2012年6月14日星期四

Yahoo! News: Iraq

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Iraq


USCCAR Condemns Mounting Pressure by UNAMI's Martin Kobler on Iranian Dissidents in Iraq

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 03:44 PM PDT

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On behalf of thousands of Iranian-Americans whose loved ones are in camps Ashraf and Liberty in Iraq, the US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents (USCCAR) strongly condemns the mounting pressure exerted on the 3,200 Iranian dissidents in Iraq by UN Secretary-General's Special Representative, Martin Kobler.

Insight: The secret keepers: meet the U.S. Supreme Court clerks

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 03:18 PM PDT

(Reuters) - With a ruling expected soon in the landmark U.S. healthcare case, Supreme Court watchers have scoured the landscape for clues about how the nine justices will vote. But they left one stone unturned. Make that 36. That is the number of law clerks who serve the justices, do their research, help draft their opinions and exert a not insignificant influence on their thinking. It's not easy to divine what these elite young barristers might be telling their bosses. ...

Obama spoke with Saudi King Abdullah on Thursday: White House

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 03:15 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama spoke with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Thursday, the White House said, but gave no details of what subjects their conversation touched upon. Washington is watching the oil markets closely and is also concerned about escalating violence in Syria, where Saudi Arabia has been an outspoken supporter of the opposition, which is fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. ...

Manhattan glitterati event marks study in contrasts for Obama

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 03:12 PM PDT

Obama speaks in Cleveland, OhioNEW YORK (Reuters) - Talk about a venue change. Fresh from giving an economic speech in the heart of the industrial Rust Belt, President Barack Obama headed to Manhattan's Greenwich Village on Thursday to hold a big-dollar campaign fundraiser with rich donors at the home of "Sex in the City" actress Sarah Jessica Parker. Obama has shaped his campaign message around appealing to middle-class voters, many of whom have suffered from the U.S. recession and slow economic recovery. ...


DIRECT INVOLVEMENT IN SYRIA IS A MISTAKE WE SHOULDN'T MAKE

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 02:30 PM PDT

WASHINGTON -- The Syrian conflict has now officially been declared a "civil war." No lesser an interest group than the United Nations did so -- and the White House followed up with the same denominator of danger. Innocents are being massacred every day, and there is little question that the Syrian poison is spreading to neighbors Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.This is not middle-class Tunisia nor wondrous Egypt, whose demonstrations really kicked off the "Arab Spring. ...

The Cupcake Tank is the Draw at the Pentagon

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 02:27 PM PDT

Talk about a show stealer.    The Army's top brass were on hand in the Pentagon's courtyard today to celebrate the Army's 237th birthday with the traditional cake-cutting ceremony, but all eyes were trained on the cupcake tank. A special 2,500 pound mock-up of an Abrams...

Russia official says West has no solution to Syria

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 02:09 PM PDT

LONDON (Reuters) - The West is using Russia's opposition to tougher action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a pretext not to come up with its own solution to the crisis there, the head of the Russian parliament's foreign affairs committee said on Thursday. Speaking a day after Washington accused Russia of supplying attack helicopters to Assad's forces, Alexei Pushkov said Western calls for the Syrian president to step aside were "irresponsible". "The West does not have any policy at all towards Syria. ...

OPEC to keep 30 million barrel output target

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 01:54 PM PDT

Secretary General of OPEC Abdalla Salem El-Badri of Libya gestures as he waits for the start of a seminar of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, at Vienna's Hofburg palace, Austria, on Thursday, June 14, 2012. OPEC ministers are coming into a meeting Thursday deeply divided over how much crude to pump, with Saudi Arabia keen to keep a lid on prices, rival Iran pushing to cut production and Iraq expected to back Iran, its longtime foe under Saddam Hussein. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)OPEC oil ministers agreed Thursday to keep their production target steady, in a compromise meant to defuse rivalries between Iran and Saudi Arabia and to send a soothing message to economically troubled consuming nations.


FACT CHECK: Where Obama, Romney missed mark

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 01:52 PM PDT

President Barack Obama greets supporters after arriving at Cleveland Hopkins International airport in Cleveland, Thursday, June 14, 2012, before attending a campaign event in the city. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)President Barack Obama accused Republicans of paying for wars "on the nation's credit card" even though he has used the same plastic for the same purpose, and for many others. Mitt Romney defied logic and statistics in claiming the huge stimulus package did not create private-sector jobs.


OPEC oil ministers decide to keep output target at 30 million barrels a day

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 01:50 PM PDT

VIENNA - OPEC oil ministers agreed Thursday to keep their production target steady, in a compromise meant to defuse rivalries between Iran and Saudi Arabia and to send a soothing message to economically troubled consuming nations.

