Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Watchdog: Past 2 years 'atrocious' for journalists
• Ex-soldier convicted in Iraqi death granted parole
• Congress votes to repeal military pension cuts
• World press freedom: 4 key takeaways
• Bombs kill at least 17 across Iraq: police and medics
• Bombings kill 10 in Iraq
• Watchdog: Security measures hurt press freedom
• Iraq PM pledges jobs for Anbar allies
• 'House of Cards' builds season two on power-hungry political pair
• The Military Has a Rape Problem—and It's Not Just Women Who Suffer
• As West cuts, global defense industry balance shifts
• Barack and Francois in show of 'bonhomie' at White House
• The U.S. Has Finally Outfoxed Hamid Karzai
• Assange lawyers demand London interrogation

Watchdog: Past 2 years 'atrocious' for journalists Posted: 12 Feb 2014 04:37 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The past two years have seen an "absolutely atrocious" number of journalists killed and imprisoned because of their work, with Syria the deadliest country and Turkey the number one jailer, a press freedom advocacy group said Wednesday.

Ex-soldier convicted in Iraqi death granted parole Posted: 12 Feb 2014 04:34 PM PST OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A former U.S. Army lieutenant convicted of killing an Iraqi prisoner has been granted parole, the Army said Wednesday.

Congress votes to repeal military pension cuts Posted: 12 Feb 2014 01:27 PM PST By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress joined together on Wednesday to reverse a cut in pensions for working-age military retirees, as lawmakers yielded to election-year pressure to scrap a deficit reduction measure they approved only two months ago. Final action came when the Senate voted 95-3 in favor of a measure that had been overwhelmingly embraced by the House a day earlier. The cut in military pensions was approved in December in a bipartisan House-Senate deal that replaced two years' worth of automatic, across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester with more targeted savings. The pension cuts would have affected 750,000 military veterans, although many have other jobs.

World press freedom: 4 key takeaways Posted: 12 Feb 2014 12:08 PM PST When it comes to global media freedom, the quick assumption is that developed, solidly democratic countries are the star performers.

Bombs kill at least 17 across Iraq: police and medics Posted: 12 Feb 2014 11:52 AM PST At least 17 civilians and soldiers were killed in car and roadside bomb attacks across Iraq on Wednesday, police and medics said. No group claimed responsibility for any of the attacks, but Sunni Islamists and other insurgents have been regaining ground in a violent campaign to destabilize Iraq's Shi'ite-led government. In the deadliest incident, six soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in the town of Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, police and medical sources said. A mortar attack in the same town killed one civilian, police said.

Bombings kill 10 in Iraq Posted: 12 Feb 2014 11:35 AM PST Hilla (Iraq) (AFP) - A bomb killed six Iraqi soldiers south of Baghdad on Wednesday, while another blast in the country's north left four civilians dead, officials said. Iraq is suffering a protracted surge in violence to a level not seen since 2008, which authorities have so far failed to stem. A roadside bomb exploded near an army patrol in the Jurf al-Sakhr area, where mortar rounds wounded 12 police on Tuesday. Both security force personnel and civilians are targeted in the daily bombings and shootings that plague Iraq.

Watchdog: Security measures hurt press freedom Posted: 12 Feb 2014 10:46 AM PST Zealous efforts to protect national security have taken a toll on press freedom in the last year, above all in the United States, a media watchdog said Wednesday. The United States ranked 46th among 180 ...

Iraq PM pledges jobs for Anbar allies Posted: 12 Feb 2014 09:07 AM PST Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki promised police jobs for pro-government fighters in Anbar province Wednesday, as the deputy premier said they aim to cut supplies to gunmen holding one of its cities. Anti-government fighters seized all of the city of Fallujah and parts of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province, west of Baghdad, where the United Nations says up to 300,000 people have fled a surge in unrest this year. Clashes in the province have pitted security forces and pro-government tribesmen against jihadist militants and tribal fighters opposed to the authorities. Police in Anbar "will absorb all the honourable sons of the tribes who stood on the side" of security forces, Maliki said in televised remarks in which he announced measures aimed at addressing the crisis.

