Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• US rights group urges reopening of Abu Ghraib case
• Putin signs treaty to add Crimea to map of Russia
• Signings of times: US archives show history by pen
• War crimes evidence in Syria solid enough for indictment: U.N.
• Iraq officials say bombings kill 15 people
• Iraq bill sparks fury over child marriage claims
• Lebanon needs more help with massive Syrian refugee influx
• U.S. Army general facing prison time for improper liaisons
• ISIL jihadists conduct 'mass executions' in Syria
• Appeals court hears Abu Ghraib torture case
• Mitt Romney slams Obama's leadership. Sour grapes or serious charge?
• Iraq bombings leave 10 dead as election looms
• Iraq officials say bombings kill 12 people
• Officials: Bombings kill 8 people in Iraq
• UN panel identifies war criminals in Syria
• Man charged in Syria plot returning to California
• In 1 day, Obama tackles multiple foreign tests
• The Price We, and the World, Will Pay for Obama's Re-election
• California man arrested near U.S.-Canada border on terrorism charge
• US student arrested on terror charge, eyed LA attack

US rights group urges reopening of Abu Ghraib case Posted: 18 Mar 2014 03:23 PM PDT Ten years after the Abu Ghraib scandal, a rights group Tuesday called for the reopening of a case against a US private military contractor that conducted interrogations at the Iraqi prison. US soldiers were implicated in the torture and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison when the US military ran it in 2004, a scandal that first broke when photos showing soldiers abusing detainees were published in US media. Civilian employees of CACI Premier Technology, Inc., working under government contract, were accused of encouraging soldiers to prepare detainees for interrogation with the controversial practices. Between 2004 and 2006, 11 soldiers -- including Lynndie England, who was seen smiling beside naked prisoners being subjected to sexual abuse -- were convicted in court martials.

Putin signs treaty to add Crimea to map of Russia Posted: 18 Mar 2014 03:17 PM PDT MOSCOW (AP) — In a gilded Kremlin hall used by czars, Vladimir Putin redrew Russia's borders Tuesday by declaring the Crimean Peninsula part of the motherland — provoking a surge of emotion among Russians who lament the loss of empire and denunciations from Western leaders who called Putin a threat to the world.

Signings of times: US archives show history by pen Posted: 18 Mar 2014 02:00 PM PDT Joseph Stalin's signature was bold and forceful, Harry Truman's was unaffected and readily legible, while Winston Churchill's was formal and unflappable. The autographs of World War II's Big Three leaders -- etched on a program to a string orchestra concert during a break from their conference in Potsdam -- are on display at the US National Archives in a new exhibition that aims to look at history through penmanship. The exhibition, which opens Friday and runs until January 2015, taps into the National Archives' collections to show more than 100 signatures of figures as diverse as pop legend Michael Jackson and the first US president George Washington.

War crimes evidence in Syria solid enough for indictment: U.N. Posted: 18 Mar 2014 01:04 PM PDT By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. investigators said on Tuesday they had expanded their list of suspected war criminals from both sides in Syria's civil war and the evidence was solid enough to prepare any indictment. The U.N. inquiry has identified individuals, military units and security agencies as well as insurgent groups suspected of committing abuses such as torture and bombing civilian areas, it said in its report to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Some 20 investigators have carried out 2,700 interviews with victims, witnesses and defectors in the region and by Skype in Syria, but have never been allowed to enter the country now in its fourth year of an increasingly sectarian conflict. However, despite the accumulation of evidence, diplomats say it is unlikely Syria would be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) that tries war crimes suspects in The Hague any time soon.

Iraq officials say bombings kill 15 people Posted: 18 Mar 2014 12:42 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of bombings targeting commercial streets and security forces in Baghdad and its surroundings killed 15 people on Tuesday, officials said.

Iraq bill sparks fury over child marriage claims Posted: 18 Mar 2014 12:34 PM PDT A bill before Iraq's parliament that opponents say legalises child marriage and marital rape has sparked controversy ahead of elections as secular activists face off against the draft law's backers. The bill, the Jaafari Personal Status Law, sets out rules to do with inheritance, marriage and divorce. Supporters of the draft, named after a Shiite Muslim school of jurisprudence, say it simply regulates practices already existing in day-to-day life. Opponents say the bill represents a step back for women's rights in Iraq, and worry that it could further fray already fragile sectarian ties between the country's various communities amid heightened violence ahead of April parliamentary polls.

Lebanon needs more help with massive Syrian refugee influx Posted: 18 Mar 2014 12:24 PM PDT A top UN aid official pleaded Tuesday for more international support for Lebanon, which is staggering under the burden of sheltering nearly a million refugees from Syria. "It is imperative that the international community helps bear the brunt of the pressure on Lebanon," said Ross Mountain, the UN aid coordinator in the country. "Lebanon is the largest per capita recipient of refugees anywhere in the world," he told reporters in Geneva. The influx of nearly one million Syrian refugees, according to UN figures, has swollen Lebanon's population by 25 percent since the war broke out across the border in March 2011.

