2013年9月23日星期一

Yahoo! News: Iraq

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Iraq


Kenyan officials claim last push to end mall siege

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 04:29 PM PDT

Kenyan Defense Forces leave the near vicinity of the Westgate Mall in Nairobi Kenya Monday Sept. 23 2013. Multiple large blasts have rocked the mall where a hostage siege is in its third day. Associated Press reporters on the scene heard multiple blasts and a barrage of gunfire. Security forces have been attempting to rescue an unknown number of hostages inside the mall held by al-Qaida-linked terrorists. (AP Photo/ Jerome Delay)NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan security forces battled al-Qaida-linked terrorists in an upscale mall for a third day Monday in what they said was a final push to rescue the last few hostages in a siege that has left at least 62 people dead.


France expects U.N. council to agree on Syria arms measure

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 03:51 PM PDT

Free Syrian Army fighters aim their weapons as they take defensive positions in AleppoBy John Irish and Alexei Anishchuk UNITED NATIONS/SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - France's foreign minister said on Monday he expects the U.N. Security Council to agree on a resolution to enforce the chemical weapons deal with Syria and appeared to back off French calls for the measure to threaten force against President Bashar al-Assad. Syria's civil war is a top agenda item as world leaders gather this week for the annual U.N. General Assembly. Envoys from the five big U.N. powers - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - have been meeting to negotiate a resolution to back the U.S. ...


Bush says Obama shouldn't be criticized for golf

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 03:35 PM PDT

File-This Aug. 11, 2013 file photo shows President Barack Obama reacting as he misses a shot while golfing on the first hole at Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs, Mass., on the island of Martha's Vineyard. Former president George W. Bush says President Obama should not be criticized for the amount of golf he plays. In an excerpt from "In Play with Jimmy Roberts" that airs Tuesday night on Golf Channel, Bush says he understands the pressures of the White House and that playing golf is a good outlet. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Former President George W. Bush says President Barack Obama should not be criticized for the amount of golf he plays.


UN General Assembly: Can Obama win over a skeptical audience?

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 02:55 PM PDT

Once a rock star – now a fallen star?

Once notable NJ lawyer given life sentence

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 01:56 PM PDT

FILE - In this May 8, 2009 file photograph, attorney Paul Bergrin is seen in Superior Court in Newark, N.J. Bergrin a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor whose clients have included rap stars and a soldier at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, was charged in May 2009 with arranging the killing of one witness and trying to hire a hit man to kill another and in March 2013 he was convicted on nearly two dozen counts. On Monday, Sept. 23, 2013, Bergrin faces sentencing on a host of counts including murder and racketeering. (AP Photo/Mike Derer, File)NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A defense attorney who once had a roster of celebrity clients and boasted of having tried hundreds of cases in federal court was sentenced there on Monday to life in prison without parole after his conviction on nearly two dozen counts including murder conspiracy and racketeering.


Bombs at Sunni funeral in Iraq kill 14

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 01:49 PM PDT

BAGHDAD (AP) — A double bombing targeting Sunni mourners in Baghdad killed 14 people on Monday, the third day in a row in which funerals have been attacked amid a wave of bloodshed across Iraq, officials said.

In parts of US and Israel, Iran's Ahmadinejad is sorely missed

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 01:47 PM PDT

If you wanted war with Iran over its nuclear program, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was your man.

N.J. defense attorney sentenced to life for murder, racketeering

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 01:42 PM PDT

Paul W. Bergrin gives statement during the second day of an Abu Graibh pre-trial hearing in Mannheim in this file photoBy Joseph Ax NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - A once-prominent New Jersey defense attorney was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for transforming his law firm into a criminal organization in which he arranged the murder of an FBI informant, facilitated drug trafficking and helped run a prostitution ring. Paul Bergrin, a former federal prosecutor in New Jersey who later defended U.S. soldiers accused of atrocities at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and celebrities like the rapper L'il Kim, was once dubbed the "Baddest Lawyer in the History of Jersey' by New York Magazine. ...


