| US military intelligence chief stepping down Posted: 30 Apr 2014 03:01 PM PDT  The head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency and his deputy will step down later this year, officials said Wednesday, but denied reports they were being forced out. Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who had served as director of the DIA since July 2012, and deputy David Shedd, said in a joint memo to employees that "they will depart the agency and retire by early Fall 2014," according to an agency statement. Their "retirements have been planned for some time," said Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby in an email. Flynn played a key role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, serving under General Stanley McChrystal as part of US efforts to dismantle insurgent networks through raids by special operations forces.
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| Iraqis vote in an election without foreign troops Posted: 30 Apr 2014 02:50 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq voted Wednesday in its first nationwide election since U.S. troops withdrew in 2011, with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki confident of victory and even offering an olive branch to his critics by inviting them to join him in a governing coalition.
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| Iraqis vote as violence grips a divided country Posted: 30 Apr 2014 02:10 PM PDT By Ned Parker and Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq held a democratic vote to choose a leader with no foreign troops present for the first time on Wednesday, as Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki sought to hold power for a third term in a country again consumed by sectarian bloodshed. Since the last American soldiers pulled out in 2011, eight years after toppling dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraq has descended back into extreme violence, with hundreds of civilians killed each month by al Qaeda-inspired Sunni insurgents, and with Shi'ite militia once more taking fearsome revenge. Voters chose from nearly 10,000 candidates for 328 seats in parliament, from political parties that range from zealous Islamists to liberals and communists. The commission hopes to declare final results by the end of May. Non-Shi'ite parties complained of obstacles to voting in the outer suburbs of Baghdad and saw in it a deliberate effort by Maliki to keep their numbers down in the next parliament. |
| Algerian jihadist vows allegiance to Al-Qaeda chief Posted: 30 Apr 2014 01:47 PM PDT  Algerian jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar, whose group occupied northern Mali in 2012, pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in a statement posted Wednesday on Islamist websites. Belmokhtar was a leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which, along with other armed Islamist groups, took advantage of a military coup in 2012 to occupy northern Mali before being driven out by French and African troops. The elusive Islamist, who staged the deadly siege of an Algerian gas plant last year, was thought to have been killed in Mali, but security sources told AFP in mid-April he had moved into Libya and remained active.
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| Terror-Related Deaths Jump in 2013, Explosives Still Weapon of Choice Posted: 30 Apr 2014 01:36 PM PDT  Nearly 18,000 people lost their lives in 2013 as a result of terrorist attacks, the first jump in fatalities after a steady decline over the past five years, much due to a sharp uptick in violence in Iraq, according to statistics released today by the...
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| New treatment regenerates muscle lost in traumatic injury Posted: 30 Apr 2014 01:10 PM PDT  By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. doctors said on Wednesday they have succeeded in coaxing the regeneration of muscle tissue lost in people who suffered traumatic injuries, including wartime bomb wounds, with a new type of treatment that uses material from a pig's bladder. Implanting the pig material at the wound site enticed the patient's own stem cells - master cells that can transform into various kinds of cells in the body - to become muscle cells and regenerate tissue that had been lost, the researchers said. The research was backed by $3 million in funding over five years from the U.S. Defense Department, said Dr. Stephen Badylak of the University of Pittsburgh, who led the study. Thousands of American troops have been left with serious physical impairments after sustaining wounds involving major loss of muscle tissue in roadside bombings and other incidents since 2001 in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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| Navy dolphin trainer drowns in San Diego Bay Posted: 30 Apr 2014 12:45 PM PDT SAN DIEGO (AP) — A contractor with a Navy program that trains dolphins and sea lions for missions drowned during a nighttime exercise in San Diego Bay, the first death for the program that started in 1959, a Navy spokesman said Wednesday. |
| U.S. says al Qaeda core weak, but affiliates still threaten Posted: 30 Apr 2014 12:27 PM PDT  By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Wednesday that while al Qaeda's Pakistan-based "core organization" had been severely degraded, affiliates of the militant group in Africa and the Middle East were becoming more "operationally autonomous" and aggressive. The State Department said in its annual global report on terrorism that the central organization of al Qaeda, under the leadership of Ayman al Zawahiri, had been "much diminished" by international efforts and had lost many of its senior leaders. But the report said instability and weak governments in the Middle East and North Africa had enabled al Qaeda affiliates and like-minded groups to "broaden and deepen their operations" in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, North Africa and Somalia.
