World News Headlines - Yahoo! News UK

Bieber's Collision With Photographer 'No Crime'

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:10:45 +0100

Justin Bieber struck a pedestrian with his car in Hollywood, but no crime was committed and the injuries are not life-threatening, the police have said.

Dreamliner Diverted In Latest Boeing Setback

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:04:02 +0100

A Boeing 787 Dreamliner has landed safely after being diverted when pilots were made aware of a potential oil filter problem.

Small global warming rise would have 'alarming' impact - World Bank

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:49:48 +0100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Much of Bangkok could flood within the next two decades if global warming stays on its current trajectory, as sea levels rise and cyclones intensify, the World Bank said in a new report on Wednesday. The flooding of 40 percent of the Thai capital was just one of dozens of negative effects the Washington-based World Bank warned would happen if the world grew warmer by just 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit), which it said is likely to occur in the next 20 to 30 years under a "business-as-usual" scenario. ...

Jill Meagher Killer Sentenced To Life In Prison

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:44:26 +0100

A man has been jailed for life for the murder of Irishwoman Jill Meagher in Melbourne, Australia.

NSA Chief: Spying 'Foiled 50 Terror Plots'

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:36:32 +0100

The US government's sweeping surveillance programmes have foiled some 50 terrorist plots worldwide, the director of the National Security Agency has said.

Rohani once approved of hiding Iran atomic work

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:20:37 +0100

By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Years before he became Iran's president-elect, Hassan Rohani spoke approvingly about concealing his nation's nuclear program and said that when Pakistan got atomic bombs and Brazil began enriching uranium, "the world started to work with them. ...

Afghanistan suspends security pact talks with U.S.

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:17:22 +0100

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has decided to suspend talks on a security pact with the United States, accusing Washington of mixed messages regarding peace talks with the Taliban, his spokesman said on Wednesday. "In a special meeting chaired by President Hamid Karzai, the president has decided to suspend talks about a security pact with the U.S. because of their inconsistent statements and actions in regard to the peace process," spokesman Aimal Faizi told Reuters. ...

Afghanistan: Taliban 'Admit' US Troop Attack

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:05:38 +0100

The Taliban has said it was behind an attack that killed four US troops in Afghanistan, just hours after Washington announced planned talks with the insurgents.

Obama to set nuclear arms cut goal in Berlin speech

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:59:28 +0100

By Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton BERLIN (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will unveil plans for a sharp reduction in nuclear warheads in a landmark speech at the Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday that comes 50 years after John F. Kennedy declared "Ich bin ein Berliner" in a defiant Cold War address. A senior U.S. administration official said Obama, on his first visit to the German capital as president, would signal his desire to cut deployed atomic weapons by up to one third below the level achieved in the last "New START" treaty with Russia. "The U.S. ...

Afghanistan suspends security pact talks with U.S. amid Taliban peace process

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:44:12 +0100

India monsoon floods leave 120 dead

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:42:53 +0100

Military helicopters dropped emergency supplies Wednesday to thousands of tourists and pilgrims stranded by flash floods that tore through towns and temples in northern India, killing at least 120 people, officials said.

Germany's ruling coalition on course for re-election - poll

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:37:20 +0100

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and their junior coalition partner, the Free Democrats (FDP), are on course to win enough votes to form a narrow majority, a poll showed on Wednesday, before an election on September 22. Together with the FDP, Merkel's conservatives would take 46 percent of the vote in the parliamentary election, the Forsa poll showed. The three main opposition parties - the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the far-left Linke (Left) party - would get 45 percent. ...

WikiLeaks' Assange fears US, says will stay in embassy

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:33:24 +0100

By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says he will not leave the sanctuary of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London even if Sweden stops pursuing sexual assault claims against him because he fears arrest on the order of the United States. In an interview with Reuters and others to mark the first anniversary of taking refuge in the cramped diplomatic building, Assange said he remained hopeful he might be able to leave but offered little evidence to suggest he would be finding new living quarters anytime soon. "I wouldn't say I wouldn't leave," he said. ...

