Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Turkey proposes to mediate Iraq energy dispute
• UN warns over refugees turned away in Greece, Bulgaria
• West Asia trio win to book places at Asian Cup
• UAE, Bahrain, Saudis reach Asian Cup
• Soccer-West Asia trio win to book places at Asian Cup
• Assad's forces advance in northern Syria towards Aleppo
• Canada's Niko raises "going concern" doubt, shares plunge
• Turkish army says Kurdish militants attack convoy
• Kerry, Clinton: Afghanistan nearing turning point
• State Department Official Absolves Iraqi's Prime Minister of Responsibility in Massacre of 52, Abduction of 7 Iranian Dissidents, and Carnage in Iraq; President Obama Needs to Intervene Immediately, Says USCCAR
• Iraq Kurd chief visits Turkey after peace process stalls
• New JFK assassination poll: Most say Oswald did not act alone
• Canada's Niko raises 'going concern' doubt, shares fall 57 percent
• UN warning over Syria refugees refused
• Turkey warns against Syrian Kurd autonomy
• This Is Suddenly the Most Important Month of Obama's Presidency
• Jihadists say Syria rebel 'beheaded in error'
• Reuters Sports Schedule at 1415 GMT on Friday, Nov 15
• After JFK, a Secret Service transformed
• Iraq forces need 'massive' rights re-training: UN envoy
• Marines killed in Calif. were doing dangerous job
• Marines Killed at Camp Pendleton Were On Explosives Disposal
• Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Friday, Nov 15
• Today in History
• Syrian air raid kills rebel commander in Aleppo: activists
• Are Obama's ratings dipping past the point of no return?

Turkey proposes to mediate Iraq energy dispute Posted: 15 Nov 2013 03:30 PM PST Turkey said Friday it has proposed to mediate a long-running dispute between Baghdad and its autonomous Kurdistan region over dividing oil revenue. "The system we will establish will certainly help resolve the dispute between the Kurdish regional government and the central government," Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters in Ankara. Iraq's federal government in Baghdad and autonomous Kurdistan have long been divided over how to split energy revenue, which has paralysed development of new oil and gas projects in the region.

UN warns over refugees turned away in Greece, Bulgaria Posted: 15 Nov 2013 01:06 PM PST The UN's refugee agency Friday called on Greece and Bulgaria to stop turning back Syrians fleeing their war-ravaged homeland, as Bulgaria confirmed a clampdown. "Push-backs and prevention of entry can put asylum-seekers at further risk and expose them to additional trauma," United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters, saying that all states must cease such practices immediately. Bulgaria acknowledged Friday that it had started turning back refugees, many of them Syrian, who were trying to cross over from Turkey. Edwards said UNHCR was also seeking more information from Bulgaria about a group of around 100 people reportedly turned away last weekend.

West Asia trio win to book places at Asian Cup Posted: 15 Nov 2013 11:24 AM PST Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates capped a good night for West Asia when the Gulf trio became the first sides to qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup after each scored home wins on Friday. The UAE swept past Hong Kong 4-0 to make it four wins from four in Group E and secure one of the top two places in the pool, while three-times champions Saudi Arabia also have 12 points after they beat 2007 winners Iraq 2-1 in Group C. Bahrain edged Malaysia 1-0 after a late goal by Ismaeel Abdulatif secured the points in their Group D clash as the trio all bounced back following the disappointment of dismal 2014 World Cup qualifying campaigns.

UAE, Bahrain, Saudis reach Asian Cup Posted: 15 Nov 2013 11:17 AM PST The UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia booked their tickets to the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia with victories in their qualifying group games on Friday. Goals by Salem Saleh, Walid Abbas, Omar Abdulrahman and Ismail Hamadi saw the UAE ease past Hong Kong 4-0in their Group E clash in Abu Dhabi. The UAE, who led 2-0 at half-time, maintained their 100 per cent win record to qualify for their fourth consecutive Asian Cup.

