Yahoo! News: World News

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• Battle for Aleppo escalates, U.N. sees 'bleak moment'
• Pacific rim leaders scramble for trade options in Trump era
• Iraqi troops expand foothold in Mosul as Islamic State pledges more suicide attacks
• Obama, EU leaders agree to stick together, stay tough on Russia
• Far from Mosul, Islamic State close to defeat in Libya's Sirte
• Under Trump shadow, climate talks set 2018 deadline to agree rules
• Canada pressed to make clean environment a constitutional right
• Abu scores 25 points; Wolfpack beat Montana at Paradise Jam
• Trump settles Trump University lawsuits for $25 mn
• Judge orders Border Patrol to improve detention conditions
• Argentines protesters demand law to fight growing poverty
• Top Asian News 1:04 a.m. GMT
• Large anti-Park protest planned in Seoul, 4th amid scandal
• China's Sinochem boss dismisses 'crazy' Trump polices
• UN climate talks end with pleas for Trump to join fight
• Foundations laid to roll out Paris accord but poor short-changed
• NZ holds 67-run 1st innings lead in 1st test vs. Pakistan
• Urgent pleas to Trump at UN climate talks
• Lydia Ko shots 10-under 62, leads LPGA Tour finale
• Shifting US policy to right, Trump taps Sessions, Flynn
• No charges for Quebec police over aboriginal sex assault claims
• As Trump talks wall, China builds bridges to Latin America
• Venezuelan first lady's nephews convicted in U.S. drug trial
• Umaro Sissoco Embalo becomes PM of troubled Guinea-Bissau
• Trump fills three top posts with security, immigration hardliners
• UN agency lifts Zika emergency, prepares for long-term fight
• Chile battles raging wildfires fueled by heat wave, winds
• Colombia to ratify peace deal with rebels in congress
• Zika no longer a world public health emergency: WHO
• Mexican teams will not play in 2017 Copa Libertadores
• Pacific island poet marshals youth against climate threats
• The Latest: Mexico seeks to push ahead on TPP without US
• French court charges man over plan to attack church
• Burnett scores 41 as Ole Miss holds off Oral Roberts in OT
• Canadian rookie Mackenzie Hughes up by 2 shots at Sea Island
• US, European stocks fall as markets focus on strong dollar
• Tommie Smith to return to Mexico City to light Raiders torch
• US seeks sanctions against South Sudan rebel leader, army chief
• Majestic Murray sweeps into semi-finals of Tour Finals

Battle for Aleppo escalates, U.N. sees 'bleak moment' Posted: 18 Nov 2016 01:14 PM PST By Tom Perry and Lisa Barrington BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian rebels fought fiercely with pro-government forces trying to advance into opposition-held areas of eastern Aleppo and warplanes kept up their bombardment of the area on Friday in a renewed bid by Damascus to retake the entire city. The U.N. humanitarian adviser said the besieged population of eastern Aleppo faced a "very bleak moment" with no food or medical supplies, winter approaching, and an increasingly fierce attack by Syrian and allied forces. Violence also escalated in and around Damascus, where government forces bombarded the city's rebel-held eastern outskirts and rebels fired rockets into the government-controlled city center, witnesses said.

Pacific rim leaders scramble for trade options in Trump era Posted: 18 Nov 2016 04:56 PM PST By Rosalba O'Brien and Mitra Taj LIMA (Reuters) - Leaders of Pacific rim nations scrambled to find new free-trade options on Friday as a looming Donald Trump presidency in the United States sounded a possible death knell for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). After lower-level meetings, U.S. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Russian President Vladimir Putin were due to arrive at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that brings together leaders whose economies represent 57 percent of global gross domestic product.

Iraqi troops expand foothold in Mosul as Islamic State pledges more suicide attacks Posted: 18 Nov 2016 10:15 AM PST By Isabel Coles MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Iraqi troops expanded their foothold on the eastern side of Islamic State's stronghold of Mosul on Friday, as the group pledged to mount more suicide attacks on their offensive to take the city. The elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) stormed the Tahrir district on the northeastern edge of Mosul, the last major city under control of the Sunni hard-line group in Iraq. Militants have been steadily retreating from areas around Mosul into the city since the battle started on Oct. 17, with air and ground support from a U.S.-led coalition.