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| UN urges more aid for Syria refugees at new Jordan camp Posted: 30 Apr 2014 11:48 AM PDT  Azraq Refugee Camp (Jordan) (AFP) - A massive camp opened in Jordan's eastern desert Wednesday for refugees fleeing the war in neighbouring Syria, as the United Nations appealed for more aid. The 15-square-kilometre (5.7-square-mile) Azraq camp can accommodate up to 50,000 people but the UN High Commissioner for Refugees says it can be expanded to take in 130,000, making it one of the biggest in the world. "It is probably the biggest refugee camp in the world," UNHCR representative, Andrew Harper, told the opening ceremony. Jordan has taken in nearly 600,000 refugees since the war broke out three years ago and is now home to three camps, including the densely populated Zaatari.
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| Jordan opens desert camp for Syrian refugees Posted: 30 Apr 2014 11:41 AM PDT By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AZRAQ, Jordan (Reuters) - Across the desert horizon of eastern Jordan rows of iron skeleton structures rise from the sand, marking what the United Nations says could become the biggest camp for Syrian refugees in the Middle East. Azraq refugee camp, 100 km (62 miles) east of the capital Amman, was formally opened on Wednesday after 10 months of work paving tarmac roads and constructing thousands of zinc and metal shelters that will ultimately be able to host 130,000 residents. In planning the sprawling 15-square-km site, donors sought to avoid the pitfalls of Jordan's first camp at Zaatari, hastily opened two years ago in a dust-filled border zone where poor services and mismanagement provoked violent protests. "What you are seeing when you drive around is possibly one of the best planned refugee camps in the world and probably what will be one of the biggest refugee camps in the world," UNHCR's Jordan representative, Andrew Harper, told donors and government officials attending the opening ceremony. |
| Sorry, Rick Perry: Dick Morris Thinks You Could Win. Posted: 30 Apr 2014 11:11 AM PDT  One-time Clinton confidante-turned-conservative pundit Dick Morris has returned to Newsmax.com to pronounce that Texas Gov. Rick Perry could make a comeback in 2016. Sorry, Rick. That pretty much means it will never happen.
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| US: Al-Qaida affiliates surge, terrorism spikes Posted: 30 Apr 2014 10:56 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A surge in the number of aggressive al-Qaida affiliates and like-minded groups the Middle East and North Africa poses a serious threat to U.S. interests and allies, the State Department said Wednesday in reporting a more than 40 percent increase in terrorist attacks worldwide between 2012 and 2013. |
| AP PHOTOS: Iraq votes in parliamentary election Posted: 30 Apr 2014 10:41 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — As violence rages on, Iraq voted Wednesday in its first parliamentary election since the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.
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| First lady announcing pledges for vets, families Posted: 30 Apr 2014 10:20 AM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama announced pledges from foundations and corporations totaling more than $160 million Wednesday to help veterans and their families get the services they need as the country adjusts to a postwar footing.
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| Kerry praises 'courageous' Iraqi voters defying extremists Posted: 30 Apr 2014 10:05 AM PDT  US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday praised the millions of Iraqis who "courageously voted" in general elections, saying many had acted "heroically" in standing up to militant threats. "With ink-stained thumbs, Iraqi voters sent a powerful rebuke to the violent extremists who have tried to thwart democratic progress and sow discord in Iraq and throughout the region," Kerry said in a statement. Queues had formed from early morning at tightly-guarded polling stations across Iraq despite a surge of violence before the elections targeting campaign gatherings and early voting by security personnel. They were the first parliamentary polls since US forces withdrew in December 2011, and some analysts had voiced fears that a wave of extremist violence which has killed 90 people in just two days would scare voters away.