Soccer-West Asia trio win to book places at Asian Cup Posted: 15 Nov 2013 11:13 AM PST * Saudi Arabia edge Iraq * UAE thrash Hong Kong to maintain perfect record * Indonesia and Malaysia among ASEAN losers By Patrick Johnston Nov 15 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates capped a good night for West Asia when the Gulf trio became the first sides to qualify for the 2015 Asian Cup after each scored home wins on Friday. The UAE swept past Hong Kong 4-0 to make it four wins from four in Group E and secure one of the top two places in the pool, while three-times champions Saudi Arabia also have 12 points after they beat 2007 winners Iraq 2-1 in Group C. Bahrain edged Malaysia 1-0 after a late goal by Ismaeel Abdulatif secured the points in their Group D clash as the trio all bounced back following the disappointment of dismal 2014 World Cup qualifying campaigns.

Assad's forces advance in northern Syria towards Aleppo Posted: 15 Nov 2013 10:54 AM PST By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad captured on Friday the last of three towns on the south-eastern approaches of Aleppo, state television said, advancing on the city after similar gains around the capital Damascus this week. Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub and biggest city before the uprising against Assad erupted in 2011, has been partly held by Sunni rebels and foreign jihadi fighters for more than a year. But Assad's army, backed by Shi'ite Lebanese Hezbollah officers and Iraqi militias, has been regaining territory around Aleppo and Damascus to the south, strengthening the president's hand ahead of proposed, but long-delayed, peace talks in Geneva. State television aired a report on Friday it said was filmed in the center of the town of Tel Hasel, 10 km (6 miles) south-east of Aleppo.

Canada's Niko raises "going concern" doubt, shares plunge Posted: 15 Nov 2013 10:45 AM PST The company, which has been trying to restructure debt and refinance loans to fund drilling in India, said it would continue to focus on the D6 block off the country's east coast. "It looks like they will be able to pay it with this new debt facility but the problem is they also have to ramp up spending at the D6 block and there are other expenditures they are going to be on the hook for." Niko shares plunged as much as 57 percent to a life-low of C$1.12 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday when the company also announced its 10th straight quarterly loss. Niko said it had not been able to raise funds from usual sources despite "aggressive" efforts and was now looking at "high-cost finance package with tight repayment terms." The company said it has hired United Airlines' former chief financial officer, Jake Brace, to advise on the refinancing. The $340 million loan, which would be repayable in four years, is dependent on Niko settling payments with Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc

Turkish army says Kurdish militants attack convoy Posted: 15 Nov 2013 10:05 AM PST Turkey's military said Kurdish militants attacked a convoy of military vehicles with rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade in southeast Turkey on Friday. There were no casualties, but it appeared to be one of the most serious breaches yet of an 8-month-old ceasefire between the government and PKK militants. The rebels previously opened fire on a military helicopter in June and an army outpost the following month. "Members of the separatist terrorist group set up an ambush and fired 100-150 rounds of ammunition," the military statement said, using the term it generally uses to describe the PKK or Kurdistan Workers Party.

Kerry, Clinton: Afghanistan nearing turning point Posted: 15 Nov 2013 10:02 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry and his predecessor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, said Friday that Afghanistan is reaching a turning point in maintaining the advances made by women in Afghan society and any future security agreement needs to respect the rights of women.

State Department Official Absolves Iraqi's Prime Minister of Responsibility in Massacre of 52, Abduction of 7 Iranian Dissidents, and Carnage in Iraq; President Obama Needs to Intervene Immediately, Says USCCAR Posted: 15 Nov 2013 09:42 AM PST WASHINGTON, Nov. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- During a hearing on November 13, 2013 by the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq and Iran, Brett McGurk, when faced with repeated questions by several subcommittee members over the breach of commitments by the US Government and Iraq to protect thousands of Iranian dissidents in Iraq, resulting in the murder of 112 defenseless residents of Camp Ashraf, attempted to exonerate the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of any role in the execution-style murder of 52 residents of Camp Ashraf and the abduction of seven more on September 1st.   Mr. McGurk, to the astonishment of Members of Congress, downplayed the seriousness of this massacre and the daily deadly violence in Iraq, as being ordinary and inevitable. Nor did he highlight the detrimental sectarian policies and incompetence of the Iraqi Prime Minister as the main causes of the carnage in the country. Instead, Mr. McGurk suggested to the Iraqi people that the only way to stay safe is to leave Iraq.