Obama, EU leaders agree to stick together, stay tough on Russia Posted: 18 Nov 2016 11:02 AM PST By Jeff Mason and Andrea Shalal BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and European leaders on Friday underscored the importance of working together in NATO and chided Russia for its bombing of Syria and failure to implement a Ukrainian peace accord. The White House statement followed a meeting at which Obama sought to reassure his counterparts from Germany, Britain, Spain, Italy and France that his successor Donald Trump would not break up the transatlantic alliance. Trump raised concerns during the campaign when he said he could withhold military aid from NATO allies if they had not met their defense commitments and said he would forge closer ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Far from Mosul, Islamic State close to defeat in Libya's Sirte Posted: 18 Nov 2016 08:39 AM PST By Patrick Markey SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) - After six months of heavy fighting, Libyan forces have advanced so deep into the strategic city of Sirte that they can pick out the Tunisian and Egyptian accents of their Islamic State enemies as they trade insults over the frontline. Victory is imminent on this remote front of the war against Islamic State, with the last few militants staging a last stand in a small area of just one square kilometer (0.4 square mile), U.S. and Libyan officials say. "They know they will die anyway so they fight well." Defeat in Sirte will damage Islamic State's ability to show it is expanding globally and deprive it of a foothold outside Iraq and Syria.

Under Trump shadow, climate talks set 2018 deadline to agree rules Posted: 18 Nov 2016 04:35 PM PST By Alister Doyle and Megan Rowling MARRAKESH, Morocco (Reuters) - Nearly 200 nations agreed around midnight on Friday to work out the rules for a landmark 2015 global deal to tackle climate change within two years in a new sign of international support for a pact opposed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. At the end of two-week talks on global warming in Marrakesh, which were extended an extra day, many nations appealed to Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, to reconsider his threat to tear up the Paris Agreement for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Showing determination to keep the Paris Agreement on track, the conference agreed to work out a rule book at the latest by December 2018.

Canada pressed to make clean environment a constitutional right Posted: 18 Nov 2016 05:27 PM PST A pioneering conservationist called on Canada this week to make clean environments a constitutional right -- an idea forged decades ago and widely adopted but with mixed success around the world. Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmentalist David Suzuki said these protections must be enshrined in Canada's bill of rights to prevent their degradation at the hands of less environmentally oriented governments that periodically come to power. In an interview with AFP, he pointed to former Tory prime minister Stephen Harper, who during a decade in office (2006-2015) "began to dismantle a lot of our environmental laws," and to the US President-elect Donald Trump who has called global warming a hoax.

Abu scores 25 points; Wolfpack beat Montana at Paradise Jam Posted: 18 Nov 2016 05:27 PM PST ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — Abdul-Malik Abu scored 25 points, and North Carolina State pulled away in the second half to beat Montana 85-72 Friday in the opening day of the Paradise Jam tournament.

Trump settles Trump University lawsuits for $25 mn Posted: 18 Nov 2016 05:25 PM PST US President-elect Donald Trump agreed to pay $25 million to settle lawsuits accusing his now-defunct Trump University of fraud, sparing him the embarrassment of further legal wrangling as he prepares to enter the White House. Students paid as much as $35,000 to enroll, wrongly believing they would make it big in real estate after being taught by the Manhattan mogul's hand-picked experts, said the suits brought in New York and California. Trump's lawyers had countered for years that many students had given the program a thumbs-up and those who failed to succeed had only themselves to blame.

Judge orders Border Patrol to improve detention conditions Posted: 18 Nov 2016 05:15 PM PST PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge in Tucson, Arizona, has ordered the Border Patrol to improve conditions at its holding facilities in most of the state, saying the agency was not following its own standards by keeping migrants in crowded, cold cells without proper bedding.