WikiLeaks' Assange fears U.S., says will stay in embassy

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:32:11 +0100

Tornado Touches Down On Denver Airport Runway

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:18:32 +0100

The National Weather Service says a tornado briefly touched down over the east runways of Denver International Airport.

N.Korean leader Kim used luxury yacht to tour coast - website

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:16:28 +0100

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un toured the impoverished country's east coast last month in a 95-foot luxury yacht, a boat that could be prohibited under U.N. sanctions, a website that tracks events in the reclusive state said. North Korea is banned from importing luxury goods under layers of U.N. sanctions imposed for its nuclear and missile tests. The NK News website said the yacht, a Princess 95MY made by British-based Princess Yachts, was possibly a recent purchase. The Washington-based website gave no evidence for when the boat was bought. ...

Japan finds highly toxic strontium in Fukushima groundwater

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:15:07 +0100

TOKYO (Reuters) - High levels of toxic strontium-90 have been found in groundwater at the devastated Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, the utility that operates the facility said on Wednesday Strontium-90 is a by-product of the fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear reactors as well as nuclear weapons, according to the website of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. ...

Ex-Gladiators Star Sues Over 'Phone Hacking'

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:13:43 +0100

A British national who won TV show Gladiators and became Angelina Jolie's stunt double has become the first person to sue News Corp in the US over alleged phone-hacking.

N.Korea leader 'gives Hitler's Mein Kampf to officials'

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:59:22 +0100

North Korean ruler Kim Jong-Un has reportedly given copies of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" to his top officials, urging them to study it as a leadership skills manual.

Obama to call for nuclear cuts in Berlin speech

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:57:56 +0100

Barack Obama will Wednesday propose major cuts in US and Russian nuclear stocks, making a pitch for his own place in history in an evocative open-air speech during his first visit as president to Berlin.

At least 50 plots foiled by US spy programs: NSA chief

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:33:17 +0100

Secret US surveillance has foiled more than 50 terror plots since 2001, including a planned bomb attack on the New York Stock Exchange, a US spy chief said, defending leaked programs.

Mexico arrests man on FBI's top 10 Most Wanted list

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:29:31 +0100

Mexican officials said they had arrested former US university professor Walter Lee Williams, an alleged child sexual predator on the FBI's list of top 10 Most Wanted criminals.

Kardashian And Kanye 'Name Daughter Kaidence'

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:29:02 +0100

The name of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's newborn baby girl has reportedly been revealed by a nurse at Los Angeles' Cedars Sinai Hospital.

Bulgaria Balcony Fall Death: Brit Teen Killed

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:24:33 +0100

A "popular and well-liked" British teenager has died after apparently plunging 10 floors from a hotel balcony while on holiday in Bulgaria.

North Korean envoy in Beijing seeking to mend ties - experts

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:18:46 +0100

By Michael Martina BEIJING (Reuters) - A North Korean envoy held talks with Chinese officials on Wednesday that experts said were unlikely to yield concessions from Pyongyang on its nuclear programme but were more aimed at repairing ties with Beijing. First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan, who has represented Pyongyang at previous international talks to get North Korea to halt its nuclear programme, was meeting Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui in Beijing. ...

Taliban defy peace bid with deadly attack on Americans

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:06:00 +0100

The Taliban on Wednesday claimed an audacious attack in Afghanistan that killed four US troops mere hours after Washington said it would talk to the insurgents about ending more than a decade of war.

G8: Syria Statement Omits Anti-Assad Calls

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:47:20 +0100

G8 leaders have agreed to work towards peace talks to end the Syrian civil war but their statement stopped short of demanding President Bashar al Assad's removal from power.

Analysis - French EU-wariness complicates life for Hollande

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:38:11 +0100

By Mark John PARIS (Reuters) - A feeling in France that the European Union no longer works in its interest is fuelling tensions between Paris and Brussels and adding pressure on President Francois Hollande to be more assertive in Europe. Successive Europe-wide polls show that disenchantment with the EU is rising fastest in France, a founder member whose battle to reform its ailing economy has now become the top preoccupation of the 27-nation bloc. ...