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| The State Department Warns of an 'Evolved,' Decentralized Al Qaeda Posted: 30 Apr 2014 09:58 AM PDT  In its annual terrorism report, the State Department warned that the rise of aggressive, decentralized al Qaeda affiliates scattered through the Middle East and North African regions presents "serious threat to the United States, our allies, and our interests." In the report, the department outlines how losses among al Qaeda's leadership in Pakistan and Afghanistan has forced the terrorist organization into an "accelerated" splintering. Because of that decentralization, the state department notes, the remaining members of al Qaeda's central leadership are having some trouble issuing orders that the local affiliates actually follow. AQ leadership experienced difficulty in maintaining cohesion within the AQ network and in communicating guidance to its affiliated groups. AQ leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was rebuffed in his attempts to mediate a dispute among AQ affiliates operating in Syria – al-Nusrah Front and al-Qa'ida in Iraq (AQI), now calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) – which resulted in the expulsion of ISIL from the AQ network in February 2014.
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| GSK brushes off China probe to post solid 2013 profits Posted: 30 Apr 2014 09:44 AM PDT  GlaxoSmithKline, the British drugs giant facing a series of probes into alleged staff corruption, announced sliding profits on Wednesday, one week after unveiling a group makeover. Revenue fell 10 percent to £5.61 billion, while GSK said that a Chinese corruption investigation had impacted sales growth at the company's emerging markets division. In a further blow, Polish prosecutors earlier this month said they had extended a probe into allegations that GlaxoSmithKline bribed doctors into promoting one of its drugs. The company is also investigating alleged corruption by staff at its pharmaceuticals division in Iraq.
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| US panel urges action on Pakistan religious freedom Posted: 30 Apr 2014 09:21 AM PDT  An expert panel on Wednesday urged the United States to add Pakistan to a blacklist of violators of religious freedom, saying that the Ahmadi minority suffers "apartheid-like" conditions. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, which advises the government on policy but does not take action on its own, urged the State Department to add Pakistan to its list of "countries of particular concern" subject to potential sanctions. In an annual report, the commission said Pakistan "represents the worst situation in the world for religious freedom" among countries that are not already on the US blacklist and that conditions in the past year "hit an all-time low." Robert George, chairman of the commission, voiced alarm over treatment of the Ahmadis, who were declared by Pakistan to be non-Muslims in 1974.
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| Amid massive security, Iraqis vote for parliament Posted: 30 Apr 2014 09:05 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqis braved the threat of bombs and other violence to vote Wednesday in parliamentary elections amid a massive security operation as the country slides deeper into sectarian strife.
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| US: Al-Qaida affiliates surge, attacks on the rise Posted: 30 Apr 2014 09:05 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says a surge in aggressive al-Qaida affiliates in the Middle East and North Africa poses a serious threat to U.S. interests and allies. It also says Iran remains a major state sponsor of terrorism and continues to defy demands it prove its nuclear ambitions are peaceful, even as Washington pursues negotiations on that front. |
| Air strike on Aleppo school kills 18: Syrian activists Posted: 30 Apr 2014 09:01 AM PDT  An air strike on a school in Syria's northern city of Aleppo by President Bashar al-Assad's forces killed at least 18 people on Wednesday, mainly children, a day after attacks on government-controlled cities killed more than 100 people, activists said. The devastating strikes, which stand out for their ferocity even in a civil war which now kills between 200 and 300 people a day, come as Syria prepares for an election likely to extend Assad's grip on power. Wednesday's air strike on the Ain Jalout school in the Al-Ansari district of Aleppo appeared to be part of the sustained bombardment of the contested northern city by Assad's forces. Pictures from the school showed blood on corridor walls and debris in classrooms, while video footage released by activists at the anti-Assad Aleppo Media Centre showed more than a dozen bodies which appeared to be children laid out on a tiled floor.
