Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Rogers Waters returns to benefit for wounded
• Five years in, Obama and Bush poll numbers nearly identical
• UN envoy: No deal on Syrian peace talks date
• U.S., Russia fail to agree on Syria peace talks date
• Can Charlie Crist Win as a Democrat?
• The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes is Leader in Addressing the Burgeoning Crisis of Homelessness among Female Military Veterans
• Mortar round hits Vatican embassy in Damascus
• Budget cuts will mean leaner US force: Hagel
• Syria Kurds oust jihadists from Turkey border area
• Canada's poor environment record could hit energy exports: watchdog
• Zarif, Iran's veteran diplomatic troubleshooter
• Words can cause presidents self-inflicted wounds
• NTSB faults parade plans in fatal train collision
• Suicide car bombing, other attacks kill 9 in Iraq
• Jordanians fret over 'dangerous' nuclear plan
• Iraq attacks kill 13 people, as 2013 toll tops 5,500
• Weatherford to cut debt by up to $5 billion in two years
• Analysis: Saudis unconvinced by Kerry's show of U.S. goodwill
• Struggle for Syria talks comes as aid needs spike
• Behind the Jeff Bezos Curtain at The Washington Post
• Pentagon chief warns against over reliance on military power
• Fred Hiatt Offered to Quit Jeff Bezos's Washington Post
• Correction: Mali-Kidnapping story
• Kurds drive Islamist militants from more of northeast Syria
• Correction: Mali-France-Journalists Killed story
• Saudis round up thousands of illegal immigrants
• NTSB considers train collision that killed 4 vets
• U.S. Must Hold Iraq's Maliki Accountable for Attacks Against Iranian Dissidents, Demand Release of seven Iranian Hostages
• Parents sue California deputy who shot boy carrying toy assault rifle
• Venezuela slams new US spying claims

Rogers Waters returns to benefit for wounded Posted: 05 Nov 2013 04:01 PM PST NEW YORK (AP) — Their faces are young and strong, but their bodies sit in wheelchairs or stand on artificial limbs.

Five years in, Obama and Bush poll numbers nearly identical Posted: 05 Nov 2013 02:44 PM PST In the first week of November in the fifth year of their respective presidencies, Barack Obama and George W. Bush have nearly identical approval numbers.

UN envoy: No deal on Syrian peace talks date Posted: 05 Nov 2013 02:09 PM PST GENEVA (AP) — After a rocky day of U.N.-brokered talks, the United States and Russia failed to agree on a date to bring Syria's warring sides back to the negotiating table, and the two powers remained divided Tuesday over what role Iran should play in a hoped-for Geneva peace conference.

U.S., Russia fail to agree on Syria peace talks date Posted: 05 Nov 2013 02:08 PM PST By Stephanie Nebehay and Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States and Russia failed on Tuesday to agree on a date for a Syrian peace conference, remaining divided over what role Iran might play in talks to end the civil war and over who would represent Syria's opposition. unfortunately we are not," said U.N.-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who chaired the meeting at the United Nations in Geneva. "But we are still striving to see if we can have the conference before the end of the year." Brahimi conferred with senior U.S. and Russian officials before widening the talks to include representatives from Britain, France and China, as well as Syria's neighbors Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, and the Arab League. Brahimi said he would bring Russian and U.S. officials together again on November 25 and hoped that opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would have agreed on delegates to represent them some days before that.

Can Charlie Crist Win as a Democrat? Posted: 05 Nov 2013 01:57 PM PST Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced on Monday that he's running for governor again in 2014, but this time, as a Democrat. In 2010, Crist lost to Marco Rubio in the Republican primary for Senate, and then switched from being a Republican to an Independent, citing a rightward move and unreasonableness in the GOP. The New York Times notes that although he has long been the enemy of Florida Democrats, Crist has been currying their favor in anticipation of his next campaign. To return to the governor's mansion, Crist will have to beat out his Democratic primary challengers and unpopular incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Scott. First, Crist will have to beat fellow Democrat Nan Rich (pictured at right), the former minority leader in the Florida state Senate, who the Times explains has little money but solid grassroots support.

