Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Two Spanish journalists held by Al-Qaeda-linked group in Syria
• U.N. experts urge Iraq to probe fate of missing Iranian dissidents
• APNewsBreak: Fla. congressman lost $18M in scheme
• UN calls on Iraq to locate 7 Iranian dissidents
• Iraq must reveal fate of missing Iran exiles
• Syrian army captures highway, clearing path for chemical weapons removal
• U.N. to inspect Libya's uranium stocks amid worsening security
• Syrian army captures key town
• Man who tried to behead UK soldier says he loves Al-Qaeda
• 3 views on the Iran nuclear deal
• Attacks including car bombs kill 22 in Iraq
• Exclusive: Gulf firms consider bid for Occidental MidEast stake - sources
• Man killed British soldier in war for Allah, court hears
• Car bomb near Iraqi cafe used by Sunni militia kills 11
• Syrian army retakes road needed to ship out chemical arms
• Mandela loomed large for US presidents
• Iran says it improves accuracy of missiles
• Car bombs and roadside bombings kill 21 in Iraq
• As Democracy Grows So Does Global Corruption
• UN, WHO launch polio vaccinations for Mideast children
• Westerners fighting in Syria emerge on social media
• To Syria’s Revolutionaries, Assad Isn’t Looking So Bad After All

Two Spanish journalists held by Al-Qaeda-linked group in Syria Posted: 09 Dec 2013 04:03 PM PST A radical group linked to Al-Qaeda kidnapped two Spanish journalists reporting in Syria in September and is holding them captive, El Mundo newspaper reported on Tuesday. El Mundo correspondent Javier Espinosa and Ricardo Garcia Vilanova, a freelance photographer, were seized on September 16 in Raqqa province, the Spanish daily said on its website. They were kidnapped at a checkpoint near the Turkish border as they tried to leave Syria at the end of a two-week reporting mission. They were captured along with four members of the Free Syrian Army, the main western-backed rebel group fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, who were supposed to protect them, the newspaper said.

U.N. experts urge Iraq to probe fate of missing Iranian dissidents Posted: 09 Dec 2013 03:18 PM PST By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A United Nations group urged Iraq on Monday to swiftly investigate the disappearance of seven Iranian dissidents who vanished in September after a deadly attack on the Iranians' camp near Baghdad. Last week a senior Iraqi government official said Iraq was hunting militants, still unidentified, who led the deadly attack on the Iranian dissident camp and dismissed suggestions its own security forces were behind the violence.

APNewsBreak: Fla. congressman lost $18M in scheme Posted: 09 Dec 2013 02:00 PM PST U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida lost $18 million in a scheme that cheated him and about 120 other investors out of more than $35 million, according to court papers. The Virginia man who ran the scheme, ...

UN calls on Iraq to locate 7 Iranian dissidents Posted: 09 Dec 2013 01:11 PM PST GENEVA (AP) — A group of U.N. independent experts urged Iraq on Monday to reveal what happened to seven members of an Iranian dissident group who were allegedly abducted in September.

Iraq must reveal fate of missing Iran exiles Posted: 09 Dec 2013 12:27 PM PST UN rights experts demanded Monday that Baghdad get to the bottom of what happened to seven Iranian opposition members missing since a September attack on a refugee camp in Iraq. "We call upon the government of Iraq to speed up the investigations in order to disclose the fate and whereabouts of the individuals," the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances said in a statement. The seven Iranian exiles -- six of them women -- are members of the People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran (PMOI) and disappeared after a September 1 attack in Camp Ashraf, northeast of Baghdad. The PMOI charges that Iraqi security forces answering to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki were behind the killings.

Syrian army captures highway, clearing path for chemical weapons removal Posted: 09 Dec 2013 12:22 PM PST In a move that could prove vital to implementing the deal to eliminate Syria's chemical weapon, government forces have reestablished control of a town overlooking a key highway linking Damascus to the coast after weeks of fighting in the area, Syrian state media reported Monday. This military advance means that a first tranche of chemical weapons could be extracted by a Dec. 31 deadline. Even with its latest apparent advance, forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad still do not fully control the highway that links Damascus to the northern city of Homs, before reaching the Mediterranean coastline at Tartous. Government troops face the threat of ambush by rebel groups north of Damascus. As a result, international monitors may for now consider this route too dangerous for the safe passage of 500 tons of lethal "priority" chemical agents marked for imminent removal.

