[World] Nations Pledge Aid to Mission in Mali

Nations Pledge Aid to Mission in Mali
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/01/29/mali-fighting-timbuktu-kidal.html?cmp=rss
BAMAKO, Maliâ€"International donors pledged $455.5 million for the African mission in Mali as African troops prepared to help hold towns that French forces had captured from al Qaeda-linked rebels.

Julia Gillard sets September 14 election date
http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets-shrug-off-pms-election-call-20130130-2dkjg.html
Video; Video; Video; Video; Image. PM's poll call a bid to stamp authority. Dennis Shanahan says Julia Gillard will now be able to maximise the effects of incumbency.

Adversaries in Syria Trade Blame for Scores of Killings in Aleppo
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/world/middleeast/syria-crisis.html
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Scores of muddied and waterlogged gunshot victims, most of them men in their 20s and 30s, were found dead in a suburb of Syria's contested northern city of Aleppo on Tuesday.

Kazakh plane crash kills 20, no survivors
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/kazakhstan/9833541/Almaty-plane-crash-No-survivors-in-Kazakhstan-disaster.html
ALMATY - All 20 people on board a domestic flight in Kazakhstan operated by the SCAT airline died January 29 when their Canadian-made jet crashed on approach to Almaty airport in thick fog, the airline said.

Brazil fire caused by cheap fireworks, say police
http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/crackdown-on-nightclubs-in-brazil-after-santa-maria-fire-tragedy-323990
The chief investigator in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria has said that cheap fireworks meant for outdoor use caused a deadly nightclub fire.

Surfer Garrett McNamara 'rides world record 100ft wave' in Portugal
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2013/jan/29/surfer-garrett-mcnamara-100ft-wave
Link to video: Garrett McNamara 'surfs record 100ft wave' in Portugal. The Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara is said to have broken his own world record for the largest wave surfed when he caught a wave reported to be around 100ft off the coast of Nazaré, ...

How to Defuse the North Korean Threat
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-29/how-to-defuse-the-north-korean-threat.html
With his bombastic threat of “high- profile” retaliation against the U.S. (translation: more tests of nuclear bombs and missiles), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un seems determined to tantrum his way to the top of President Barack Obama's second-term ...

Japan Embraces Modest Business, Investment Tax Breaks
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gOt5vFufke_q6dnxtHO4q__Ulm9g?docId=CNG.2be26fada62d9694b4d968a27dda474b.291
TOKYOâ€"As part of its evolving economic stimulus plan, the new Japanese government is adding a package of modest corporate and investment tax breaks to a big boost in government spending and a fresh dose of monetary easing from the Bank of Japan.

Argentina protests ambassador's reprimand
http://www.livemint.com/Politics/FJoYyHZP3GzwKPL6daEZWI/Israel-Jewish-groups-slam-ArgentinaIran-truth-commission.html
Argentinean Foreign Minister Hector Timerman protested Israel's decision to summon Argentinean Ambassador to Israel Atilio Norberto Molteni to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem over Buenos Aires' decision to join forces with Iran on the investigation of the ...

UPDATE 1-Iran denies explosion at underground uranium facility
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/un-nuclear-watchdog-backs-iran-s-denial-of-fordow-explosion.premium-1.500153
Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:56am EST. * Iran enriches uranium to 20 percent at Fordow. * Site deep underground to protect against attacks. * Tehran says Israel, U.S.

Share Your Views on Violence Against Women in India
http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/share-your-views-on-violence-against-women-in-india/
A woman shouting slogans as she participates in a Dec. 22 protest against the gang Tsering Topgyal/Associated Press A woman shouting slogans as she participates in a Dec. 22 protest against the gang rape of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in New ...

Tens of thousands of Syrians flood into Jordan to escape war
http://www.channel4.com/news/syrian-refugees-jordan-alarming-rise
More than 21,000 Syrian refugees have crossed into Jordan in the last week alone, overwhelming the country's sole refugee camp and stretching already-limited resources.

Poisoning feared in mysterious deaths of 10 Borneo pygmy elephants in ...
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/f9350ab6df624cbbb89480a13d4e45a0/AS-Malaysia-Elephant-Deaths
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Ten endangered Borneo pygmy elephants have been found dead in a Malaysian forest under mysterious circumstances, and wildlife officials said Tuesday that they probably were poisoned.