OPEC leaves oil output ceiling unchanged

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 01:28 PM PDT

OPEC President Abdul-Kareem Luaibi Bahedh (2ndR) and OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri (R)OPEC announced Thursday it was keeping its oil output ceiling unchanged but vowed to eliminate overproduction as it sought to halt falling oil prices amid a weak global economy and eurozone debt crisis.


Some GOP VP hopefuls face common personal issues

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 01:20 PM PDT

FILE - In htis April 23, 2012, file photo Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigning with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., talks to reporters in Aston, Pa. When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney picks his running mate, odds are he'll select someone with far less wealth than his own. Unless he chooses Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman, one of the richest women in America. Some of the potential Republican vice presidential nominees are grappling with the same financial issues as many of their countrymen. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)Not that they're a step away from the poor house, but some of Mitt Romney's potential vice presidential running mates are grappling with the same financial issues as many other Americans.


Sandusky jurors hear 'Victim 9' say he screamed for help but no one heard

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 01:11 PM PDT

Jerry Sandusky Trial Hear 'Victim' Say He Screamed for Help But No One HeardJerry Sandusky Called Himself the 'Tickle Monster' in the Shower


5 injured in Osprey crash in Florida Panhandle

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 01:11 PM PDT

All five airmen aboard an Air Force CV-22 Osprey were hospitalized after the tilt-rotor aircraft with a checkered safety record crashed in the Florida Panhandle, but none of the injuries were life-threatening, their commanding officer said Thursday.

Red Cross sounds alarm about weapon contamination

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 12:57 PM PDT

Yemeni security forces disarm an unexploded mortar shell that landed in the ground during clashesThe International Red Cross sounded the alarm at the UN conference on sustainable development here Thursday about the damage caused by unexploded munitions and other weapons.


The Term ‘Mentally Retarded’ Should Be Dropped from the U.S. Code

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 11:54 AM PDT

COMMENTARY | The Hill reported Wednesday that Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, have introduced legislation that would not only address expanding mental health services to young Medicaid recipients, but the scrap the words "mentally retarded" used in the U.S. Code regarding Social Security Act programs.

Iran shrugs off oil sanctions at OPEC meeting

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 11:04 AM PDT

Secretary General of OPEC Abdalla Salem El-Badri of Libya gestures as he waits for the start of a seminar of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, at Vienna's Hofburg palace, Austria, on Thursday, June 14, 2012. OPEC ministers are coming into a meeting Thursday deeply divided over how much crude to pump, with Saudi Arabia keen to keep a lid on prices, rival Iran pushing to cut production and Iraq expected to back Iran, its longtime foe under Saddam Hussein. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)Iran's oil minister on Thursday shrugged off the tightening international squeeze on his country's oil exports, declaring that Tehran was not feeling the pinch and warning that an energy-hungry world could not do without Iranian oil and natural gas.


US Army Col. found guilty of fraud; fined

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:06 AM PDT

The former commander of the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade was sentenced to a $300,000 fine and issued a formal reprimand Thursday after being found guilty at a court martial of multiple counts of fraud, conduct unbecoming of an officer, bigamy and other charges related to an alleged long-term extra-marital affair he had with a woman he met in Iraq when they both lived in Europe.

Look to Yemen as model for Syria's transition after Bashar al-Assad

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 09:20 AM PDT

As Syria devolves into what the UN peacekeeping chief calls a full-out civil war, observers worry that the fall of Bashar al-Assad could precipitate even greater chaos. Such concerns are well founded. Recent history shows that the departure of even the most gruesome tyrant can lead to a further deterioration in stability and an increase in human suffering.

Extradition edges closer for WikiLeaks' Assange

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 08:56 AM PDT

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks at a news conference in LondonLONDON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange could be extradited to Sweden in two weeks' time to face questioning over alleged sex crimes after Britain's top court said on Thursday it had rejected a legal bid to reconsider his case. The decision ended the self-styled anti-secrecy campaigner's 18-month legal battle against extradition in the British courts, and now only a possible appeal to a European Court stands in the way of his transfer. ...


US death toll in Afghanistan surges past 2,000

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 08:42 AM PDT

Smoke rises during a controlled explosion of Improvised Explosive Devices by US Marines in SanginThe American death toll in the almost 11-year war in Afghanistan has surpassed 2,000 with the death of a Marine corporal killed in fighting with the Taliban, the Pentagon said Thursday.


Syrian rebels in Turkey doubtful over new Arab arms supplies

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 07:55 AM PDT

ANTAKYA, Turkey (Reuters) - Syrian rebels resting and recovering from wounds in Turkey say that far from receiving a host of heavy weapons to take the fight to government forces, they feel forgotten by their Western and Arab backers. Some rebels and opposition figures inside and outside Syria say there has been an upsurge in recent weeks of heavier weaponry being smuggled into Syria via Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq from suppliers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. ...