Vice President: Kenya mall siege in final stage

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 01:34 PM PDT

Kenyan Defense Forces leave the near vicinity of the Westgate Mall in Nairobi Kenya Monday Sept. 23 2013. Multiple large blasts have rocked the mall where a hostage siege is in its third day. Associated Press reporters on the scene heard multiple blasts and a barrage of gunfire. Security forces have been attempting to rescue an unknown number of hostages inside the mall held by al-Qaida-linked terrorists. (AP Photo/ Jerome Delay)NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan security forces were in the final stages of flushing out Islamic extremist terrorists from a besieged shopping mall, the vice president said late Monday, two days after the upscale mall was seized by members of a Somali group linked to al-Qaida.


Assad: Syria committed to destroy chemical weapons

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 12:49 PM PDT

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, speaks during an interview with Chinese state CCTV, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Sept. 23, 2013. Assad said his government will allow international experts access to its chemical weapons sites but cautioned in an interview broadcast Monday that rebels might block them from reaching some of the locations. (AP Photo/SANA)DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — President Bashar Assad pledged in an interview broadcast Monday to honor an agreement to surrender Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons, but he said that rebels might try to block international arms inspectors from doing their work.


Bomb at Sunni funeral kills 15 in Iraq

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 12:16 PM PDT

Iraqis carry the body of one of the victims of a bombing attack near a funeral tent in Baghdad on September 22, 2103BAGHDAD (AFP) - A bomb targeting Sunni mourners in Baghdad killed 15 people on Monday, the third in a series of attacks on funerals that have raised the spectre of all-out sectarian conflict.


CAIR Condemns Bomb Attacks by Extremists in Pakistan, Iraq

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 11:30 AM PDT

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned bomb attacks on a church in Pakistan and on funerals in Iraq.In what was the most deadly attack targeting that nation's Christian minority, a pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up Sunday at a church in the city of Peshawar, killing more than 80 people.In a statement, CAIR said:"We condemn these horrific and un-Islamic attacks targeting the Christian community in Pakistan. ...

Two blasts kill 16 in mainly Sunni district of Baghdad: sources

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 10:39 AM PDT

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two bombs that exploded inside a funeral tent in a mainly Sunni district of Baghdad killed at least 16 people on Monday, police and medical sources said. The bombing in Adhamiya, which also wounded 30 people, is the third of its kind in a week to target funeral tents in Baghdad. An attack on the Shi'ite stronghold of Sadr City killed 85 people on Saturday. "Everyone was preparing for dinner before the first explosion happened, and when it happened and people gathered to investigate the situation, the second bomb blew up," said Hassan al-Quraishi, a policeman at the scene. ...

Leaked video: Iran guiding thousands of Shiite fighters to Syria

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 09:59 AM PDT

Thousands of Iran-supported Shiite fighters are playing a crucial support role for the embattled Syrian regime, helping claw back rebel-held territory, defend regime strongholds, and ease the burden on the exhausted Syrian Army.

Assad: Syria will allow access to chemical sites

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 09:49 AM PDT

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, speaks during an interview with Chinese state CCTV, in Damascus, Syria, Monday, Sept. 23, 2013. Assad said his government will allow international experts access to its chemical weapons sites but cautioned in an interview broadcast Monday that rebels might block them from reaching some of the locations. (AP Photo/SANA)DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad said his government will allow international experts access to its chemical weapons sites, but cautioned in an interview broadcast Monday that rebels might block them from reaching some of the locations.


Video chat with 'Israel loves Iran' founder: Can Facebook meme end nuclear standoff?

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 09:48 AM PDT

Last year, when talk about war with Iran was particularly loud, a graphic designer in Israel had a simple idea. Ronny Edry decided to make a poster of himself, holding his little girl, who was holding the Israeli flag. He put the words "Iranians we will never bomb your country. We [heart] you" on it, and posted it on Facebook.

Why the U.N. Is Suddenly Relevant

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 09:42 AM PDT

When it comes to make-believe foreign policy, usually nothing beats the annual meetings of the U.N. General Assembly. Each September, member nations of the organization that President Obama recently decried as "paralyzed" each get to perform, sometimes antically, at the podium. And absolutely nothing gets done.