Rohani once spoke approvingly of hiding Iran atomic work

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 06:07:49 +0100

Rousseff salutes Brazil protests, cities cut bus fares

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:43:54 +0100

By Todd Benson SAO PAULO (Reuters) - President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday sought to defuse a massive protest movement sweeping Brazil, acknowledging the need for better public services and more responsive governance as demonstrations continued in some cities around the country. Speaking the morning after more than 200,000 Brazilians marched in more than a half-dozen cities, Rousseff said her government remains committed to social change and is listening attentively to the many grievances expressed at the demonstrations. ...

Rousseff vows to listen to Brazil's young protestors

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 05:38:07 +0100

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff tried to get ahead of a wave of popular protest, vowing to listen to the complaints of youths angered by the cost of staging the World Cup.

Mali signs ceasefire accord with Tuareg rebels

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:45:05 +0100

Mali's government signed a ceasefire accord with Tuareg rebels, paving the way for presidential elections in the troubled west African state next month.

United States to meet Taliban to seek Afghan peace

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:34:20 +0100

By Mark Felsenthal, Warren Strobel and Hamid Shalizi WASHINGTON/KABUL (Reuters) - The United States and the Taliban raised hopes for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan with commitments to meet this week after 12 years of bloody and costly war between American-led forces and the insurgents. The Taliban opened an office in Doha, the Qatari capital, on Tuesday to help restart talks and said it wanted a political solution that would bring about a just government and end foreign occupation of Afghanistan. U.S. ...

Woman, child held captive like 'slaves' in US

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:05:30 +0100

A mentally disabled woman and her daughter were forced to live in an Ohio basement with snakes and pitbulls and were treated like slaves for more than two years, US prosecutors said.

Border security dispute puts US immigration bill at risk

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:19:49 +0100

A huge US immigration bill inched forward in the Senate, but Republicans warned that the landmark reform risks stalling or even dying in Congress unless backers agree to further tighten border security.

N.Korean leader stresses Hitler's skills, report claims

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:34:35 +0100

North Korean ruler Kim Jong-Un has reportedly given copies of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" to his top officials, urging them to study it as a leadership skills manual.

US reporter who felled Gen McChrystal dies in crash

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:30:09 +0100

Michael Hastings, the Rolling Stone journalist who triggered the 2010 downfall of US Afghanistan commander General Stanley McChrystal, died in a car crash, his employer announced.

Republican-led U.S. House passes bill restricting abortion

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:18:24 +0100

By Rachelle Younglai WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed legislation severely restricting abortions, a move that could alienate women from the conservative party. The bill would ban abortions 20 weeks after fertilization occurs, a time when a fetus begins to feel pain, Republicans said. The legislation makes exceptions for victims of rape and incest as long as they first report the crime to authorities. The bill has no chance of becoming law with Democrats controlling the Senate and the White House threatening to veto it. ...

G8 urges Syria peace talks as fighting flares in north

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:03:19 +0100

By Andrew Osborn and Oliver Holmes ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Differences between Russia and the West mean an international peace conference on Syria is now unlikely before August, a source at a meeting of Group of Eight leaders said on Tuesday as surging government forces brought heavy fighting to Aleppo. World leaders called for peace talks to be held as soon as possible to end the war in Syria but made no mention of a date for the international conference, which had been due to be held in Geneva next month. ...

NSA head, lawmakers defend U.S. surveillance programmes

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:52:41 +0100

By Patricia Zengerle and Tabassum Zakaria WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the National Security Agency said U.S. surveillance programmes had helped disrupt more than 50 possible attacks since September 11, 2001, as sympathetic members of Congress also defended the use of the top-secret spying operations. In the first public hearing dedicated to the programs since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden exposed them this month, members of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee showed little will on Tuesday to pursue significant reforms. Instead, both U.S. ...