Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• A rush to evacuate as truce extended in Syria city
• State visit: For Hollande, it's good thing US, France are working hand in glove
• Obama, Hollande tour Jefferson's Monticello estate
• Obama, Hollande renew historic bonds at Jefferson shrine
• Iraqi militants accidentally kill 21 of their own
• Obama, France's Hollande make pilgrimage to Jefferson's Monticello
• Iraqi militants accidentally bomb 21 of their own
• MILITARY'S MORAL CRISIS CAN BE TRACED TO UNNECESSARY WARS
• French leader opens unusual state visit to US
• Obama and Hollande bust anti-French cliches
• Iraqi militants accidentally set off bomb, 21 dead
• Iraq: Militants set off own car bomb, 21 dead
• Aid mission in Syria's Homs extended as talks resume
• Second round of Syria talks makes faltering start
• Roadside bomb explodes near Iraqi parliament speaker's convoy
• Iraq to randomly inspect Syria-bound planes from Iran
• First lady praises construction industry hiring
• Suicide Bomb Instructor Accidentally Kills 22 of His Students
• Iraq speaker targeted in blast as 21 militants killed
• Spain seeks arrest of former Chinese president over Tibet
• Are Obama and Hollande trying to take credit for improved relations under Bush, Sarkozy?
• Al Qaeda splinter group quits oil-rich Syrian province
• 'Freedom fries' forgotten, Hollande visits Obama amid warming ties
• Top Experts Reassess the U.S.- Israel "Special Relationship" at the National Press Club on March 7
• Sans first lady, French leader to US on business
• Bahrain's Gulf Air to resume flights to Tehran next month
• Al Qaeda splinter group withdraws from oil-rich Syrian province
• Kuwait MP seeks Saudi-style law against fighting abroad
• US, French presidents call for 'ambitious' climate change deal
• Today in History
• Beleaguered Hollande heads to US to boost French economy
• Islamist rebels oust ISIL from Syria's Deir Ezzor: monitor

A rush to evacuate as truce extended in Syria city Posted: 10 Feb 2014 04:04 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Aid officials rushed to evacuate more women, children and elderly from rebel-held areas that have been blockaded by government troops for more than a year in Syria's third-largest city, Homs, after a U.N.-brokered cease-fire in the city was renewed for three more days Monday.

State visit: For Hollande, it's good thing US, France are working hand in glove Posted: 10 Feb 2014 03:48 PM PST President François Hollande's France has turned out to be one of the closest allies of the United States under President Obama, with the two countries back from their Iraq spat of a decade ago like seldom before. The two partners since Revolutionary War times are working hand in glove on key international challenges – from Iran's nuclear program to Syria and counterterrorism in Africa. It's a good thing because otherwise, the Obama White House might have been less magnanimous in dealing with the jarring social curveball that Mr. Hollande let loose as Washington prepared for his arrival. Shortly before this week's state visit – the first for Mr. Obama since South Korea's president was feted in October 2011 – Hollande announced that his relationship with companion and unofficial French first lady Valérie Trierweiler was over.

Obama, Hollande tour Jefferson's Monticello estate Posted: 10 Feb 2014 03:43 PM PST CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia (AP) — President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande celebrated the long-standing ties between their nations by touring the sweeping Virginia estate owned by Thomas Jefferson, the former American president and famed Francophile.

Obama, Hollande renew historic bonds at Jefferson shrine Posted: 10 Feb 2014 03:39 PM PST Monticello (United States) (AFP) - French President Francois Hollande began a state visit to the United States Monday, flying with President Barack Obama to pay homage at the home of francophile US founding father Thomas Jefferson. The visit, designed to underscore historic ties and a burgeoning security relationship between America and its oldest ally, takes place as Hollande tries to shrug off embarrassment over his love life. Obama met Hollande at the steps of a Boeing-757 version of his Air Force One jet at Andrews Air Force base, for a short flight into Virginia to visit Jefferson's beloved mansion at Monticello.

Iraqi militants accidentally kill 21 of their own Posted: 10 Feb 2014 03:38 PM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — An instructor teaching his militant recruits how to make car bombs accidentally set off explosives in his demonstration Monday, killing 21 of them in a huge blast that alerted authorities to the existence of the rural training camp in an orchard north of Baghdad. Nearly two dozen people were arrested, including wounded insurgents trying to hobble away from the scene.