The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes is Leader in Addressing the Burgeoning Crisis of Homelessness among Female Military Veterans Posted: 05 Nov 2013 12:53 PM PST LEESBURG, Va., Nov. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Friday, November 1, 2013, David Walker, President and CEO of The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, joined Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray and veterans groups at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a Ward 7 Female Veterans with Children Transitional Housing Facility in the District of Columbia. The transitional home is a part of a new initiative to end homelessness among U.S. military veterans by 2015 – and is the first of its kind in the Washington, D.C. area to address a burgeoning crisis facing young female combat veterans. "Female veterans are four times more likely to be homeless," said Walker on the front steps of the home. During the news conference, Walker announced that The Coalition was giving another $7,500.00, to the project.

Mortar round hits Vatican embassy in Damascus Posted: 05 Nov 2013 12:21 PM PST DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A mortar round slammed into a building housing the Vatican's embassy in the Syrian capital Tuesday, but no injuries were reported, witnesses and a spokesman said.

Budget cuts will mean leaner US force: Hagel Posted: 05 Nov 2013 12:20 PM PST America will need to scale back the size of its armed forces in the face of deep budget cuts and rely less on military power alone, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel said Tuesday. "Coming out of more than a decade of war and budget growth, there is a clear opportunity and need to reform and reshape our entire defense enterprise," Hagel said in a speech at the Center for International and Strategic Studies (CSIS) think tank. Budget reductions mandated by Congress will require a smaller but well-armed force that will have to sacrifice a degree of combat readiness, he said. To preserve the military's edge, the Pentagon also would have to tackle ballooning personnel costs that threaten to swallow up funds for new weapons, he said.

Syria Kurds oust jihadists from Turkey border area Posted: 05 Nov 2013 12:07 PM PST Kurdish militia in northern Syria have expelled Al-Qaeda-linked fighters from the majority Kurdish area of Ras al-Ain on the Turkish border, a monitoring group said on Tuesday. "The Committees for the Protection of the Kurds (YPG) have taken over the Manajeer area, scene of battles with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Al-Nusra Front and other rebel groups," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The capture of Manajeer left the whole of the area around the strategic border town of Ras al-Ain in Kurdish control, the group said. The advance came a day after reports that Kurdish fighters had driven jihadists out of 19 towns and villages across northeastern Syria, and a week after they captured the key Iraqi border crossing at Yaarubiyeh.

Canada's poor environment record could hit energy exports: watchdog Posted: 05 Nov 2013 11:19 AM PST By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is doing a bad job of protecting the environment, an official watchdog said on Tuesday, suggesting a poor image for the country on green issues could harm Canadian companies seeking to export crude oil and natural gas. The damning report by Neil Maxwell, interim commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, puts more pressure on the Conservative government, which is already under fire for what critics say is a poor environmental record. "Government has not met key commitments, deadlines and obligations to protect Canada's wildlife and natural spaces," Maxwell told a news conference. The report will undoubtedly boost the spirits of green activists in the United States who want President Barack Obama to block TransCanada Corp's proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry crude from the Alberta oil sands to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Zarif, Iran's veteran diplomatic troubleshooter Posted: 05 Nov 2013 11:05 AM PST Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, could be the key to solving Tehran's nuclear standoff with the West, having worked to resolve various crises in the Islamic republic since the 80s. The 53-year-old diplomat's latest challenge is overseeing Tehran's team of negotiators in meetings with world powers at a new round of talks in Geneva on Thursday, as Iran seeks to lift crippling sanctions against its economy. Zarif is fluent in English and is the only minister to have official accounts on Facebook and Twitter, both banned in Iran. An international law PhD holder from University of Denver, he is popular with intellectuals and the youth, with nearly 500,000 followers on Facebook.

Words can cause presidents self-inflicted wounds Posted: 05 Nov 2013 10:33 AM PST Compelling lines in speeches can become dangerous, memorable lines.

NTSB faults parade plans in fatal train collision Posted: 05 Nov 2013 10:28 AM PST The lack of safety planning by parade organizers and the city of Midland, Texas, was faulted by federal investigators Tuesday in an accident last year in which a freight train rammed a tractor-trailer ...

Suicide car bombing, other attacks kill 9 in Iraq Posted: 05 Nov 2013 10:24 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities say attacks including a suicide car bomb have killed nine people, mainly members of the security forces.

Jordanians fret over 'dangerous' nuclear plan Posted: 05 Nov 2013 10:23 AM PST Jordan's plan to build its first nuclear plant with Russian help has stirred fresh fears and suspicions as experts called for the "dangerous" and "illogical" project to be abandoned. The government announced late last month that two Russian firms will build and operate a $10-billion (7-billion-euro) nuclear plant, including two 1,000-megawatt reactors. Energy-poor Jordan says it wants to develop nuclear power to meet its growing needs and to fire desalination plants to overcome its crippling water shortage. We do not see a need for it," Ali Kassay, a member the Jordanian Coalition for Nuclear Free Jordan, told AFP.

