World News Headlines - Yahoo! News

World News Headlines - Yahoo! News Get the latest world news headlines from Yahoo! News. Find breaking world news, including analysis and opinion on top world stories.
  • Egypt top cleric: Protests against Morsi permitted

    FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011 file photo, Ahmed el-Tayeb the grand sheik of Cairo's Al-Azhar, the pre-eminent theological institute of Sunni Islam, talks to the media in Cairo, Egypt. El-Tayeb said on Wednesday that peaceful protests against the president are permitted, dismissing declarations by Islamist hard-liners that those behind protests planned for June 30 are heretics. (AP Photo, File)CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's top Muslim cleric declared Wednesday that peaceful protests against the president are permitted, dismissing declarations by Islamist hard-liners that those behind protests planned for June 30 are heretics.


  • Obama renews calls for nuclear reductions
    BERLIN (AP) — Appealing for a new citizen activism in the free world, President Barack Obama renewed his call Wednesday to reduce U.S. and Russian nuclear stockpiles and to confront climate change, a danger he called "the global threat of our time."
  • EU Parliament in push to limit U.S. data access

    E.U. Justice Commissioner Reding addresses European Parliament's Committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs in BrusselsBy Claire Davenport BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers want to forbid the United States from accessing European citizens' data without the approval of a judge or equivalent authority, a response to the revelations about the Prism spy program. Lawmakers from the European People's Party (EPP), the biggest group in the European Parliament, on Wednesday backed a proposal that would force U.S. officials to use an existing international agreement to gain access to citizens' data. ...


  • U.S. puts Russia on notice in first report on WTO compliance
    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States, in first report on Russia's compliance with its World Trade Organization commitments, said on Wednesday it was closely watching Moscow for any violations that thwart U.S. exports to world's sixth-largest economy. But in the report required by Congress, the U.S. Trade Representative's office did not announce any definite plans for litigation at the Geneva-based world trade body. "USTR will continue to monitor Russia's implementation of its WTO commitments to ensure that U.S. ...
  • China's Xi tells Vietnam wants peace in South China Sea

    Vietnamese President Truong and Chinese President Xi toast during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in BeijingBy 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. ...


  • Death threats greet Italy's first back minister

    Italian Integration Minister Cecile Kashetu Kyenge speaks during a press conference at the Foreign Press Club in Rome, Wednesday, June 19, 2013. Kyenge on Wednesday acknowledged "racist episodes" in Italy but declined to brand the country as a whole racist. She has so far tempered her reaction to racist attacks, saying it's for Italians to respond, not her. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)ROME (AP) — Italy's first black Cabinet minister is facing Internet death threats before a visit to a region known for its anti-immigrant political base.


  • Elizabeth Taylor's first wedding dress up for sale

    A Christie's employee adjusts Elizabeth Taylor's first wedding dress, designed by the legendary costume designer Helen Rose, at the auction house Christie's in London, Wednesday, June 19, 2013. The wedding dress is part of the auction 120 years of Pop Culture, which is showcasing important memorabilia dating from every decade of the past century of popular culture from the ubiquitous industries of film and music. The estimated price is 30,000 – 50,000 pound (46,000-78,000 dollars). (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)LONDON (AP) — The gown Elizabeth Taylor wore at the first of her eight weddings is for sale. You'll need at least 30,000 pounds ($47,000) to buy it and a tiny waist to wear it.


  • Unmanned aircraft struggle to shed 'drone' image

    A Parrot eBee, an ultra light civil professional drone used to shoot video and photos is displayed during the 50th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget airport, north of Paris, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)LE BOURGET, France (AP) — Unmanned aircraft have helped rescue stranded hikers, worked to contain wildfires and gathered data at nuclear accidents. One helped a Russian tanker find its way through Arctic ice to bring oil to a stranded Alaskan community.


  • Afghan leader backs away from Taliban talks

    An Afghan policeman overlooking from checkpoint outside Bagram military base, 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Kabul, Afghanistan, June, 19, 2013. The Taliban claimed responsibility Wednesday for an attack in Afghanistan that killed four American troops just hours after the insurgent group announced it would hold talks with the U.S. on finding a political solution to ending the nearly 12-year war in the country.(AP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid)KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan's president said Wednesday he will not pursue peace talks with the Taliban unless the United States steps out of the negotiations, while also insisting the militant group stop its violent attacks on the ground after it claimed responsibility for a rocket attack that killed four Americans.


  • Floods close Lourdes pilgrimage site in Pyrenees

    Buildings are surrounded by flood water near Lourdes, southwestern France, Wednesday, June 19, 2013. French rescue services and police are evacuating hundreds of pilgrims from hotels threatened by floodwaters from a rain-swollen river in the Roman Catholic shrine town of Lourdes. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)LOURDES, France (AP) — Heavy floods in southwest France have left two dead and forced the closure of the Catholic pilgrimage site in Lourdes and the evacuation of pilgrims from nearby hotels.


  • Why do we still put refugees in tents? IKEA has a new idea.
    Nothing says misery like a hot tent in a refugee camp. That's especially true when a family spends year after year under a triangle of canvas meant to last only six months.
  • Somali Islamist rebels attack U.N. base, 22 dead

    Somali government soldiers stand at scene of a suicide bomb attack outside the United Nations compound in the capital MogadishuBy 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. ...


  • Protesters out again in Brazil's biggest city
    SAO PAULO (AP) — Scattered street demonstrations popped up around Brazil early Wednesday as protesters continued their collective cry against the low-quality public services they receive in exchange for high taxes and high prices.
  • Obama defends U.S. intelligence strategy in wary Berlin

    U.S. President Obama speaks from behind a bulletproof glass at the Brandenburg Gate in BerlinBy 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

    Filr photo of Iraqi mourners carrying coffin of Shi'ite militia fighter killed in clashes with Free Syrian Army, during a funeral in BasraBy 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. ...


  • Kerry to address top world issues on upcoming trip
    WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry leaves Friday to visit seven countries on a trip focusing on global issues such as the Syrian crisis, Middle East peace and the West's standoffs with Iran and North Korea over their nuclear programs.
  • Sri Lankan media code threatens free speech: rights group
    COLOMBO (Reuters) - The Sri Lankan government's proposed code of ethics for the media is a threat to free speech, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday. The code calls for censorship of material affecting foreign relations, promoting "anti-national" attitudes or undermining the integrity of the executive, judiciary and legislative branches of the state. The HRW said the proposals were part of a sustained campaign to control the media and curtail dissent. ...
  • Palestinian party toughens line on Israel talks

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right, speaks with Canada's foreign minister John Baird during their meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday, June 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian president and his Fatah movement on Wednesday signaled a tough line on talks with Israel, casting new doubt on U.S. efforts to revive long-stalled negotiations.


  • Do 15-Week Old Fetuses Masturbate?
    Congressman Michael Burgess says yes, but the science isn’t as clear.
  • World powers to meet on Syrian rebel demands
    PARIS (AP) — A French diplomat says officials from the United States and other countries will meet in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday to decide how to respond to requests for help from the Free Syrian Army.