time and then penalties, and with Mignolet thwarting Muniesa, it was left to Joe Allen to net the decisive spot-kick.


'Affluenza' teen drops Mexico appeal, returns in 1 or 2 days

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 02:56 PM PST

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican lawyer for a Texas teenager who used an "affluenza" defense in a fatal drunken-driving accident says his client has dropped an appeal against deportation and will return to Texas to face charges in the coming days.

Cabbies block roads as France hit by multiple strikes

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 02:36 PM PST

Paris taxi drivers gather at the Porte Maillot during a nation-wide strike on January 26, 2016Angry French taxi drivers blocked key roads with burning tyres and hundreds of flights were cancelled as air traffic controllers joined civil servants, hospital staff and teachers for a "Black Tuesday" of strikes. At Paris's Orly airport, one protester was injured when a shuttle bus forced its way through a blockade, with the driver saying he "panicked". Some 2,100 taxi drivers, furious over upstart competitors such as Uber, blocked the capital's ring road at a key western intersection, lighting fires and throwing smoke bombs.


W. Africa boosts security as jihadist threat grows

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 02:34 PM PST

A Senegalese police officer stands guard and inspects vehicles at the entrance of an hotel on January 22, 2016 in Dakar"The alert is being taken very seriously," said a Senegalese security source after police carried out a weekend of security operations in a bid to tackle the "terrorist threat". The situation is being taken particularly seriously in Dakar's Corniche district, which is home to many hotels, he said. Hotel security has been stepped up after 30 people were killed earlier this month in a deadly attack on a top Burkina Faso hotel and a nearby restaurant in the capital Ouagadougou.


Liverpool-Stoke semi-final goes to penalties

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 02:19 PM PST

Stoke City's striker Marko Arnautovic celebrates after scoring the opening goal of the English League Cup semi-final second leg football match in Liverpool, England, on January 26, 2016The League Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Stoke City went to penalties at Anfield on Tuesday after Stoke levelled the tie by winning the second leg 1-0. Liverpool were 1-0 up from the first leg, but Marko Arnautovic converted a cross from Bojan Krkic in first-half stoppage time -- despite appearing to be offside -- to make it 1-1 on aggregate. The winners will play either Everton or Manchester City in the final at Wembley on February 28.


Stock rise, driven by a turn higher in crude oil prices

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 02:19 PM PST

Trader George Baskinger works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. Higher oil prices and some positive earnings news from U.S. companies are helping to send the stock market higher. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks jumped Tuesday as the price of oil made another abrupt reversal, this time rising almost 4 percent after falling sharply the day before.


Research begins into possibility of a vaccine for Zika virus

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 02:11 PM PST

A city worker fumigates to combat the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes that transmit the Zika virus, at the San Judas Community in San Salvador, El Salvador, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. Worries about the rapid spread of Zika through the hemisphere has prompted officials in El Salvador, Colombia and Brazil to suggest women stop getting pregnant until the crisis has passed. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez)WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government is beginning research into a possible vaccine for the mosquito-borne Zika virus that is suspected of causing an unusual birth defect as it spreads in Latin America.


States ask U.S. top court to block Obama carbon emissions plan

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 02:06 PM PST

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of U.S. states led by coal producer West Virginia and oil producer Texas on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to put a hold on President Barack Obama's plan to curb carbon dioxide emissions from power plants to combat climate change. The 26 states filed a stay application with U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts after an appeals court in Washington declined last week to block Obama's Clean Power Plan while litigation over its lawfulness goes ahead.

Three injured in Sierra Leone Ebola clashes

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 02:06 PM PST

People walk under an Ebola information board featuring Sierra Leone's president Ernest Bai Koroma on January 22, 2016 in a street of FreetownAngry youths allegedly burnt down a police post in the northern village of Barmoi Luma, reports said, as police fired tear gas to disperse angry crowds. Authorities said the trouble started Saturday when 30 local people were quarantined for having potentially had contact with Marie Jalloh, a 22-year-old who died of Ebola on January 12. A town chief told AFP that police in Barmoi Luma had ordered market traders to halt business and shops to close from Saturday "to minimise any risk of contact with the runaway contacts", and they had remained shuttered.


