World News Headlines - Yahoo! News UK

Afghan government to shun U.S. talks with Taliban

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:47:21 +0100

By Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday his government would not join U.S. peace talks with the Taliban and halted negotiations with Washington on a troop pact, underscoring the fragile nature of hopes for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan. The United States and the Taliban have said officials from both sides will meet in Doha, the capital of Qatar, on Thursday, in a step forward for a stuttering peace process after 12 years `,of bloody and costly war between U.S.-led forces and the insurgents. ...

Jimmy Hoffa: Detroit FBI Calls Off Field Dig

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:32:15 +0100

A search of a field north of Detroit has failed to turn up the remains of former union boss Jimmy Hoffa, the FBI has said.

Dog Meat Festival Goes Ahead Despite Protest

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:28:49 +0100

A "cruel" festival devoted to dog meat is going ahead in China despite protests by animal-rights campaigners.

Kanye West Slammed Over Parkinson's Lyric

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:18:22 +0100

Kanye West has been branded "stupid" by Parkinson's charities for making light of the disease on a new song.

Obama challenges Russia to agree to deeper nuclear weapon cuts

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:14:51 +0100

By Roberta Rampton and Stephen Brown BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama used a speech in Berlin on Wednesday to call on Russia to revive the push for a world without nuclear weapons, offering to cut deployed nuclear arsenals by a third, but Moscow immediately poured scorn on his proposal. Speaking in Berlin where John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan gave rousing Cold War speeches, Obama urged Russia to help build on the "New START" treaty that requires both countries to cut stockpiles of deployed nuclear weapons to 1,550 each by 2018. ...

Obama Speaks In Berlin 50 Years After JFK

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:10:34 +0100

President Obama has used a visit to Berlin to call for a reduction in the number of nuclear weapons deployed by the US and Russia, and to defend the controversial Prism surveillance programme.

Czech ruling party backs speaker to be first woman PM

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:06:03 +0100

By Jan Lopatka and Jason Hovet PRAGUE (Reuters) - The ruling Czech Civic Democrats have proposed lower house speaker Miroslava Nemcova as the next prime minister following the resignation of Petr Necas in a corruption scandal, the party said on Wednesday. The popular Nemcova, 60, would be the Central European country's first woman prime minister, but the centre-right party needs the consent of coalition partners and President Milos Zeman to have her lead the cabinet. ...

Singapore's air turns "hazardous" as Indonesian fires rage

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:50:25 +0100

By Kevin Lim and Eveline Danubrata SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's air quality deteriorated to "hazardous" levels late on Wednesday as smoke from slash-and-burn land clearing in Indonesia enveloped the city-state, inflaming tensions between the Southeast Asian neighbours. Singapore, a major financial centre, will send a delegation to Jakarta on Thursday to discuss the smog that has turned its usually clear skies grey, Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told a news conference. ...

Italy's 5-Star expels rebel Senator who criticized leader

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:34:50 +0100

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement on Wednesday kicked out a lawmaker for criticizing its leader Beppe Grillo in the latest sign of growing internal strife in the party that took a quarter of votes at February's election. Grillo, a fiery former comedian, rode a wave of public disgust with traditional parties but has faced growing dissent among his own ranks after refusing to support any government after the deadlocked election. ...

Serena Williams Sorry Over Rape Case Comments

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:32:47 +0100

Tennis star Serena Williams has moved to clarify remarks she made about a rape case in the US town of Steubenville.

Italy court rejects bid to block Berlusconi fraud verdict

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:29:25 +0100

By Roberto Landucci ROME (Reuters) - Italy's constitutional court on Wednesday rejected a bid by Silvio Berlusconi to block a tax fraud conviction from October, clearing the way for a final verdict this year and deepening the uncertainty facing Prime Minister Enrico Letta. Berlusconi issued a statement immediately after the ruling, saying the decision was contrary to good sense and legal precedent but would not affect his support for Letta's left-right coalition government. ...

No US-Taliban talks scheduled: State Dept

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:27:23 +0100

The United States has not scheduled talks with the Taliban, the State Department said Wednesday, after reports that discussions with the Afghan insurgent group could begin this week in Doha.

Cheers, sobriety meet Obama call to action in Berlin

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:01:56 +0100

Under a blazing sun and waving German and US flags, a crowd in Berlin cheered a call by US President Barack Obama on Wednesday for more transatlantic cooperation, but with a whiff of disappointment in recent American leadership.

Former Hungarian PM Gyula Horn dies age 80: government

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:49:08 +0100

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Former Hungarian Socialist Prime Minister Gyula Horn has died at age 80 after a long illness, the government said in a statement on Wednesday, expressing its condolences to the family. Horn was Hungary's prime minister between 1994 and 1998. He was foreign minister in Hungary's last Communist government, and played a key role in political processes in the late 1980s that led to the collapse of Communism in Europe and reunification of Germany. (Reporting by Sandor Peto; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Singapore in smog alarm as Indonesia forest fires rage

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:32:06 +0100

Smog levels in Singapore hit a record high on Wednesday as smoke from raging forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia triggered a major health alarm and sent residents of the densely populated city-state scrambling for face masks.