'House of Cards' builds season two on power-hungry political pair Posted: 12 Feb 2014 07:49 AM PST By Patricia Reaney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Like the conniving congressman he plays in Netflix's series "House of Cards," Kevin Spacey is keeping his cards close to his chest when he comes to the second season of the Emmy Award-winning political drama that premieres on Friday. There will be surprises, promises the double Oscar winner, and insight into the marriage between his ruthless South Carolina Representative Francis Underwood and Robin Wright's Claire, his cool, calculating wife in the online-only series from the subscription video streaming service. All 13 episodes of the acclaimed show that chronicles the rise of the power-hungry couple whose ambition seems to know no limits and also peers into the murky world of Washington politics will be immediately available on February 14. Underwood's hard-driving journalist lover Zoe Barnes, played by actress Kate Mara, gets closer to uncovering his secrets in the second season, and a new powerful female character, an ambitious Democratic congresswoman from California, joins the cast.

The Military Has a Rape Problem—and It's Not Just Women Who Suffer Posted: 12 Feb 2014 06:19 AM PST On the morning Brian Lewis finally felt vindicated, he and his partner were up before dawn making sure his suit was perfectly wrinkle-free, his pins affixed at mirror spots on each lapel. Lewis and Andy Beauchene boarded the 6 a.m. train from Baltimore and made small talk to calm their nerves as the waking suburbs flitted by along the 45-minute ride. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, tapped a button to turn on her microphone and brought the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel to order. Gillibrand, just two months into her tenure as chair, commenced the panel's hearings into sexual assault in the military with an eight-minute opening statement of earnest outrage before yielding the floor to two colleagues to offer theirs.

As West cuts, global defense industry balance shifts Posted: 12 Feb 2014 06:19 AM PST By Peter Apps LONDON (Reuters) - Fuelled by growing strains in Middle East and Asia, global defense spending looks set to rise in 2014 for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis. A study of the world's top 100 arms companies by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) this month showed their total arms sales for 2012 falling 4.2 percent from the previous year to $395 billion, their second annual fall. The global defense market remains dominated by western firms, with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE Systems, Raytheon, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman top in terms of sales. Emerging competitors, however, are clawing their way up the list, particularly in Asia and the former Soviet Union.

Barack and Francois in show of 'bonhomie' at White House Posted: 12 Feb 2014 04:38 AM PST Instead, it was dry-aged beef and plenty of "bonhomie" as President Barack Obama gave a lavish welcome to French President Francois Hollande. Obama went out of his way to welcome Hollande at the White House on Tuesday, saying a few words in passable French, teasing the Frenchman for his formality and toying with the notion that U.S. ties with France are as close as they are with old ally Britain. "It is always a pleasure to host Francois," Obama said at a joint news conference after wishing reporters good afternoon in French.

The U.S. Has Finally Outfoxed Hamid Karzai Posted: 12 Feb 2014 03:15 AM PST For months, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has refused to sign a long-term security agreement with the United States, causing mounting frustration within the White House and the Pentagon. Now, it appears as if President Obama and his advisers have finally outfoxed Karzai, marking the end of a long and tumultuous relationship.  The White House and DOD have decided not to make any agreement until after April's presidential elections in which Karzai is not expected to be a candidate.

Assange lawyers demand London interrogation Posted: 12 Feb 2014 02:57 AM PST Lawyers representing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in Sweden demanded on Wednesday that he be interrogated in London on the rape and sexual molestation allegations made by two Swedish women. Assange broke bail and sought refuge at the Ecuador's embassy in London in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning under a European arrest warrant. He claimed that he would risk further extradition to the United States on espionage charges over his whistleblowing website if he went to Sweden. The prosector in charge of the case has refused to interrogate the Australian national in London, arguing that it would be against Swedish legal practice and represent special treatment, a claim his lawyers now refute.

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