Argentines protesters demand law to fight growing poverty Posted: 18 Nov 2016 05:09 PM PST BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Tens of thousands of Argentines protested Friday to pressure lawmakers into backing a measure intended to address rising poverty in the South American nation.

Top Asian News 1:04 a.m. GMT Posted: 18 Nov 2016 05:04 PM PST SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — For the fourth straight weekend, masses of South Koreans were expected to descend on major avenues in downtown Seoul demanding an end to the presidency of Park Geun-hye, who prosecutors plan to question soon over an explosive political scandal. Police expected about 50,000 protesters to turn out on Saturday near City Hall and a boulevard in front of an old palace gate, where hundreds of thousands a week before marched in what may have been the country's largest demonstration since it shook off dictatorship three decades ago. Organizers anticipated a crowd as large as half a million.

Large anti-Park protest planned in Seoul, 4th amid scandal Posted: 18 Nov 2016 05:03 PM PST SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — For the fourth straight weekend, masses of South Koreans were expected to descend on major avenues in downtown Seoul demanding an end to the presidency of Park Geun-hye, who prosecutors plan to question soon over an explosive political scandal.

China's Sinochem boss dismisses 'crazy' Trump polices Posted: 18 Nov 2016 04:56 PM PST Global business leaders meeting in Lima think proposals by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to build a wall along the Mexican border and hike tariffs on Chinese imports are unlikely to happen, said the head of China's state-run Sinochem on Friday. "We worried a bit on the incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, and his policies, but I think we basically agree we don't think he will really build a wall between Mexico and the U.S, and we don't think he will really increase import duties on Chinese products," Ning Gaoning told journalists on the sidelines of a conference of Pacific rim economies.

UN climate talks end with pleas for Trump to join fight Posted: 18 Nov 2016 04:49 PM PST MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — The first U.N. climate conference after the landmark Paris Agreement closed Friday with delegates appealing to Donald Trump to join the battle against global warming and inviting him to see its impacts in Pacific islands.

Foundations laid to roll out Paris accord but poor short-changed Posted: 18 Nov 2016 04:42 PM PST By Megan Rowling MARRAKESH, Morocco (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Governments have plenty of unfinished business to hammer out a rulebook for the new Paris Agreement on climate change by 2018, experts said as U.N. negotiations wound up early on Saturday. Many environment and development groups welcomed the united front presented by some 195 nations as they faced a campaign threat to quit the accord by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, which cast a shadow over the two-week gathering in Morocco. "We call for the highest political commitment to combat climate change, as a matter of urgent priority," governments said in the Marrakesh Action Proclamation issued on Thursday.

NZ holds 67-run 1st innings lead in 1st test vs. Pakistan Posted: 18 Nov 2016 04:41 PM PST CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — Pacemen Sohail Khan and Rahat Ali shared seven wickets as Pakistan limited New Zealand's first innings lead to 67 runs Saturday on the third day of the first cricket test at Hagley Oval.

Urgent pleas to Trump at UN climate talks Posted: 18 Nov 2016 04:25 PM PST The leader of Fiji, whose nation is being resculpted by rising seas, pleaded Friday with Donald Trump to join the fight against global warming. Invoking World War II, Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama urged the United States to play its part in rescuing his Pacific island state -- and the world at large -- from climate change. Bainimarama invited the US president-elect -- who has repeatedly called global warming a hoax -- to visit Fiji to see for himself the devastating impact of climate-fuelled cyclones and storm surges.

Lydia Ko shots 10-under 62, leads LPGA Tour finale Posted: 18 Nov 2016 04:23 PM PST NAPLES, Fla. (AP) — Lydia Ko shot a tournament-record 10-under 62 on Friday to take a three-stroke lead in the CME Group Tour Championship, putting the top-ranked New Zealander in position to win the player of the year award with a victory Sunday.