Indonesia To 'Make Rain' To End Sumatra Fires

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:30:27 +0100

Indonesia is to use weather changing technology to try to produce rain to put out raging fires on Sumatra island that have cloaked neighbouring Singapore in thick haze.

North Korea says willing to rejoin nuclear talks: China

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:26:28 +0100

North Korea expressed willingness Wednesday to rejoin long-stalled nuclear talks, China's foreign ministry announced, the second time in a month Pyongyang has told Beijing it is ready for such dialogue.

France hit by weather chaos, floods claim two victims

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:23:04 +0100

Flash floods in southwestern France claimed two elderly victims in the space of 24 hours as unseasonal storms caused havoc across huge swaths of the country on Wednesday.

China's Xi tells Vietnam wants peace in South China Sea

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:16:23 +0100

By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping told his visiting Vietnamese counterpart of Wednesday that maintaining peace and stability in the contested South China Sea was vital for both countries, who should remember their traditional friendship. Beijing's assertion of sovereignty over a vast stretch of the South China Sea has set it directly against Vietnam and the Philippines, while Brunei, Taiwan and Malaysia also lay claim to other parts of the sea, making it Asia's biggest potential military troublespot. At stake are potentially massive offshore oil reserves. ...

Iceland holds 'informal' talks over possible Snowden asylum

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:16:11 +0100

Iceland said Wednesday it has held informal talks with an intermediary of US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden who reportedly may want to seek political asylum there.

New clashes in Brazil as security forces deployed

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:10:23 +0100

Fresh clashes erupted Wednesday in Brazil between police and protesters outraged over mass spending for next year's World Cup, as the government deployed elite forces to quell the unrest.

Somali Islamist rebels attack U.N. base, 22 dead

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:07:19 +0100

By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamist militants carried out a deadly assault on the main U.N. compound in the Somali capital on Wednesday, dealing a blow to fragile security gains that have allowed a slow return of foreign aid workers and diplomats. The assault, claimed by Islamist group al Shabaab, began before midday when a car bomb exploded outside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) base. Rebel gunmen forced their way into the compound and fought with security guards. ...

Obama defends U.S. intelligence strategy in wary Berlin

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:06:34 +0100

By Jeff Mason and Noah Barkin BERLIN (Reuters) - President Barack Obama defended U.S. anti-terrorism tactics on a visit to Berlin on Wednesday, telling wary Germans Washington was not spying on the emails of ordinary citizens and promising to step up efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. On the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech, Obama made his first presidential visit to the German capital, a favored destination of U.S. leaders during the Cold War. ...

Iraqi Shi'ites flock to Assad's side as sectarian split widens

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:03:18 +0100

By Suadad al-Salhy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Among the Iranian pilgrims, foreign executives and tourists in the departure lounge at Baghdad airport, a group of young Iraqis prepare to wage religious war in Syria - not for the rebels trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad but against them. Dressed in jeans, their hair cropped short, the 12 men awaiting their flight are Iraqi Shi'ites, among hundreds heading for what they see as a struggle to defend fellow Syrian Shi'ites and their holy sites from the mainly Sunni Muslim rebels. ...

Japan Agrees Nuclear Power Plant Safety Rules

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:02:05 +0100

Japan's nuclear watchdog has approved new safety requirements for atomic power plants, paving the way for the reopening of facilities shut down since the Fukushima disaster.

Obama proposes nuclear weapons cuts in Berlin address

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:01:59 +0100

President Barack Obama said Russian and US nuclear weapons should be slashed by up to a third in a keynote speech in front of Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate in which he called for a world of "peace and justice".

Rihanna Hits Fan With Microphone At Concert

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:59:45 +0100

YouTube footage has emerged of Rihanna apparently hitting a fan with her microphone after her arm was grabbed during a concert.

India, Nepal monsoon floods leave 160 dead

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:57:11 +0100

Military helicopters dropped emergency supplies Wednesday to thousands of people stranded by flash floods that tore through towns and temples in northern India and neighbouring Nepal, killing more than 160, officials said.

South Sudan president suspends two ministers in fraud inquiry

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:55:34 +0100

By Andrew Green JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has suspended two key ministers in a fraud investigation, the government said on Wednesday. Western donors have warned South Sudan's government that aid payments are at risk unless it tackles the corruption undermining development in a country devastated from decades of civil war with Sudan, from which it seceded in 2011. Last year, Kiir wrote to 75 current and former officials to ask them to return $4 billion in "stolen" public money, but no senior figure had been publicly put under investigation until now. ...