Iraq attacks kill 13 people, as 2013 toll tops 5,500 Posted: 05 Nov 2013 10:19 AM PST Mosul (Iraq) (AFP) - Attacks in Iraq killed 13 people Tuesday, most of them security personnel, officials said, the latest casualties in a country-wide spike in violence that the government has failed to stem. Iraq is mired in its worst violence since 2008, with more than 5,500 people killed this year despite several major military operations and tightened security measures. In Mosul, a policeman and a militant were killed in a shootout at a checkpoint, and a policeman was shot dead in a separate incident, police and a doctor said. From late-2006 onwards, Sunni tribal militias, known as the Sahwa, turned against their co-religionists in Al-Qaeda and sided with the US military, helping to turn the tide of Iraq's insurgency.

Weatherford to cut debt by up to $5 billion in two years Posted: 05 Nov 2013 09:05 AM PST will cut its debt by up to $5 billion in the next two years as it boosts cash flow and divests assets, the oilfield services company's CEO said on Tuesday. Buoyed by higher-than-expected quarterly earnings on Monday and the announcement that day of a settlement of U.S. investigations that go back six years, shares of Weatherford hit their highest since March 2012. Chief Executive Officer Bernard Duroc-Danner said he expected Weatherford's debt level to drop by between $3 billion and $5 billion by the end of 2015. The unit, with 183 drilling rigs, 284 workover rigs and 14,000 employees, will generate 2014 revenue of $1.8 billion to $2 billion and earnings of $350 million to $400 million before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, Weatherford said.

Analysis: Saudis unconvinced by Kerry's show of U.S. goodwill Posted: 05 Nov 2013 08:53 AM PST By Angus McDowall RIYADH (Reuters) - If Secretary of State John Kerry visited Riyadh to reassure top Saudis that their anger over U.S. Middle East policy is unfounded, he has more work to do. King Abdullah, who is 90 this year and rarely meets visiting officials, mustered a full complement of senior princes to sit in on Monday's talks with Kerry. Such a lineup marked both his high regard for the old alliance with the United States, and his ire at Washington's recent actions. Saudi leaders fear President Barack Obama's administration has stopped listening to its Arab ally, particularly on Syria's civil war and the nuclear dispute with Iran.

Struggle for Syria talks comes as aid needs spike Posted: 05 Nov 2013 07:55 AM PST GENEVA (AP) — Diplomats ran into repeated hurdles Tuesday in their efforts to convene a peace conference on Syria this year.

Behind the Jeff Bezos Curtain at The Washington Post Posted: 05 Nov 2013 07:44 AM PST Jeff Bezos has yet to truly make a mark on his latest acquisition, The Washington Post. One high-profile editor, Fred Hiatt, National Journal has learned, offered his resignation to the billionaire owner—and Bezos has shown interest in taking down the paper's online paywall when large-scale news events happen. Hiatt, the editorial page editor of ThePost, is a bete noir for many liberals because of, among other things, the paper's support of the Iraq War. As for ThePost's recently erected paywall, on Sept. 16, the day of the Navy Yard shooting that transfixed Washington—and the nation—Bezos asked if The Post had suspended its fee, insiders told National Journal.

Pentagon chief warns against over reliance on military power Posted: 05 Nov 2013 06:54 AM PST By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Tuesday the United States must effectively use all instruments of power, not just military might, to successfully lead the world after a dozen years of war that have strained it physically and financially. The Pentagon chief told a leading Washington think tank that Americans should not "fall prey to the false notion of American decline," and must also resist the post-war urge to retreat from foreign entanglements. Hagel's remarks come as the Defense Department is winding down a 12-year-old war in Afghanistan and is struggling to meet demands to cut nearly a trillion dollars from its budgets over the next decade.

Fred Hiatt Offered to Quit Jeff Bezos's Washington Post Posted: 05 Nov 2013 06:32 AM PST Jeff Bezos has yet to truly make a mark on his latest acquisition, The Washington Post. One high-profile editor, Fred Hiatt, National Journal has learned, offered his resignation to the billionaire owner—and Bezos has shown interest in taking down the paper's online paywall when large-scale news events happen. Hiatt, the editorial page editor of ThePost, is a bete noir for many liberals because of, among other things, the paper's support of the Iraq War. As for ThePost's recently erected paywall, on Sept. 16, the day of the Navy Yard shooting that transfixed Washington—and the nation—Bezos asked if The Post had suspended its fee, insiders told National Journal.

