France bombs Islamist strongholds in north Mali

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• France bombs Islamist strongholds in north Mali
• Air strike near Damascus kills 20 - opposition activists
• Analysis: Trio of Chavez protégés hold key to Venezuela's future
• China's space activities raising U.S. satellite security concerns
• Britain's Cameron plays down prospect of in-out EU referendum
• India's Modi basks in rock star reception at his Gujarat show
• Immunity for U.S. troops in Afghanistan to be decided by year-end
• Second French commando dies: Somali rebels
• India's army chief turns up heat on Pakistan, says can retaliate
• Syrian forces kill dozens in bombardments: opposition
• No easy exit for French fighting terror in Mali
• Egypt's Mubarak to get new trial over killings
• Greece: Shots fired at ruling party HQ
• Beijing warns residents after off-the-charts smog
• Violence plagues Tunisia's politics 2 years later
• Woman at center of Berlusconi trial in court
• Israel's Lieberman hints he may quit if convicted
• Pakistani city prepares for cleric's march
• Millions of Hindus bathe in Ganges to cleanse sins
• Venezuela: Chavez is responding to treatment
• With French air strikes, has the war to retake northern Mali begun? (+video)
• Tearful survivors mark Costa Concordia anniversary on Giglio
• Protests spread in Pakistan over Shiite killings
• Israel overrides court, removes Palestinian protest settlement
• Mostly forgotten, Egyptian trial of US NGO workers drags on

France bombs Islamist strongholds in north Mali Posted: 13 Jan 2013 04:49 PM PST BAMAKO/PARIS (Reuters) - French fighter jets pounded Islamist rebel strongholds deep in northern Mali on Sunday as Paris poured more troops into the capital Bamako, awaiting a West African force to dislodge al Qaeda-linked insurgents from the country's north. The attacks on Islamist positions near the ancient desert trading town of Timbuktu and Gao, the largest city in the north, marked a decisive intensification on the third day of the French mission, striking at the heart of the vast area seized by rebels in April. ...

Air strike near Damascus kills 20 - opposition activists Posted: 14 Jan 2013 01:08 AM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - An air strike on a rebel-held town southwest of the Syrian capital Damascus killed 20 people on Monday, resident opposition activists said. An activist living in Moadamiyeh, who asked not to be named, said the dead were members of two families and included women and children. Activist video footage showed images of the limp body of a boy being pulled out from broken concrete, his back covered in dust and his front in blood. ...

Analysis: Trio of Chavez protégés hold key to Venezuela's future Posted: 13 Jan 2013 10:04 PM PST CARACAS (Reuters) - A month after President Hugo Chavez left Venezuela for a fourth cancer operation, his commanding control over the government is slowly moving into the hands of an unlikely trio of protégés who may shape the future of the oil-rich nation. Chavez's cancer has left him in serious condition in a Cuban hospital and created a leadership vacuum after 14 years of cult-of-personality socialism that has made him a dominant figure in Latin America. ...

China's space activities raising U.S. satellite security concerns Posted: 13 Jan 2013 10:13 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is concerned about China's expanding ability to disrupt the most sensitive U.S. military and intelligence satellites, as Beijing pursues its expanded ambitions in space, according to multiple sources in the U.S. government and outside space experts. A classified U.S. intelligence assessment completed late last year analyzed China's increasing activities in space and mapped out the growing vulnerability of U.S. ...

Britain's Cameron plays down prospect of in-out EU referendum Posted: 14 Jan 2013 01:02 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday played down the prospect of a near-term referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, ahead of a long-awaited speech on the issue he is expected to deliver next week. Cameron says he wants Britain to remain in the EU - a major trading partner - but is under intense pressure from his own party and an increasingly eurosceptic public to repatriate powers from Brussels or leave the 27-member bloc altogether. ...

India's Modi basks in rock star reception at his Gujarat show Posted: 14 Jan 2013 01:14 AM PST GANDHINAGAR, India (Reuters) - Mukesh Ambani, India's most powerful businessman and Asia's second-richest person, would not ordinarily sit on a stage for three-and-a-half hours without access to a cellphone, but this was not just anybody's event. Narendra Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat and potentially India's's next prime minister, drew a rock star's reception from the cream of India's tycoon class as well as diplomats at his "Vibrant Gujarat Summit" last week. ...

Immunity for U.S. troops in Afghanistan to be decided by year-end Posted: 14 Jan 2013 12:56 AM PST KABUL (Reuters) - A decision on immunity for U.S. troops staying in Afghanistan after the 2014 planned withdrawal will be made by the end of the year, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Monday. "The issue of immunity is under discussion (and) it is going to take eight to nine months before we reach agreement," Karzai told a news conference in the capital, Kabul, after returning from meetings with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington. The Afghan government rejected an initial U.S. ...

Second French commando dies: Somali rebels Posted: 14 Jan 2013 12:28 AM PST MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A second French soldier has died from gunshot wounds after an attempt to rescue a French agent failed at the weekend, Somalia's al Shabaab rebel group said on Monday. French forces went into southern Somalia by helicopter under the cover of darkness on Saturday to try to free Denis Allex, held hostage since 2009, but were met with fierce resistance from the al Qaeda-linked militants. The outcome of the mission was unclear. ...