Protests continue in Sao Paulo, troops sent to 5 Brazilian cities

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:45:50 +0100

By Asher Levine SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Demonstrators blocked a major highway and other roads in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, crippling transportation in Brazil's largest city and financial hub, in an ongoing wave of protests against poor public services, inflation and police violence. The protests, the biggest in Brazil in over two decades, followed overnight demonstrations that led to sporadic looting and vandalism. ...

Taliban confirms talks with U.S. in Qatar on Thursday

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:41:49 +0100

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Taliban's spokesman in Qatar said representatives of the Afghan insurgency would meet U.S. officials for preliminary peace talks on Thursday but no time had been set. The spokesman, Mohammed Naeem, told Reuters by telephone that no Afghan government officials would be at the meeting. A team of U.S. negotiators arrived in Qatar earlier on Wednesday and held a meeting with Afghan diplomats in the Qatari capital. U.S. ...

Dolce and Gabbana sentenced to jail for tax dodge

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:36:55 +0100

An Italian court on Wednesday sentenced fashion house duo Dolce & Gabbana to one year and eight months in prison for tax evasion of 200 million euros ($268 million)

Greek coalition parties meet to try to settle state TV row

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:29:28 +0100

By Lefteris Papadimas and Renee Maltezou ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's ruling party leaders met on Wednesday to try to agree when and how to resume state TV broadcasts, two days after a top court ordered the immediate reopening of the state broadcaster ERT, abruptly closed by the government a week ago. ERT's screens were black or showing color bars for an eighth straight day after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's unexpected decision to pull the plug at a few hours' notice to save money and help shore up Greece's bankrupt state finances. ...

Germany agrees financing of 8 billion euro flood aid fund

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:08:59 +0100

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has agreed the financing of an 8-billion euro (6.8 billion pounds) fund to help repair damage caused by the worst flooding in a decade, with both the federal government and states footing the bill, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. The federal government at the outset will itself raise the full amount for the so-called "reconstruction aid" fund because of initial disagreement with the states on how the 16 regions would contribute their share of the cost. ...

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood digs in for trouble ahead

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:58:17 +0100

By Tom Perry CAIRO (Reuters) - For the Muslim Brotherhood, running Egypt has been like crossing a minefield. As President Mohamed Mursi ends his first year in office, fortifications being erected at his group's headquarters suggest a looming war. Behind a reinforced wall and a five-inch thick iron gate, the Brotherhood's Cairo compound bears scars of a divisive year that has triggered frequent protests and bloodshed. There is the promise of more later this month: Mursi's opponents have called a mass rally on June 30 aimed at pushing him to resign. ...

China threatens death penalty for serious polluters

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:44:54 +0100

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese authorities have given courts the powers to hand down the death penalty in serious pollution cases, state media said, as the government tries to assuage growing public anger at environmental desecration. An increasingly affluent urban population has begun to object to China's policy of growth at all costs, which has fuelled the economy for three decades, with the environment emerging as a focus of concern and protests. ...

Nine killed as Shebab attack UN base in Mogadishu

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:42:47 +0100

Somalia's Al-Qaeda linked Shebab insurgents shot and blasted their way into the United Nations compound in Mogadishu Wednesday, leaving nine people dead in the most serious attack on the UN in the troubled country in recent years.

Obama wants to cut nuclear arms, seeks talks with Russia

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:40:34 +0100

BERLIN (Reuters) - President Barack Obama wants to reduce deployed nuclear weapons by up to a third and revive negotiations with Russia to "move beyond Cold War nuclear postures", he said in a speech on Wednesday in Berlin. "After a comprehensive review I have determined that we can ensure the security of America and our allies, and maintain a strong and credible strategic deterrent, while reducing our deployed strategic nuclear weapons by up to one third," he said. ...

Swiss lower house committee rejects U.S. tax deal again

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:31:47 +0100

By Ruben Sprich BERNE (Reuters) - A Swiss parliamentary committee has again urged the lower house to reject a draft law aimed at protecting the country's banks from criminal charges in the United States for helping wealthy Americans to evade tax. The Swiss government has warned that the bill's failure could prompt impatient U.S. prosecutors to indict banks, though it could still use an executive order to allow them to hand over data to try to avert charges. ...

Turkish government, protesters seek to draw sting from unrest

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:19:55 +0100

By Ece Toksabay ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's deputy prime minister said on Wednesday he had no objection to silent anti-government protests inspired by a symbolic "Standing Man" vigil, comments that could help draw the sting out of three weeks of often violent demonstrations. Protests against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government have become increasingly creative in recent days, as police and demonstrators seek to avoid the fierce clashes that have dented Turkey's reputation for stability in the volatile Middle East. ...