Shifting US policy to right, Trump taps Sessions, Flynn Posted: 18 Nov 2016 04:08 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump signaled a sharp rightward shift in U.S. national security policy Friday, naming Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general, Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo to head the CIA and former military intelligence chief Michael Flynn as his national security adviser.

No charges for Quebec police over aboriginal sex assault claims Posted: 18 Nov 2016 03:59 PM PST Charges will not be filed against six police officers accused of sexually assaulting indigenous women in Quebec, although officials are not ruling out that the events occurred, prosecutors said Friday. A spokesman for the prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to take the police officers to trial over accusations of sexual assault, abuse of power and intimidation brought forth by women in the small town of Val d'Or, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) northwest of Montreal.

As Trump talks wall, China builds bridges to Latin America Posted: 18 Nov 2016 03:57 PM PST LIMA, Peru (AP) — An expected U.S. economic retreat from Latin America under Donald Trump is causing the region's leaders to look halfway around the world, to China, for help weathering the possible financial headwinds.

Venezuelan first lady's nephews convicted in U.S. drug trial Posted: 18 Nov 2016 03:45 PM PST By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two nephews of Venezuela's first lady were found guilty on Friday on U.S. charges that they tried to carry out a multimillion-dollar drug deal to obtain a large amount of cash to help their family stay in power. Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas and Efrain Antonio Campo Flores, nephews of Cilia Flores, the wife of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, were convicted by a federal jury in Manhattan of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. The case has been an embarrassment for Maduro amid economic and political crises in the South American nation.

Umaro Sissoco Embalo becomes PM of troubled Guinea-Bissau Posted: 18 Nov 2016 03:37 PM PST Guinea-Bissau President Jose Mario Vaz on Friday named Umaro Sissoco Embalo as prime minister of the troubled west African state, replacing Baciro Dja whose government he dissolved earlier in the week. "Mr Umaro El Mokhtar Sissoco Embalo is named prime minister," said a presidential decree. Monday's dissolution by the head of state aimed to solve a succession crisis that has paralysed the tiny west African state.

Trump fills three top posts with security, immigration hardliners Posted: 18 Nov 2016 03:36 PM PST President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet began taking shape Friday, with three conservative stalwarts named to fill key national security and judicial posts -- nominations predictably hailed on the right and condemned by Democrats. Anti-immigration Senator Jeff Sessions, one of Trump's earliest supporters during the campaign, has been nominated to be attorney general, signaling Trump is prepared to take his hard line on illegal immigration into the White House. To lead the CIA, Trump tapped hawkish congressman Mike Pompeo, a strident opponent of the Iran nuclear deal and a sharp critic of Trump's campaign rival Hillary Clinton during the hearings into the 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya.

UN agency lifts Zika emergency, prepares for long-term fight Posted: 18 Nov 2016 03:32 PM PST GENEVA (AP) — Acknowledging Zika is "here to stay," the United Nations health agency on Friday lifted a 9-month-old emergency declaration and prepared for a longer-term response to the mosquito-borne virus that can result in severe neurological defects in newborns whose mothers were infected.

Chile battles raging wildfires fueled by heat wave, winds Posted: 18 Nov 2016 03:08 PM PST SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — About 20 wildfires are spreading quickly in Chile's central region, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people, authorities said Friday.

Colombia to ratify peace deal with rebels in congress Posted: 18 Nov 2016 03:01 PM PST BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — President Juan Manuel Santos said Friday he will have Colombia's congress ratify a modified peace deal with the nation's largest rebel group after voters rejected the first pact last month in a referendum.

Zika no longer a world public health emergency: WHO Posted: 18 Nov 2016 02:56 PM PST The World Health Organization on Friday announced that the Zika virus outbreak, linked to deformations in babies' heads and brains, no longer poses a world public health emergency, though it warned the epidemic remains a challenge. Brazil, the epicentre of the outbreak, has however refused to downgrade the risk, while experts swiftly lashed out against the world health body's decision. "The Zika virus remains a highly significant and long term problem, but it is not any more a public health emergency of international concern," the world health body's emergency committee chair Dr David Heymann said.