Iraq Kurd chief visits Turkey after peace process stalls Posted: 15 Nov 2013 09:15 AM PST Turkey's prime minister will hold talks on Saturday with Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani aimed at restarting a stalled peace process, with decades-old divisions between Ankara and the Kurds far from over. The talks -- branded "historic" by Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- come at a sensitive time for the Turkish government after a peace deal with Kurdish rebels stalled in September. Erdogan said he and Barzani, who is highly respected by Turkey's own Kurds, would meet in the Kurdish-majority province of Diyarbakir in Turkey's southeast.

New JFK assassination poll: Most say Oswald did not act alone Posted: 15 Nov 2013 08:59 AM PST But today, 61 percent of respondents to a new Gallup poll still say they believe someone other than Oswald was involved. The belief in a JFK conspiracy has waned in recent years, dropping from a high of 81 percent of Americans in 2000. "Speculating about who was really responsible for Kennedy's death will likely remain a topic of fascination for the American public for many years to come," writes Mr. Swift. The circumstances of Oswald's death are surely a main reason conspiracy theories persist.

Canada's Niko raises 'going concern' doubt, shares fall 57 percent Posted: 15 Nov 2013 08:39 AM PST Niko, which is trying to restructure debt and refinance loans to fund drilling in India, has been plagued by falling production at the D6 block off the east coast of India. Niko shares fell to a life-low of C$1.12 in early trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday after the company posted its 10th straight quarterly loss. The company said it had not been able to raise funds from usual sources despite "aggressive" efforts and was now looking at "high cost finance package with tight repayment terms." Niko said it had secured about $340 million of debt financing, which is dependent on the company settling some rig-related payments with Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc

UN warning over Syria refugees refused Posted: 15 Nov 2013 08:37 AM PST The UN's refugee agency Friday said it was alarmed by reports that Greece and Bulgaria were turning back Syrians fleeing their war-ravaged homeland, forcing them to return to overloaded Turkey. "Push-backs and prevention of entry can put asylum-seekers at further risk and expose them to additional trauma," United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Adrian Edwards told reporters, saying that all states must cease such practices immediately. Edwards said the agency was particularly worried about a group of 150 Syrians, including families with children, barred Tuesday from entering Greece at Evros, on the border with Turkey. "UNHCR received information from villagers of the group being detained and transported in police vehicles to an unknown location, although they have not been transferred to a reception centre.

Turkey warns against Syrian Kurd autonomy Posted: 15 Nov 2013 08:16 AM PST Turkey on Friday warned that it would not accept this week's declaration of provisional self-rule by Kurds in neighbouring war-torn Syria. "Turkey cannot permit a fait accompli, there is no question of accepting such a thing in Syria," Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in televised comments in eastern Turkey. "We cannot allow Syria, which is faced with major chaos, to disintegrate," Gul said. For three decades, Turkey has been embroiled in a deadly Kurdish insurgency on its soil.

This Is Suddenly the Most Important Month of Obama's Presidency Posted: 15 Nov 2013 07:01 AM PST With his announcement on Thursday that his administration would allow insurers to delay non-Obamacare compliant policy cancellations for a year, President Obama hoped to regain control of the law's rollout ahead of a critical House vote later on Friday. Democrats have an incentive to buck the president. On Friday, the House will vote on a proposal from Michigan Rep. Fred Upton that would codify a means of preventing insurance companies from canceling customer policies. It's a direct response to Obama's pledge that people could keep plans they like, and precisely what Obama hoped to undermine on Thursday.

Jihadists say Syria rebel 'beheaded in error' Posted: 15 Nov 2013 06:22 AM PST Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists in Syria have admitted beheading a fellow rebel by mistake after believing him to be an Iraqi Shiite fighting alongside regime forces, a watchdog said on Friday. A video posted on the Internet on Wednesday showed two members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) holding up a bearded man's head before a crowd in Aleppo in northern Syria. They said he was an Iraqi Shiite who had been fighting among the ranks of President Bashar al-Assad's forces. "Some minutes after the video was posted, the man was identified as Mohammed Marroush, a fighter with rebel group Ahrar al-Sham," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Reuters Sports Schedule at 1415 GMT on Friday, Nov 15 Posted: 15 Nov 2013 06:15 AM PST Reuters sports schedule at 1415 GMT on Friday: - - - - SOCCER 2014 World Cup European playoffs, first leg (1945 unless stated) Portugal v Sweden Ukraine v France Greece v Romania Iceland v Croatia (2000) The pick of the four European playoffs is the tie between Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal and Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Sweden with little to choose between the teams before they meet in Lisbon on Friday. We will have individual match reports on all four games. ...