U.N. to inspect Libya's uranium stocks amid worsening security Posted: 09 Dec 2013 11:54 AM PST By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N. nuclear team will visit Libya this month to assess the safety of thousands of barrels of milled uranium - known as yellowcake - amid concerns about the country's deteriorating security situation, a U.N. official said on Monday. "With respect to yellowcake, we have received information indicating that 6,400 barrels are stored in a non-functional former military facility close to Sabha in the south," U.N. Libya envoy Tarek Mitri told the Security Council. An inspection team from the International Atomic Energy Agency will visit this month to verify the stockpiles and storage conditions, he said. Russian Deputy U.N. Ambassador Alexander Pankin raised Russia's concerns about Libya's uranium and weapons that might have gone astray in the aftermath of the country's 2011 civil war during the closed-door consultations on the situation in Libya, council diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Syrian army captures key town Posted: 09 Dec 2013 11:54 AM PST DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian troops seized a key opposition-held town Monday along a major north-south highway critical for transporting the government's chemical weapons stocks to a port where they could be shipped out for destruction by the international community.

Man who tried to behead UK soldier says he loves Al-Qaeda Posted: 09 Dec 2013 11:35 AM PST A man accused of the gruesome murder of a British soldier told his trial on Monday that he loves Al-Qaeda and considers the Islamic militants to be his "brothers". Michael Adebolajo, 28, sat surrounded by security guards as he began giving evidence in his trial at London's Old Bailey court. He and Michael Adebowale, 22, are accused of murdering 25-year-old soldier Lee Rigby in broad daylight as he walked back to his London barracks in May. Adebolajo attempted to behead him with a meat cleaver.

3 views on the Iran nuclear deal Posted: 09 Dec 2013 11:20 AM PST The six-month interim deal the P5+1 world powers reached with Iran in November offers some sanctions relief in exchange for a roll-back of Iran's nuclear program. On one side, Matthew Bunn, a professor at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center and former White House adviser on nonproliferation, praises the deal for weakening hard-liners in Iran and strengthening supporters of peace and compromise. On the other hand, former Israeli deputy minister of defense Ephraim Sneh argues that the deal validates Iran's nuclear blackmail and hurts US interests and allies. 1. Deal weakens Iran's hard-liners and strengthens US interests

Attacks including car bombs kill 22 in Iraq Posted: 09 Dec 2013 10:42 AM PST Attacks including a car bomb near a cafe and another at a police station killed 22 people in Iraq on Monday, as the country struggles to curb rampant violence. Unrest has reached a level this year not seen since 2008, when Iraq was just emerging from a period of brutal sectarian killings, and the surge in violence has raised fears the country is falling back into all-out conflict. In the deadliest attack on Monday, a car bomb exploded near a cafe in Buhruz, a Sunni-majority town in the religiously and ethnically mixed Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, killing 11 people and wounded 22, police and a doctor said. Militants have attacked dozens of cafes in Iraq in recent months and have repeatedly targeted other crowded areas, such as markets and mosques, despite the near-ubiquitous presence of security forces.

Exclusive: Gulf firms consider bid for Occidental MidEast stake - sources Posted: 09 Dec 2013 10:35 AM PST By Dinesh Nair and David French DUBAI (Reuters) - Three state-owned Gulf firms are considering a joint bid for a minority stake in Occidental Petroleum Corp's Middle East and North Africa (MENA) unit, a deal that could be worth between $8 billion and $10 billion, three banking sources said. Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Development Co , Qatar Petroleum and Oman Oil Co have formed a consortium and have picked Citigroup to advise them, the sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday. Occidental, the fourth-largest U.S. oil company, said in October it planned to sell a minority stake in its MENA operations as part of a restructuring meant to lift its valuation. Occidental and Qatar Petroleum were not immediately available for comment, while Citi and Mubadala declined to comment.

Man killed British soldier in war for Allah, court hears Posted: 09 Dec 2013 10:32 AM PST Michael Adebolajo, 28, is accused with Michael Adebowale, 22, of running over Afghan war veteran Lee Rigby in Woolwich, southeast London, on May 22 before attacking his unconscious body with knives and a meat cleaver. Adebolajo sat in the dock of London's central criminal court, the Old Bailey, just metres away from Rigby's family as he gave evidence for the first time. "I am a soldier of Allah.