OPEC readies no change on oil limits

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 05:24 AM PDT

VIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC prepared to keep oil output limits on hold on Thursday, leaving swing producer Saudi Arabia to unilaterally decide whether it needs to scale back supplies to stem a price slide. Most in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries want cartel number one Saudi Arabia to cut back to defend oil prices at $100 a barrel but Riyadh is keen to prevent high fuel costs hampering a return to stronger economic growth in the West. Extra oil from Saudi is largely responsible for lifting OPEC output to 31. ...

Iraq pilgrimage security tight after bombs kill 72

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 04:40 AM PDT

Family members of Bilal Aziz, 20, who was killed in a car bomb attack load his coffin onto a vehicle before burial in Najaf, 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, June 13, 2012. A wave of bombings targeted religious processions during the annual pilgrimage commemorating the 8th century death of a revered Shiite imam, killing and wounding scores of people, police said. (AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani)Iraqi authorities banned motorcycles from Baghdad's streets and dispatched tens of thousands of security forces to guard a Shiite pilgrimage Thursday after coordinated car bombings targeted processions across the country the day before, killing 72 people in one of the worst attacks since the U.S. troops withdrawal.


Rand Paul's baffling support for Mitt Romney's cowboy foreign policy

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 03:40 AM PDT

The Kentucky senator is supposed to inherit his father's libertarian mantle. Instead, he seems to be endorsing a return to Bush-era recklessness

Hashemi trial portrays dark side of Iraqi politics

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 01:38 AM PDT

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - With testimony of torture, betrayal and death, the trial of Iraq's fugitive Sunni vice-president is reviving memories of sectarian killings with witnesses painting an ugly portrait of the underbelly of Iraqi politics. Vice-president Tareq Hashemi, a Sunni Muslim politician in the Iraqiya bloc, fled Baghdad in December days after U.S. troops left when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government sought his arrest on charges he ran a death squad. ...

Passengers Sue JetBlue for Pilot Meltdown Incident

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 01:04 AM PDT

Passengers Sue JetBlue for Pilot Meltdown IncidentPassengers Aboard the Flight Have Filed the First Lawsuit Against Airline


Iran's dreams for influence stymied in Egypt

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 12:33 AM PDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2011 file photo, the Iranian navy frigate IS Alvand passes through the Suez Canal at Ismailia, Egypt. Iran once saw the Arab Spring uprisings in the Arab world as a prime opportunity, hoping it would open the door for it to spread its influence in countries whose autocratic leaders long shunned them. But it is finding the new order no more welcoming. Egypt is a prime example. Egypt has sporadically looked more friendly toward Iran since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak 16 months ago, and the rise of the Islamists here fueled the expectations of Tehran's clerical regime that it could make inroads. (AP Photo, File)Iran once saw the Arab Spring uprisings as a prime opportunity, hoping it would open the door for it to spread its influence in countries whose autocratic leaders long shunned Tehran's ruling clerics. But it is finding the new order no more welcoming. Egypt is a prime example.


New Xulon Title is Testimony of God’s Favor on the Battle Front

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 12:16 AM PDT

Foley pens candid account of his experiences during a pivotal time in U.S. historyMaitland, FL (PRWEB) June 14, 2012 Greg Foley's new book, Journal of a Christian Soldier in Iraq ($15.99, paperback, 978-1-62230-195-9; $7.99, e-book, 978-1-62230-196-6) is the author's personal journal. His story is remarkable and published with very minor editing, as Foley wanted to keep his entries in tact. The mission of this book is not only to show God's mercy and grace in this one man's life, but that this relationship with God can be attainable by anyone who chooses Him. ...

Syrian forces overrun rebellious village amid signs of more powerful weapons

Posted: 13 Jun 2012 11:30 PM PDT

BEIRUT - Syrian forces have overran a mountain enclave near the Mediterranean coast, seizing the territory back from rebels as a serious escalation in violence signalled both sides are using more powerful weapons.

OPEC oil ministers brace for output meeting

Posted: 13 Jun 2012 11:08 PM PDT

Secretary General of OPEC, Abdalla Salem El-BadriOPEC oil ministers are meeting to consider changing their oil output ceiling amid divisions over how they should respond to plunging crude prices and uncertainties over global energy demand.


Poll finds Obama’s approval among Muslims reaches new lows

Posted: 13 Jun 2012 09:14 PM PDT

A Pew Research survey released on Wednesday showed that President Barack Obama's popularity has reached record lows among Muslims.

Firepower bristles in South China Sea as rivalries harden

Posted: 13 Jun 2012 08:32 PM PDT

HONG KONG (Reuters) - In the early years of China's rise to economic and military prowess, the guiding principle for its government was Deng Xiaoping's maxim: "Hide Your Strength, Bide Your Time." Now, more than three decades after paramount leader Deng launched his reforms, that policy has seemingly lapsed or simply become unworkable as China's military muscle becomes too expansive to conceal and its ambitions too pressing to postpone. ...
bnzv