Obama, France's Hollande make pilgrimage to Jefferson's Monticello Posted: 10 Feb 2014 03:38 PM PST By Jeff Mason CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande toured Thomas Jefferson's plantation estate on Monday in a show of solidarity for Franco-American ties that have endured for more than two centuries despite the occasional tempest. The visit to Monticello, home to America's third president, served to showcase a relationship that stretches back to the founding of the United States in the late 18th century, an alliance still strong despite spats over U.S. eavesdropping and trade talks with the European Union. Hollande, 59, who split from his partner, Valerie Trierweiler, last month after an affair with an actress, arrived solo for the first state visit hosted by Obama since he won a second term in 2012. At Monticello, they toured the unique home designed by Jefferson, including its distinctive crowning portico and the Cabinet room Jefferson used for writing, architectural drafting and scientific observation.

Iraqi militants accidentally bomb 21 of their own Posted: 10 Feb 2014 03:16 PM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — An instructor teaching his militant recruits how to make car bombs accidentally set off explosives in his demonstration Monday, killing 21 of them in a huge blast that alerted authorities to the existence of the rural training camp in an orchard north of Baghdad. Nearly two dozen people were arrested, including wounded insurgents trying to hobble away from the scene.

MILITARY'S MORAL CRISIS CAN BE TRACED TO UNNECESSARY WARS Posted: 10 Feb 2014 02:30 PM PST WASHINGTON -- The breakdown in morals and ethics that has scourged the U.S. armed forces in the last two years is finally getting some of the attention it so richly deserves. As scandals swelled, from massive cheating on military exams to getting drunk on crucial Russian missions to accepting sexual and other favors from a Malaysian businessman, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel moved to appoint a senior officer to advise on the "breakdown in ethical behavior."

French leader opens unusual state visit to US Posted: 10 Feb 2014 01:49 PM PST CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia (AP) — A suddenly single French President Francois Hollande arrived in the U.S on Monday, joining with President Barack Obama for a tour of a picturesque estate built by a famed Francophile.

Obama and Hollande bust anti-French cliches Posted: 10 Feb 2014 01:23 PM PST You win no points in modern US politics by cozying up to France. Yet President Barack Obama is breaking out the tricolors and booming cannon of a state visit for President Francois Hollande, a scandal-tainted socialist with anemic approval ratings. Obama's embrace included a rare spin for a foreign leader on Air Force One and a tour of Monticello, shrine to the quintessential American francophile, Thomas Jefferson. The plan is to show that shared political and historic links with America's oldest ally trump occasional turbulence.

Iraqi militants accidentally set off bomb, 21 dead Posted: 10 Feb 2014 01:06 PM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — An instructor teaching his militant recruits how to make car bombs accidentally set off explosives in his demonstration Monday, killing 21 of them in a huge blast that alerted authorities to the existence of the rural training camp in an orchard north of Baghdad. Nearly two dozen people were arrested, including wounded insurgents trying to hobble away from the scene.

Iraq: Militants set off own car bomb, 21 dead Posted: 10 Feb 2014 01:01 PM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Insurgents accidentally set off their own car bomb Monday at a training camp in an orchard in a Sunni area north of Baghdad, leaving 21 dead and some two dozen arrested, Iraqi officials said.

Aid mission in Syria's Homs extended as talks resume Posted: 10 Feb 2014 12:52 PM PST A truce that has allowed the evacuation of hundreds of civilians from besieged districts of Syria's Homs was extended for three days as peace talks resumed in Switzerland on Monday. The extension of the tenuous truce in Homs came as around 450 civilians were given safe passage out of the war-ravaged city, according to Syria's Red Crescent, bringing the total number allowed out since Friday to some 1,200. In Geneva meanwhile, the warring sides blamed each other for escalating violence that has killed hundreds of people across the country in recent days, as they did throughout a previous round of talks in late January. UN and Arab League mediator Lakhdar Brahimi began the latest session in Geneva by shuttling between the two sides, and suggested in a letter that the parties wait until the second or third day to resume joint meetings.

Second round of Syria talks makes faltering start Posted: 10 Feb 2014 12:25 PM PST By Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Mariam Karouny GENEVA/BEIRUT (Reuters) - A second round of Syria peace talks got off to a shaky start on Monday, with the two sides complaining about violations of a local ceasefire and an Islamist offensive respectively in separate meetings with the international mediator. Ahead of the talks, mediator Lakhdar Brahimi told delegates to commit first to discussing both ending the fighting and setting up a transitional government. In a further bad sign, Brahimi cancelled a planned news conference. During the first round of talks in nearly three years of civil war last month, Brahimi had tried to break down mistrust by focusing on agreeing a truce for a single city, Homs.

