Yahoo! News: Iraq

Senate OKs Obama's choice for Afghan commander
Correction: Women In Combat story
Syrian spokesman flees country, diplomat says
Factbox: "Fiscal cliff" offers of Republicans, Obama compared
Navy secretary supports upgrading Marine's medal
House Republicans unveil new fiscal cliff offer
Cough keeps former President George H.W. Bush in hospital
Job Market Predictions for 2013 and Beyond, Part I
Iran hints direct talks with US are possible
Dutch police raid PKK meeting, hold 55 for questioning
Veterans' gun rights sticky issue in defense bill
Iran says direct talks with US are 'possible'
Iraq telecom operator to go public in early 2013
Soldier in WikiLeaks case seemed suicidal at times: sergeants
Scandals: #4 General David Petraeus affair

Senate OKs Obama's choice for Afghan commander

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 04:23 PM PST

The Senate has approved President Barack Obama's choice to be the top commander in Afghanistan.

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 04:17 PM PST

In a story Dec. 1 about women in combat, The Associated Press reported erroneously that former Marine Capt. Anu Bhagwati served at Camp Pendleton. Bhagwati served in officer training school at the base in Quantico, Va. She was stationed at Okinawa, Japan, and Camp Lejeune, N.C..

Syrian spokesman flees country, diplomat says

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 03:19 PM PST

CAIRO/BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Syrian foreign ministry spokesman, who was the most public face of Bashar al-Assad's government as it battled a 20-month-old uprising, has fled the country, a diplomat in the region said on Monday. Jihad al-Makdissi, who is in his 40s, previously worked at the Syrian embassy in London and returned to Damascus a year ago to serve as spokesman for the ministry, defending the government's crackdown on the revolt against Assad's rule. He had little influence in a system largely run by the security apparatus and the military. ...

Factbox: "Fiscal cliff" offers of Republicans, Obama compared

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:47 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Both President Barack Obama and Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have made opening offers in negotiations to resolve the "fiscal cliff. Here is a look at the two proposals, which are aimed at averting a more drastic combination of tax increases and spending cuts that economists say could cause a recession: REPUBLICAN OFFER House Republican leaders on Monday called for $2.2 trillion in new deficit reductions over 10 years. ...

Navy secretary supports upgrading Marine's medal

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 01:32 PM PST

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus is recommending the Defense Department upgrade a fallen San Diego Marine's Navy Cross to the Medal of Honor.

House Republicans unveil new fiscal cliff offer

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 12:12 PM PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Republican leaders on Monday called for $2.2 trillion in new deficit-reduction over 10 years in their latest effort to avert an end-of-year fiscal cliff. When counting deficit reductions enacted last year and anticipated savings from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the package would amount to $4.6 trillion in savings over a decade, according to House Republicans. House Speaker John Boehner and six other House Republican leaders made the offer in a letter to President Barack Obama. ...

Cough keeps former President George H.W. Bush in hospital

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 09:25 AM PST

(Reuters) - Former President George H.W. Bush is in stable condition in the Texas hospital where he has been undergoing treatment for complications related to bronchitis and no release date has been set, officials said on Monday. "He has a nagging cough and his doctors are in no hurry to send him home," said George Kovacik, a spokesman for The Methodist Hospital, Houston. Family spokesman Jim McGrath told Reuters that Bush, 88, had a "really good day" on Sunday watching the Houston Texans National Football League team clinch a playoff birth by beating the Tennessee Titans, 24-10. ...

Job Market Predictions for 2013 and Beyond, Part I

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 07:36 AM PST

Whether you're a clerk or a CEO, unemployed, well-employed, or self-employed, it helps to have a sense of what's next. Here's my take:

Iran hints direct talks with US are possible

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 07:25 AM PST

Direct talks between Iran and the United States are possible, but any such breakthrough would have to be approved by the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's foreign minister said Monday.

Dutch police raid PKK meeting, hold 55 for questioning

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 06:54 AM PST

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch police raided a secret meeting of members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) on Monday and detained 55 people after a tip from the intelligence service, prosecutors said. The PKK has been fighting for Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Turkey since 1984 and is designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara, the United States and the European Union. It has also been banned in the Netherlands since 2007. ...

Veterans' gun rights sticky issue in defense bill

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 06:28 AM PST

Should veterans deemed too mentally incompetent to handle their own financial affairs be prevented from buying a gun?

Iran says direct talks with US are 'possible'

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 04:13 AM PST

Iran's foreign minister says direct talks with the U.S. are "possible" but that any such breakthrough initiative must be approved by the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iraq telecom operator to go public in early 2013

Posted: 03 Dec 2012 12:18 AM PST

The Iraq Stock Exchange says one of the country's largest mobile operators will start publicly trading its shares early next year. It will be the first stock float since the reign of Saddam Hussein.

Soldier in WikiLeaks case seemed suicidal at times: sergeants

Posted: 02 Dec 2012 07:21 PM PST

FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - The U.S. Army private charged with leaking classified U.S. war documents was held in extreme confinement for nine months at a Marine Corps detention center because of a pattern of behavior suggesting suicidal thoughts, military officials testified Sunday at a pretrial hearing. ...