U.S. Army general facing prison time for improper liaisons Posted: 18 Mar 2014 12:17 PM PDT By Kelly Twedell FORT BRAGG, North Carolina (Reuters) - A female U.S. Army lieutenant testified on Tuesday that a married general who admitted to having inappropriate relationships with her and other junior officers became angry after she declined his invitation for a horseback riding date. The invitation is among evidence against Brigadier General Jeffrey Sinclair in a case that has focused attention on sexual misconduct in the U.S. military and could lead to jail time for the airborne infantry officer who served five combat tours. "Something didn't seem right," the lieutenant said of Sinclair's advances, adding through tears that the criminal case resulting from his actions took a toll on her reputation. The female lieutenant, whose identity was withheld by Reuters due to the nature of the charges, was one of the prosecution witnesses who testified at Sinclair's sentencing hearing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

ISIL jihadists conduct 'mass executions' in Syria Posted: 18 Mar 2014 11:35 AM PDT The jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) carried out "mass executions" in Syria in January, the United Nations said Tuesday, adding that it was investigating allegations of mass graves. The group "conducted mass executions of detainees, thereby perpetrating war crimes," the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said in an update on the human rights situation in the country. ISIL is a group of radical jihadists who have fought Syria's regime but who since the beginning of the year have also been increasingly battling a coalition of moderate and Islamist rebels angered by their abuses of rival fighters and civilians. In northern and northeastern governorates, ISIL fighters "are imposing their radical ideologies on the civilian population," Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, head of the commission, told the UN Human Rights Council.

Appeals court hears Abu Ghraib torture case Posted: 18 Mar 2014 10:34 AM PDT RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) — Four former Iraqi detainees who say they were tortured at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison should be allowed to pursue their claims against the U.S. military contractor in charge of interrogating them, an attorney told a federal appeals court Tuesday.

Mitt Romney slams Obama's leadership. Sour grapes or serious charge? Posted: 18 Mar 2014 10:15 AM PDT Tying together the Crimea crisis, Syria's implosion, chaos in Egypt, and Iran's nuclear progress, the 2012 GOP presidential candidate says the Obama administration failed to act when it could, and now that it can't, officials are just blustering as things fall apart around the world. "There was a juncture when America had the potential to influence events," Mr. Romney writes. "Their failure has been painfully evident: It is hard to name even a single country that has more respect and admiration for America today than when President Obama took office," Romney writes. Remember when I said Russia was America's primary geopolitical foe and you mocked me, saying the '80s wanted its foreign policy back?

Iraq bombings leave 10 dead as election looms Posted: 18 Mar 2014 08:57 AM PDT Attacks in Baghdad and across central Iraq, including seven car bombs, killed at least 10 people on Tuesday amid a surge in violence ahead of a general election next month. The blasts, which also wounded nearly 50 people, come with Iraq suffering its worst level of violence since 2008, when the country was emerging from brutal sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. The surge in unrest has been driven principally by discontent among Iraq's Sunni Arab minority and by the civil war in neighbouring Syria, and has killed more than 2,000 people already this year, according to an AFP tally. Attacks on Tuesday struck in Baghdad, as well as in nearby Karbala, Diyala, Salaheddin, Babil and Wasit provinces, killing at least 10 people and wounding 47, security and medical officials said.

Iraq officials say bombings kill 12 people Posted: 18 Mar 2014 07:21 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of bombings targeting commercial streets and security forces in Baghdad and its surroundings killed 12 people on Tuesday, officials said.

Officials: Bombings kill 8 people in Iraq Posted: 18 Mar 2014 06:05 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say a series of bombings targeting commercial streets and security forces in and south of Baghdad has killed eight people.

UN panel identifies war criminals in Syria Posted: 18 Mar 2014 04:35 AM PDT GENEVA (AP) — A U.N. panel investigating human rights abuses in Syria has identified those responsible for crimes including hostage-taking, torture and executions and has put their names on a list of people who should eventually be held accountable for their actions, the head of the panel said Tuesday.

Man charged in Syria plot returning to California Posted: 18 Mar 2014 12:55 AM PDT SEATTLE (AP) — A man who prosecutors say spoke of bombing the Los Angeles subway system and joining Islamic extremists in Syria is returning to California to face a terrorism-related charge after his arrest near the Canadian border.

In 1 day, Obama tackles multiple foreign tests Posted: 18 Mar 2014 12:17 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Seldom has one day captured the breadth, aspirations and limitations of American foreign policy.

The Price We, and the World, Will Pay for Obama's Re-election Posted: 18 Mar 2014 12:00 AM PDT Most Americans who are dissatisfied with President Barack Obama's leadership are thinking about the poor economy and the misbegotten health care law. But the foreign policy failures of this administration are likely to be far more consequential, lasting and possibly catastrophic. Permitting people like Obama, Hillary Clinton, Chuck Hagel and John Kerry to deal with the brutal realities of world politics is like putting Richard Simmons into the ring with Muhammad Ali. On Sunday, reflecting an innocence that really ought to be prosecutable, Kerry announced that the U.S. would impose sanctions on Russia if it annexes Crimea and continues to threaten the rest of Ukraine.

California man arrested near U.S.-Canada border on terrorism charge Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:43 PM PDT By Bryan Cohen SEATTLE (Reuters) - A California man who prosecutors say was on his way to Syria to join an al Qaeda splinter group was arrested on Monday near the U.S.-Canada border in Washington state on a terrorism charge, federal officials said. The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement that 20-year-old Nicholas Teausant, an American-born convert to Islam, had planned to cross into Canada and travel on to Syria to join Islamist militants. A criminal complaint outlining the accusations against Teausant said he wanted to join an al Qaeda splinter group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which it said was also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

US student arrested on terror charge, eyed LA attack Posted: 17 Mar 2014 06:06 PM PDT A California student was held on the US-Canada border and accused of plotting to help a terror group and join Al-Qaeda, as well as talking about attacking Los Angeles, officials said. Nicholas Teausant, 20, who was allegedly planning to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, was charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. A 23-page affidavit alleges that he traveled to the "Canadian border with the intent of continuing to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a foreign terrorist organization more widely known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq."

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