Kenya forces claim to control most of mall

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 09:34 AM PDT

Heavy smoke rises from the Westgate Mall in Nairobi Kenya Monday Sept. 23 2013. Multiple large blasts have rocked the mall where a hostage siege is in its third day. Associated Press reporters on the scene heard multiple blasts and a barrage of gunfire. Security forces have been attempting to rescue an unknown number of hostages inside the mall held by al-Qaida-linked terrorists. (AP Photo/ Jerome Delay)NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan officials said security forces controlled nearly all of an upscale mall on Monday, two days after it was seized by members of a Somali terrorist group who invaded with guns blazing, killing at least 62 people.


Bomb hits Iraq ambulance carrying pregnant woman

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 08:51 AM PDT

An ambulance arrives at the scene of a bomb attack in Baghdad, on March 14, 2013MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) - A bomb exploded near an ambulance taking a pregnant woman to hospital in Iraq on Monday, wounding her and killing two people, police and a doctor said.


Q+A: Russia, West at odds over plan to rid Syria of chemical arms

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 08:18 AM PDT

By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - This month Russia and the United States put aside bitter differences over Syria to strike a deal to remove President Bashar al-Assad's chemical arsenal and avert U.S. military action against him. But efforts to forge a U.N. Security Council resolution endorsing that plan have run into difficulties due to disagreements between Russia on one side and the United States, Britain and France on the other, U.N. diplomats say. The U.S. ...

Iran takes control of Bushehr nuclear reactor

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 08:05 AM PDT

Workers outside the reactor building at the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear plant in southern Iran on October 26, 2013TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran on Monday was finally taking control of its civilian nuclear reactor at Bushehr, a project begun 37 years ago by West Germany, wracked by setbacks, and finished by Russia.


US faces tough challenges to deliver aid in Syria

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 07:11 AM PDT

US faces tough challenges to deliver aid in SyriaAs the Syrian crisis rages and debate heats up over Syria's chemical weapons, U.S. officials are fighting a quieter battle: The delivery of nearly $1.3 billion in assistance in a war zone so chaotic that ...


Total to start 'soft landing' from years of record capital spending

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 05:52 AM PDT

By Andrew Callus and Michel Rose LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Total will start a "soft landing" next year to scale back heavy capital spending while keeping long-term output targets and generating greater cash flow, the French oil major said, raising investor hopes of higher dividends. Taking advantage of strong oil prices, now around $109 a barrel, Total has made the highest investments in its history over the past three years, drilling in areas that are hard and costly to explore. "We've been through the past years developing a strategy based on relaunching an important investment programme. ...

Gunmen attack Shiite family near Baghdad, kill 3

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 05:36 AM PDT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Officials say gunmen have broken into the home of a Shiite family in a Sunni-dominated area south of Baghdad and killed family members.

Al-Qaida branch announces leader's death in Syria

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 03:17 AM PDT

CAIRO (AP) — An Al-Qaida group in Syria says one of its top commanders in Syria was killed in an ambush by rival, Western-backed rebels in a northern province.

Al Qaeda-linked fighters killed in clash with Syria rebels

Posted: 23 Sep 2013 12:47 AM PDT

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A Libyan commander and a dozen other fighters from al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have been killed in clashes with rival rebel forces in northern Syria, a monitoring group said, in the latest spate of internecine rebel violence. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said six local fighters were also killed in Sunday's battle with ISIL in Hazano, west of the city of Aleppo and close to the border with Turkey. ...

The Great Debate

Posted: 22 Sep 2013 09:48 PM PDT

By Stephen D. Krasner Only rarely have American leaders been able to reconcile the nation's democratic values, material interest and national security. Despite these tensions, promoting democracy has always been a lodestone for American foreign policy. Sometimes its attraction has been weak, very weak, overshadowed by more immediate national security concerns. During the Cold, War, for example, the United States backed many autocratic leaders in exchange for their support against the Soviet Union — or at least for pretending to be democrats. ...
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