India's army chief turns up heat on Pakistan, says can retaliate Posted: 14 Jan 2013 12:01 AM PST NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's army chief accused Pakistan on Monday of detailed planning of an attack along Kashmir's de factor border last week in which two soldiers were killed and said India reserved the right to retaliate. The comments, which came as public anger mounts over the decapitation of one of the slain soldiers, appear certain to further inflame tensions between the nuclear-armed enemies. Last week's fighting was the worst outbreak of violence in Kashmir, the Himalayan region both nations claim, since the two sides agreed a ceasefire nine years ago. ...

Syrian forces kill dozens in bombardments: opposition Posted: 13 Jan 2013 03:50 PM PST AMMAN (Reuters) - Government forces killed at least 36 people, 14 of them children, in a bombardment of rebel-held areas on the outskirts of Damascus on Sunday, Syrian opposition activists said. Video footage showed women weeping over the dismembered bodies of children strewn across a field in the Eastern Ghouta region, near an air defense base on the edge of the town of Muleiha, 5 km (3 miles) east of Damascus. ...

No easy exit for French fighting terror in Mali Posted: 13 Jan 2013 10:43 PM PST PARIS (AP) — France, breaking its own rules with a surprise military intervention in Mali, appears to be halting the lightning advance of radical Islamists seen as a threat to Europe.

Egypt's Mubarak to get new trial over killings Posted: 13 Jan 2013 02:56 PM PST CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian appeals court on Sunday overturned Hosni Mubarak's life sentence and ordered a retrial of the ousted leader in the killing of hundreds of protesters, a ruling likely to further unsettle a nation still reeling from political turmoil and complicate the struggle of his Islamist successor to assert his authority.

Greece: Shots fired at ruling party HQ Posted: 14 Jan 2013 12:42 AM PST ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A gunman fired a spray of bullets at the headquarters of the governing center-right New Democracy party near central Athens early Monday, with one hitting an office occasionally used by the prime minister, officials said. No one was hurt.

Beijing warns residents after off-the-charts smog Posted: 13 Jan 2013 08:56 PM PST BEIJING (AP) — Beijing schools kept children indoors and hospitals saw a spike in respiratory cases Monday following a weekend of off-the charts pollution in China's smoggy capital, the worst since the government began being more open about air-quality data.

Violence plagues Tunisia's politics 2 years later Posted: 14 Jan 2013 12:58 AM PST TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Two years after the revolution that overthrew an authoritarian president and started the Arab Spring, Tunisia is struggling with high unemployment and rising violence in its politics.

Woman at center of Berlusconi trial in court Posted: 14 Jan 2013 01:05 AM PST MILAN (AP) — The Moroccan woman at the center of ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi's sex-for-hire trial has arrived in court to testify as a witness for the first time.

Israel's Lieberman hints he may quit if convicted Posted: 13 Jan 2013 10:53 PM PST JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's hard-line former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman indicated on Monday that he would quit politics if convicted in his breach of trust and fraud case.

Pakistani city prepares for cleric's march Posted: 13 Jan 2013 11:30 PM PST ISLAMABAD (AP) — Thousands of supporters of a fiery cleric who has been calling for election reforms were descending Monday on the Pakistani capital, where authorities have put up barricades and sent riot police into the streets in preparation.

Millions of Hindus bathe in Ganges to cleanse sins Posted: 14 Jan 2013 12:51 AM PST ALLAHABAD, India (AP) — Millions of devout Hindus led by naked ascetics with ash smeared on their bodies plunged into the frigid waters of India's holy Ganges River on Monday in a ritual they believe can wash away their sins.

Venezuela: Chavez is responding to treatment Posted: 13 Jan 2013 06:24 PM PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Thousands of supporters of Venezuela's cancer-stricken president held rallies across the nation Sunday, hours before the government announced that Hugo Chavez is responding favorably to treatment for a respiratory infection.

With French air strikes, has the war to retake northern Mali begun? (+video) Posted: 13 Jan 2013 12:59 PM PST France widened its military intervention in the African nation of Mali today beyond targets in the center of the country, sending fighter jets to the north to hammer training camps, infrastructure, and logistics depots used by Islamist rebels with ties to Al Qaeda.

Tearful survivors mark Costa Concordia anniversary on Giglio Posted: 13 Jan 2013 11:12 AM PST Tearful survivors of the Costa Concordia shipwreck commemorated the first anniversary of the disaster on Sunday with a Mass, a concert, and the unveiling of memorials.

Protests spread in Pakistan over Shiite killings Posted: 13 Jan 2013 10:29 AM PST With at least 86 coffins lying next to them on the road, people from the Hazara community in Pakistan are refusing to bury their dead in Quetta or to negotiate with the Prime Minister who rushed to the city following a deadly twin bombing there that killed more than 100 people on Thursday.

Israel overrides court, removes Palestinian protest settlement Posted: 13 Jan 2013 09:50 AM PST Israel today evacuated a Palestinian tent village in the sensitive E1 area near Jerusalem, overriding a court order and invoking military powers to shut down the nonviolent demonstration.

Mostly forgotten, Egyptian trial of US NGO workers drags on Posted: 13 Jan 2013 06:15 AM PST Some days Hafsa Halawa just wants it to be over. For the US and Egypt, an eventual verdict could be just the beginning.

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