[World] Venezuela VP: Chavez suffers 'new complications'

Venezuela VP: Chavez suffers 'new complications'
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/12/30/hugo-chavez-venezuela-condition.html?cmp=rss
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Hugo Chavez has suffered "new complications" following his cancer surgery in Cuba, his vice president said Sunday, describing the Venezuelan leader's condition as delicate.

The Delhi Bus Rape and the Web of 'Don't'
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/12/31/the-delhi-bus-rape-and-the-web-of-dont/
Any woman who has spent any time in India - particularly as a teenager - is familiar with the web of “don't.” Don't take a taxi by yourself.

19 die as car bomb hits convoy of pilgrims
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-19854-19-die-as-car-bomb-hits-convoy-of-pilgrims
QUETTA: A powerful car bomb killed at least 19 Shia pilgrims and injured 25 others, including four women, who were travelling in three buses in the Daringar area of Mastung district on Sunday.

State must keep markets in check: Angela Merkel
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/state-must-keep-markets-in-check-angela-merkel/article4258293.ece
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the state must watch over the market to prevent the excesses that led to the 2008 financial crisis.

Plane overshoots runway in Moscow, killing four
http://www.news.com.au/news/plane-on-fire-after-running-off-moscow-runway/story-fnejlrpu-1226545196406
MOSCOW, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Russian Tupolev Tu-204 passenger plane overshot the runway at Moscow's Vnukovo airport, killing four people onboard, the Emergency Situations Ministry said Saturday.

UN peacekeepers leave East Timor 13 years after it voted for independence ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20873267
DILI, East Timor - The United Nations ended its peacekeeping mission in East Timor on Monday, leaving the country without any direct security assistance for the first time since a spasm of political and ethnic violence in 2006 almost overwhelmed its shaky, ...

Death sentence for envoy's killers
http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/world-news/death-sentence-for-envoys-killers-3339530.html
A special tribunal has sentenced to death five Bangladeshi men for killing a Saudi diplomat in an apparent street crime earlier this year.

Yemen: Al-Qaida Offers Bounty for US Ambassador
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/31-Dec-2012/us-drone-strike-kills-three-qaeda-men
Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen has offered to pay tens of thousands of dollars to anyone who kills the U.S. ambassador in Sanaa or an American soldier in the country.

Afghan Troop Deaths Rise as Army Expands Its Role
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/30-Dec-2012/georgian-soldier-found-dead-in-afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan - The Afghan government has hit a grim record in its quest to take over the country's security from coalition forces: more than 1,000 soldiers died in 2012, a roughly 20 percent increase from 2011.

Avigdor Lieberman formally charged with corruption
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/9771611/Avigdor-Lieberman-formally-charged-with-corruption.html
The country's Attorney General, Yehuda Weinstein, officially filed the fraud and breach of trust charges that prompted Mr Lieberman's sudden resignation after they were first announced earlier this month.

NYE revellers unfazed by crowds, booze ban
http://afr.com/p/national/australians_count_down_to_new_years_ho2Z4qsu3ai5iKnAb3icBM
SINCE the moment American Melissa Sjostedt saw a photograph in National Geographic of dazzling fireworks on the Sydney Harbour Bridge she has wanted to see it in person.

Pakistani Taliban call for ceasefire in video statement
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/28/pakistani-taliban-ceasefire-video
The Taliban in Pakistan have said they want to negotiate a ceasefire in a video statement by their leader, Hakemullah Mehsud. The video, delivered to the Reuters news agency in Pakistan on Friday, is the latest in a series of statements in recent days stating ...

Iran says it's started naval drills at Strait of Hormuz
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2012/Dec-30/200368-iran-showcases-special-forces-during-naval-drills-report.ashx
TEHRAN, Iran Iran's state TV is reporting the country's navy has begun maneuvers in the area of the Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of the world's oil passes.