Roadside bomb explodes near Iraqi parliament speaker's convoy Posted: 10 Feb 2014 12:22 PM PST The speaker of Iraq's parliament narrowly escaped death on Monday when a roadside bomb exploded near his convoy close to the northern city of Mosul, his office said. Usama al-Nujaifi, one of Iraq's most senior Sunni Muslim politicians, was visiting al-Salam area south of Mosul when the bomb exploded, badly damaging a vehicle carrying his bodyguards, who were wounded, it said. "The speaker's convoy was targeted by a roadside bomb in an area with a heavy presence of armed forces," Nujaifi's office said in a statement. Sunni Islamist militants have been regaining ground in Iraq, particularly in the western province of Anbar where they overran two cities on January 1.

Iraq to randomly inspect Syria-bound planes from Iran Posted: 10 Feb 2014 12:03 PM PST Iraq will step up random inspections of cargo planes from Iran that fly over its territory to Syria, once it gets an air traffic control system purchased from the United States, the Iraqi ambassador in Washington said Monday. "We need advanced defense capabilities to inspect overflights" of Iraq territory, ambassador Lukman Faily said in a question-and-answer session on Twitter.

First lady praises construction industry hiring Posted: 10 Feb 2014 11:25 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama said Monday that a pledge by the construction industry to hire more than 100,000 veterans by early 2019 is "a huge deal" that, besides doing right by former service members, will help companies grow and boost the U.S. economy for decades to come.

Suicide Bomb Instructor Accidentally Kills 22 of His Students Posted: 10 Feb 2014 11:22 AM PST According to the New York Times, the would-be terrorists were part of a group called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. Suicide attacks in Iraq have become more common in recent months.

Iraq speaker targeted in blast as 21 militants killed Posted: 10 Feb 2014 09:49 AM PST Iraq's parliament speaker narrowly escaped an attack in his hometown on Monday, while 21 militants died when a car bomb they were readying mistakenly went off, officials said. The unrest comes amid the worst protracted period of bloodshed in nearly six years, with more than 1,000 people killed last month as security forces grapple with near-daily attacks and battles with anti-government fighters in Anbar province. Foreign leaders have pressed the Shiite-led government to reach out to the disaffected Sunni minority to undermine support for militants, but Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has taken a hard line ahead of April elections. On Monday, a convoy carrying parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, Iraq's most senior Sunni Arab politician, was hit by a roadside bomb in the main northern city of Mosul, his office said.

Spain seeks arrest of former Chinese president over Tibet Posted: 10 Feb 2014 09:46 AM PST A Spanish judge on Monday sought the arrest of China's former president and premier over accusations of genocide in Tibet in an 8-year-old case that has drawn a rebuke from China. High Court Judge Ismael Moreno asked Interpol to issue orders for the detention of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, ex-premier Li Peng and three other officials for questioning on charges brought by Tibetan rights groups in Spain. However, the case may not progress as Spain's ruling People's Party is pushing through new rules to limit judges' ability to pursue cases under universal jurisdiction, the principle that crimes against humanity can be prosecuted across borders.

Are Obama and Hollande trying to take credit for improved relations under Bush, Sarkozy? Posted: 10 Feb 2014 09:44 AM PST President Obama and visiting French President Hollande skip giving any credit to George W. Bush and Nicolas Sarkozy for repairing a relationship that soured in the run-up to the Iraq War.

Al Qaeda splinter group quits oil-rich Syrian province Posted: 10 Feb 2014 08:11 AM PST By Erika Solomon BEIRUT (Reuters) - An al Qaeda splinter group has withdrawn its forces from Syria's oil-rich eastern province of Deir al-Zor, activists and rebels said on Monday, after days of heavy fighting with its rivals. Rebel groups, including al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate the Nusra Front, have been battling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for control of towns and oilfields Deir al-Zor. "The ISIL fighters have almost completely withdrawn from Deir al-Zor.

'Freedom fries' forgotten, Hollande visits Obama amid warming ties Posted: 10 Feb 2014 08:05 AM PST As French President François Hollande begins his state visit with American counterpart Barack Obama today, the two leaders will put on display a bilateral relationship that has deepened significantly in the past five years. If Franco-American relations are often characterized as rocky – and defined in the public mind more by their clashes, particularly in the aftermath of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 – today it's much harder to find points of divergence. In fact, on foreign policy, France has become one of America's most dependable partners in Europe, stepping into space that Britain once occupied exclusively. "The change is spectacular in ten years," says Frederic Bozo, an international relations expert in France who published a new book on Franco-American relations since France opposed invading Iraq, leading to French bashing and new terminology like "freedom fries."