After JFK, a Secret Service transformed Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:46 AM PST JFK's assassination helped usher in a wave of changes at the U.S. Secret Service — a small agency with a huge job.

Iraq forces need 'massive' rights re-training: UN envoy Posted: 15 Nov 2013 02:10 AM PST Iraq's security forces require "massive amounts of re-training" in human rights to better conduct operations and combat the country's deadliest violence since 2008, the UN's new envoy to Baghdad said. Nickolay Mladenov, UN chief Ban Ki-moon's special representative, also said he did not expect any long-term political problems to be addressed before elections due on April 30, but voiced hope that authorities could make progress on key issues such as the delivery of basic services. "There is a culture within the security forces, and the way they do things, which needs to change," Mladenov told a group of foreign journalists in Baghdad. Asked what he meant by a change in culture, he replied: "One that is more respectful of human rights.

Marines killed in Calif. were doing dangerous job Posted: 15 Nov 2013 01:04 AM PST SAN DIEGO (AP) — The job is one of the most dangerous in the Marine Corps.

Marines Killed at Camp Pendleton Were On Explosives Disposal Posted: 15 Nov 2013 12:12 AM PST More details about the accident that killed four Marines at Camp Pendleton in California on Wednesday have been released. The deceased military members, all of whom had combat experience, were tasked with the disposal of unexploded ordnance at the camp. The were killed while clearing the Zulu artillery range, although there was apparently no live-fire training happening at the time of the accident. The four men, ranging from age 27 to 32, are Staff Sgt. Mathew Marsh, Gunnery Sgt. Gregory Mullins, Sgt. Miguel Ortiz, and Staff Sgt. Eric Summers.

Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Friday, Nov 15 Posted: 14 Nov 2013 09:59 PM PST Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Friday: - - - - NFL Colts rally to overcome Titans The Indianapolis Colts produced a blistering opening to the second half to mount a 30-27 comeback win over the Tennessee Titans, opening up a healthy three-game lead in the AFC South. ...

Today in History Posted: 14 Nov 2013 09:00 PM PST Today is Friday, Nov. 15, the 319th day of 2013. There are 46 days left in the year.

Syrian air raid kills rebel commander in Aleppo: activists Posted: 14 Nov 2013 07:30 PM PST A Syrian rebel commander in a main Islamist brigade was killed and two others were injured in an air strike by President Bashar al-Assad's forces on Aleppo, activists said on Friday, in a setback to rebels defending the city against a loyalist attack. Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub and most populous city before the uprising against Assad erupted in 2011, has been witnessing heavy fighting since Assad's forces, backed by Shi'ite militia from Iraq and the Lebanese party Hezbollah, launched an offensive two weeks ago to retake rebel-held areas in the city. The opposition Aleppo News Network said in a statement that the raid on Thursday targeted an army base that rebels had captured, killing commander Youssef al-Abbas of the Qatari-backed al-Tawhid Brigades, one of the biggest armed opposition groups. It said Tawhid's head, Abdelqader Saleh, was injured and taken to a hospital in Turkey, 45 kms (28 miles) to the north, along with Abdelaziz al-Salameh, another top commander.

Are Obama's ratings dipping past the point of no return? Posted: 14 Nov 2013 04:32 PM PST Barack Obama's second term fumbles have pitched him to record low poll ratings and splintered his credibility with the American people. Obama, stung by the amateurish debut of his health care plan, which has sent fellow Democrats into revolt, is beginning to sense the depth of his woes. A week later, Pew Research put Obama at 41 percent. By Wednesday, Quinnipiac University had him at 39 percent, a new low.

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