Correction: Mali-Kidnapping story Posted: 05 Nov 2013 05:38 AM PST DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — In stories on Nov. 2 and 3 about the deaths of two journalists in Mali, The Associated Press erroneously reported their ages, relying on initial information from their employer, Radio France Internationale. Ghislaine Dupont was 57, not 51, and Claude Verlon was 55, not 58, according to new information from RFI. This corrected version includes new information from French officials on how the two were killed. A corrected version of the story is below:

Kurds drive Islamist militants from more of northeast Syria Posted: 05 Nov 2013 05:33 AM PST Syrian Kurdish fighters have captured more territory from Islamist rebels in northeastern Syria, a Kurdish militant group said on Monday, tightening their grip on an area where they have been setting up autonomous rule. The Kurds said they had routed their rivals in three days of battles, while Islamist sources spoke of a tactical retreat. Syria, tugged by various regional conflicts, has frayed into a patchwork of warring ethnic and sectarian pockets, tilting the balance of power in some of its Middle Eastern neighbors. Kurdish assertiveness has posed a quandary for Ankara as it tries to make peace on its own soil with militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a rebel group which has fought for greater Kurdish autonomy in Turkey for three decades.

Correction: Mali-France-Journalists Killed story Posted: 05 Nov 2013 04:56 AM PST PARIS (AP) — In a story Nov. 3 about the deaths of two journalists in Mali, The Associated Press reported their ages incorrectly, relying on initial information from their employer, Radio France Internationale. Ghislaine Dupont was 57, not 51, and Claude Verlon was 55, not 58, according to new information from RFI. A corrected version of the story is below:

Saudis round up thousands of illegal immigrants Posted: 05 Nov 2013 04:20 AM PST Saudi authorities rounded up thousands of illegal foreign workers at the start of a nationwide crackdown ultimately aimed at creating more jobs for locals, media reported on Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands of workers have already left the kingdom following a grace period of seven months during which authorities told expatriates that if they did not fix their legal status they had to leave the country or face jail. The government hopes that reducing the number of illegal workers will create opportunities for Saudi job-seekers. "Since early (Monday) morning, the security campaign got off to a vigorous start as inspectors swung into action," Nawaf al-Bouq, a police spokesman, told Saudi Gazette newspaper.

NTSB considers train collision that killed 4 vets Posted: 05 Nov 2013 12:59 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Cheers of support from a flag-waving crowd watching a parade turned into shouts of horror when a freight train rammed into a float carrying veterans and their wives in Midland, Texas, last year. Four veterans were killed and 16 others were injured in the collision.

U.S. Must Hold Iraq's Maliki Accountable for Attacks Against Iranian Dissidents, Demand Release of seven Iranian Hostages Posted: 04 Nov 2013 09:00 PM PST WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following statement was issued by the OIAC:Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki visited Washington, DC last week to meet with administration officials and to seek continued U.S. support for his government.Before he arrived, however, he ordered his Special Forces to attack Camp Ashraf, home to Iranian dissidents on September 1, 2013. Fifty-two were murdered, execution-style, and seven residents, including six women, were taken hostage. ...

Parents sue California deputy who shot boy carrying toy assault rifle Posted: 04 Nov 2013 07:04 PM PST By Ronnie Cohen SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The parents of a 13-year-old California boy killed last month while carrying a plastic replica of an assault rifle filed a civil rights lawsuit on Monday against the sheriff's deputy who shot him, their attorney said. Deputy Erick Gelhaus, 48, shot Andy Lopez Cruz as the eighth grader was walking near his home in the wine-country town of Santa Rosa carrying an imitation gun he planned to return to a friend, relatives and officials have said. The shooting, by a veteran deputy and firearms instructor, has sparked almost daily protests in California, and the FBI has launched an independent investigation into the October 22 incident. On Monday, attorney Arnoldo Casillas filed the federal lawsuit against Gelhaus and Sonoma County in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on behalf of the boy's parents.

Venezuela slams new US spying claims Posted: 04 Nov 2013 05:22 PM PST Mexico City (AFP) - Venezuela Monday denounced a new report that the United States made Caracas a spying priority, and warned that bilateral ties would remain frozen.

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