Top Experts Reassess the U.S.- Israel "Special Relationship" at the National Press Club on March 7 Posted: 10 Feb 2014 06:00 AM PST WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The March 7 National Summit to Reassess the U.S.-Israel "Special Relationship" at the National Press Club will present the following experts:  Former Congressman Paul Findley is the author of the groundbreaking book They Dare to Speak out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby. Findley will discuss how the lobby shapes important U.S. foreign policies and influences elections. Stephen Walt, co-author of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy , will deliver an update on what his groundbreaking 2007 book left out. ...

Sans first lady, French leader to US on business Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:19 AM PST PARIS (AP) — France's suddenly single president arrives Monday in the U.S. for a state visit, hoping the glaring absence of his first lady won't steal the limelight from his focus on major policy issues with President Barack Obama.

Bahrain's Gulf Air to resume flights to Tehran next month Posted: 10 Feb 2014 05:14 AM PST Bahrain's Gulf Air will resume flights to the Iranian capital Tehran next month, almost three years after they were suspended, the national carrier said in a statement on Monday. The carrier's lucrative air services to Iran and Iraq, where Shi'ite Muslim religious sites are located, were suspended at the height of the anti-government protests in 2011. Bahrain accused Iran of supporting the protests led by majority Shi'ite Muslims, a charge Iran denies. Gulf Air's passenger numbers have fallen since the 2011 protests by the Sunni Muslim-ruled island kingdom.

Al Qaeda splinter group withdraws from oil-rich Syrian province Posted: 10 Feb 2014 02:15 AM PST An al Qaeda splinter group has withdrawn its forces from Syria's oil-rich eastern province of Deir al-Zor, activists and rebels said on Monday, after days of heavy fighting with its rivals. Rebel groups, including al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate the Nusra Front, have been battling the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) for control of towns and oilfields in the area, sparking a spate of car bombs in the province. "The ISIL fighters have almost completely withdrawn from Deir al-Zor. The fighters are moving to Hassaka and Raqqa (provinces)," said a source from the Nusra Front, who asked not to be named.

Kuwait MP seeks Saudi-style law against fighting abroad Posted: 10 Feb 2014 02:10 AM PST Kuwaitis who fight in conflicts abroad such as Syria or encourage such actions should face up to 30 years in jail, a Kuwaiti lawmaker said in a proposed law modeled on penalties introduced in neighboring Saudi Arabia. A Saudi royal decree published last week said any citizen who fought abroad would face from three to 20 years in jail, in an apparent move to deter Saudis from joining rebels in Syria and then posing a security risk once they return home. In his proposal, which praised the Saudi decree, Kuwaiti MP Nabeel al-Fadl said civilians should face 5-20 years behind bars. Members of the National Guard or police could face 10-30 years in jail for fighting abroad or promoting such actions.

US, French presidents call for 'ambitious' climate change deal Posted: 09 Feb 2014 11:29 PM PST The presidents of France and the United States issued a joint call Monday for other nations to join them in seeking an "ambitious" agreement to curb climate change. Presidents Barack Obama and Francois Hollande, writing in an article in the Washington Post and Le Monde, called for support "in pursuit of an ambitious and inclusive global agreement" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions "through concrete actions" at a climate conference in Paris in 2015. Cooperation on a host of global issues -- which include the Syrian crisis, Iran's nuclear program, and security in Africa -- has resulted in France and the United States enjoying a "model" relationship, the presidents wrote.

Today in History Posted: 09 Feb 2014 09:01 PM PST Today is Monday, Feb. 10, the 41st day of 2014. There are 324 days left in the year.

Beleaguered Hollande heads to US to boost French economy Posted: 09 Feb 2014 06:41 PM PST President Francois Hollande begins a three-day visit to the United States on Monday, hoping to leave scandal behind as he seeks to shore up business ties and revive France's stagnant economy. Deeply unpopular at home and fresh from a much-publicised split with longtime girlfriend Valerie Trierweiler, Hollande will be hosted for a state dinner and talks with President Barack Obama before jetting to California to meet tech leaders. Sources in the Elysee say the trip will highlight the "excellent working relationship" between the US and France, but Hollande will also raise a few "irritants", including concerns over mass US spying in Europe.

Islamist rebels oust ISIL from Syria's Deir Ezzor: monitor Posted: 09 Feb 2014 04:11 PM PST The jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant withdrew from the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor on Monday after a three-day battle with Islamist rebels, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said ISIL withdrew from the province, which borders Iraq, after fighting a coalition of opposition brigades including Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front. Though it grew from Al-Qaeda's onetime Iraqi affiliate, Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has distanced his organisation from ISIL and ordered it to return to Iraq. ISIL's chief has ignored the admonition and continued to engage in clashes with rebels across opposition-held areas of Syria.

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