No initial sign of shooter at US military hospital: Navy

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:58 PM PST

Police rushed into a military hospital in San Diego on Tuesday after reports of gunfire, but an initial sweep of the sprawling facility found no sign of a shooting. A single witness reported hearing three shots in the basement of one of several buildings in the Naval Medical Center complex in southern California, prompting a massive response from authorities. Local police, assisted by Navy dogs and California Highway Patrol officers, scoured the building after the call came in around 8:00 am (1600 GMT) but there was no sign of a shooting or any reports of casualties, officials said.

Canada to set climate change tests in pipeline reviews: Trudeau

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:58 PM PST

Canada's PM Trudeau speaks in the House of Commons in OttawaBy Allison Lampert MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged on Tuesday to require that environmental reviews of oil pipelines and LNG export projects consider greenhouse gas effects, and said it was not his role to be a cheerleader for such projects. The Liberal government said the new rules would be rolled out within days, and that they would take into account not just the greenhouse gas emissions from a proposed pipeline or liquefied natural gas terminal but also its "upstream" effects, meaning the impact of oil and gas production. Trudeau did not make clear how much weight would be applied to the emissions.


First children's book in 14 years wins UK's Costa prize

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:55 PM PST

British author Frances Hardinge smiles after being awarded the Costa Book of the Year award for her Children's Book "The Lie Tree" in London on January 26, 2016Britain's Frances Hardinge became the first children's author since Philip Pullman 14 years ago to win the prestigious Costa Book of the Year award in London Tuesday. Hardinge's "The Lie Tree" is a 19th century detective novel in which teenager Faith tries to uncover the truth about her father's mysterious death. The last children's novel to do so was Pullman's "The Amber Spyglass" in 2001.


Mexico opens landmark debate on marijuana laws

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:54 PM PST

A girl rolls a joint during a rally in front of the Supreme Court of Justice in Mexico City on October 28, 2015Mexico opened on Tuesday a national debate on prohibitionist marijuana laws, as the government appeared open to legalizing medical cannabis use. President Enrique Pena Nieto, who personally opposes legalization, decided to hold five public forums after the Supreme Court opened the door to recreational use of marijuana in a country beset by drug cartel violence for a decade. "This is an issue that has directly or indirectly affected the lives of millions of Mexicans," Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said at the start of the first debate, which was broadcast online.


UK head urges parents not to wear pyjamas on school run

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:30 PM PST

The headteacher of a British school has written to parents urging them not to drop their children off while still dressed in pyjamas or slippersThe headteacher of a British school has written to parents urging them not to drop their children off while still dressed in pyjamas, it emerged Tuesday. "I have noticed there has been an increasing tendency for parents to escort children to and from school while still wearing their pyjamas and, on occasion, even slippers," wrote Kate Chisholm, head of Skerne Park Academy in Darlington, northeast England. The school is for children aged between five and 11.


Egypt youth leader from 2011 uprising to stand trial

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:25 PM PST

Members of the Egyptian police special forces patrol streets in Cairo on January 25, 2016 in order to head off potential protests and people honoring the fifth anniversary of the uprising that toppled Hosni MubarakEgyptian youth leader Amr Ali whose now banned April 6 movement spearheaded the 2011 revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak is to stand trial Wednesday for incitement, a judicial official said. Ali's lawyer, Anas Sayyed, confirmed that the trial will proceed on Wednesday, and told AFP that the maximum penalty he faces is three years in jail. In April 2014, an Egyptian court banned the April 6 youth movement, based on a complaint that accused it of defaming the country and colluding with foreign parties.


Mexican marimba band plans papal performance

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:20 PM PST

MEXICO CITY (AP) — When Pope Francis visits Chiapas in southern Mexico in February, the Diaz sisters will serenade him with music from the state's favorite instrument: marimbas.

Video of Egyptians giving police condom balloons g

Posted: 26 Jan 2016 01:02 PM PST

CAIRO (AP) — A video showing a reporter and an actor handing Egyptian policemen condom balloons on the fifth anniversary of the 2011 uprising received more than 1 million views online but could land them in jail.
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