Mexican teams will not play in 2017 Copa Libertadores Posted: 18 Nov 2016 02:54 PM PST MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican teams will not play in Copa Libertadores, at least in 2017, because the tournament*s new schedule makes it nearly impossible, league President Enrique Bonilla said Friday.

Pacific island poet marshals youth against climate threats Posted: 18 Nov 2016 02:52 PM PST By Laurie Goering MARRAKESH, Morocco (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - To help protect her low-lying island home from climate change, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner is building an unusual army. The poet, performance artist and teacher at the College of the Marshall Islands, working in her spare time, is seeking out promising young people in the Pacific nation's villages, and training them to apply for grant money that can help families cope with worsening extreme weather and rising seas, and find innovative ways to protect their communities and threatened culture. "This programme is about safeguarding that knowledge and preserving it for the future." Jetnil-Kijiner, who is part of her country's delegation to the U.N. climate talks in Marrakesh this week, came to prominence in 2014, when she performed one of her poems – a heartfelt letter to her baby daughter, Matafele Peinem – at a climate change summit hosted by the U.N. chief in New York.

The Latest: Mexico seeks to push ahead on TPP without US Posted: 18 Nov 2016 02:47 PM PST LIMA, Peru (AP) — The latest on the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (all times local):

French court charges man over plan to attack church Posted: 18 Nov 2016 02:46 PM PST A French anti-terrorism court on Friday charged a 29-year-old man in connection with a thwarted bid to attack a church near Paris in 2015, the prosecutor's office said. The man, charged with association with a terrorist organisation, is suspected of having given the Algerian man who planned to assault a church south of Paris the material he needed for the attack. The man's DNA has been found on a bullet-proof vest that was kept in the home of the would-be attacker, whose name is Sid Ahmed Ghlam.

Burnett scores 41 as Ole Miss holds off Oral Roberts in OT Posted: 18 Nov 2016 02:46 PM PST ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — Deandre Burnett scored a career-high 41 points, and Mississippi pulled away in overtime to hold off Oral Roberts 95-88 Friday on the opening day of the Paradise Jam tournament.

Canadian rookie Mackenzie Hughes up by 2 shots at Sea Island Posted: 18 Nov 2016 02:44 PM PST ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Five tournaments into his rookie season on the PGA Tour, Mackenzie Hughes has the 36-hole lead at Sea Island and expects a few nerves.

US, European stocks fall as markets focus on strong dollar Posted: 18 Nov 2016 02:44 PM PST New York (AFP) - US and European stocks drifted lower on Friday while the euro struck a near 12-month low against the dollar on persistent market expectations of US interest rate hike next month.

Tommie Smith to return to Mexico City to light Raiders torch Posted: 18 Nov 2016 02:42 PM PST ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — Olympic gold medalist Tommie Smith will return to Mexico City to light the torch honoring late Raiders owner Al Davis before Oakland plays Houston in an NFL game.

US seeks sanctions against South Sudan rebel leader, army chief Posted: 18 Nov 2016 02:38 PM PST The United States on Friday proposed that South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar, its army chief and its information minister face UN sanctions for fueling violence in the war-torn country. Machar, President Salva Kiir's army chief Paul Malong and his information minister Michael Makuei are on a sanctions blacklist circulated to the Security Council, in a text seen by AFP. Under the proposed measure, Machar, who is receiving medical treatment in South Africa, and the two senior officials would face a global travel ban and an assets freeze.

Majestic Murray sweeps into semi-finals of Tour Finals Posted: 18 Nov 2016 02:36 PM PST Andy Murray swept into the semi-finals of the ATP Tour Finals with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Stan Wawrinka on Friday as the world number one remained on course for a final showdown against Novak Djokovic. Instead, the 29-year-old will face Canada's Milos Raonic in Saturday's semi-finals. Wawrinka's defeat means Japan's Kei Nishikori qualifies as runner-up to Murray and he takes on defending champion Djokovic in the other semi-final.

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