Car bomb near Iraqi cafe used by Sunni militia kills 11 Posted: 09 Dec 2013 10:18 AM PST A car bomb exploded near a cafe in northeastern Iraq on Monday, killing 11 people and wounding 23, police said, as the country grapples with its deadliest violence in at least five years. The explosion took place in Buhriz, 60 km (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, close to a cafe popular with members of the government-backed Sunni Muslim Sahwa militia. The force of the explosion pushed Ahmed Saied off his chair at a nearby store, wounding him in the leg. "While police were evacuating me, I saw many killed and wounded people at the scene." No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing in Diyala province, but Sunni insurgents linked to al Qaeda have frequently attacked Sahwa members this year.

Syrian army retakes road needed to ship out chemical arms Posted: 09 Dec 2013 08:16 AM PST By Oliver Holmes BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces have taken control of a highway connecting Damascus to the coast that is needed to extract hundreds of tons of toxic chemicals for destruction, state television said on Monday. Russia said it could provide transport for the chemicals to get them to the port of Latakia for removal. Nevertheless, Ahmet Uzumcu, head of the global chemical weapons watchdog, said it would be hard to remove all of Syria's deadliest chemical arms from the country by a December 31 deadline. Fighting in Syria poses a major hurdle to efforts by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to eliminate the government's chemical arsenal.

Mandela loomed large for US presidents Posted: 09 Dec 2013 07:36 AM PST ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (United States) (AFP) - Nelson Mandela loomed large for each of the four US presidents set to honor him on Tuesday: as a distant mentor, a personal counselor, a wartime critic and a fellow world sage. President Barack Obama and former US leader George W. Bush boarded Air Force One early Monday to head to Mandela's memorial service in Soweto. Former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter were making their own way there. Obama has long revered Mandela as the political idol who drew him into politics by the power of his example.

Iran says it improves accuracy of missiles Posted: 09 Dec 2013 05:45 AM PST TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has dramatically improved the accuracy of its ballistic missiles by using laser systems, its defense minister said Monday.

Car bombs and roadside bombings kill 21 in Iraq Posted: 09 Dec 2013 05:25 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of attacks, including a car bomb outside a cafe, killed at least 21 people in Iraq on Monday, officials said.

As Democracy Grows So Does Global Corruption Posted: 09 Dec 2013 02:30 AM PST It is, however, impossible to miss the persistent disheartening spread of corruption among countries struggling to enter the modern world. And the problem challenges the old Western democracies as much as it does the so-called middle-income nations.

UN, WHO launch polio vaccinations for Mideast children Posted: 09 Dec 2013 02:25 AM PST The World Health Organisation and UNICEF have launched a polio vaccination campaign for 23 million children in the Middle East after 17 cases were discovered in Syria, they announced Monday. The campaign will be largest-ever immunisation response in the region, WHO and the UN children's fund said in a joint statement. The vaccination campaign comes after the discovery of polio in Syria for the first time since 1999. The statement said at least 17 children had been paralysed by polio, 15 of them in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, large swathes of which are under rebel control.

Westerners fighting in Syria emerge on social media Posted: 09 Dec 2013 01:41 AM PST Western Muslims fighting in Syria are emerging from the shadows and using social media to share their experiences of the conflict and encourage others to join them. On sites including Twitter, blogging platform Tumblr and the question-and-answer site Ask.fm, the young men are providing an unusual insight into one aspect of the brutal war. Their very public accounts come as Western governments warn about the potential dangers posed by the flow of young Muslims to the fight in Syria. Britain, France and Holland each estimate that hundreds of their citizens are in Syria, and fear they could later launch attacks at home.

To Syria’s Revolutionaries, Assad Isn’t Looking So Bad After All Posted: 09 Dec 2013 12:00 AM PST It all started because Souad Nawfal wanted to wear pants. Every day, the 40-year-old schoolteacher turned antiregime activist would go stand in front of the headquarters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) in the rebel-controlled city of Raqqa to protest the al-Qaeda affiliates' harsh tactics in her hometown. "A girl all by herself facing the Islamic State," she sniffs in a recent video posted on Vimeo. "Talk about a state! It's more like a small gang that takes advantage of people's fear." But the small gang was powerful, and when ISIS started threatening her life, Nawfal finally had to flee for Turkey, where she is now hiding in a safe house, wondering what happened to Syria's revolution.

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