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| Iraqis brave threat of violence to cast ballots Posted: 30 Apr 2014 08:37 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqis braved the threat of bombs and other violence to vote Wednesday in parliamentary elections amid a massive security operation as the country slides deeper into sectarian strife. |
| Syria rebels pin hopes on unified southern front Posted: 30 Apr 2014 07:52 AM PDT  Rebels in southern Syria say they've united tens of thousands of fighters and rejected the extremism and infighting that have plagued the uprising elsewhere, but still want for external support. The so-called Southern Front was created around two months ago and includes some 30,000 fighters from more than 55 mainstream rebel groups operating from the Jordanian border to the outskirts of Damascus and the Golan Heights, the rebels say. The new alliance is in part aimed at alleviating Western concerns that providing greater aid to the fractious rebels would bolster Al-Qaeda-inspired groups and see heavy weapons fall into the hands of extremists. "In recent days for example, fighters from more than 16 factions liberated a strategic position that belonged to Brigade 61," a Syrian army brigade responsible for guarding the Golan frontier, he said.
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| A look at Syrian refugees in neighboring countries Posted: 30 Apr 2014 07:35 AM PDT  The massive numbers of Syrians fleeing the civil war has stretched the resources of neighboring countries and raised fears of violence spreading in the region. The U.N. estimates there are nearly 2.7 million Syrians registered in neighboring countries, with more than 67,500 more awaiting registration.
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| Iraqis brave attacks to vote for 'change' Posted: 30 Apr 2014 07:33 AM PDT  Braving the daily bombings that have scattered his 12 grandsons across Europe, Jawad Said Kamal al-Din, 91, hobbled to a Baghdad polling station on Wednesday to vote for "change". At a VIP polling station in the capital's heavily fortified Green Zone, where reporters and photographers far outnumbered voters, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki proclaimed "certain" victory as he cast his ballot. But at the west Baghdad primary school where Kamal al-Din cast his vote, he and others queueing were adamant they wanted change after eight years of Maliki's rule. On the streets around the improvised polling station where Kamal al-Din was helped in by staff, the only vehicles belonged to the police or army.
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| New pact reflects cozier US-Philippine alliance Posted: 30 Apr 2014 04:38 AM PDT  MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A new defense pact that will allow thousands of U.S. troops to be temporarily based in Philippines for the first time in more than 20 years signals closer cooperation in the allies' hot-and-cold relationship that has been shaped over the decades by war, terrorism and now, jitters over China's rise.
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| China rejects sign it may soon be No. 1 economy Posted: 30 Apr 2014 04:13 AM PDT  BEIJING (AP) — China has rejected a World Bank report that suggests it might pass the United States this year to become the biggest economy measured by its currency's purchasing power.
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| Fragmented and fearful, Iraqis go to the polls Posted: 30 Apr 2014 03:00 AM PDT But with the fracturing of traditional political alliances, resurgent sectarian tension, and all-out war against anti-government fighters on Baghdad's doorstep, the election is seen as a crucial test of whether Iraq will hold together. For the US, the election is a stark illustration of how far Iraq has drifted from the type of country envisioned when Saddam Hussein was toppled 11 years ago. The political field is more fragmented and skewed toward the extremes than any time in the last decade, and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, seeking a third term, is expected to struggle to put together a coalition. The prime minister retains considerable support on the street and among the security forces, but in the four years since Iraq's last election, he has alienated many of his political partners. |
| 10 Things to Know for Today Posted: 30 Apr 2014 02:56 AM PDT  Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
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| Now They’re Crucifying People in Syria Posted: 30 Apr 2014 02:45 AM PDT  The jihadist group so radical it got kicked out of al Qaeda has apparently hit a new and shocking low: It's allegedly crucifying its enemies.
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| Iraq holds vote as it slides deeper into strife Posted: 30 Apr 2014 01:46 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Unshaken by the latest surge in violence, Iraqis braved the threat of bombs and attacks to vote Wednesday in key elections for a new parliament amid a massive security operation as the country slides deeper into sectarian strife. |
| Iraq timeline: Key events since 2003 invasion Posted: 30 Apr 2014 01:22 AM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — A timeline of key events in Iraq, beginning with the 2003 U.S.-led invasion up to April 30 national elections. More than 22 million voters will be eligible to cast their ballots to choose 328 lawmakers out of more than 9,000 candidates in the first nationwide elections since the U.S. army withdrawal in 2011.
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| British terror convict emailed as 'sacrifice72' Posted: 30 Apr 2014 12:39 AM PDT  A British convict who plotted to blow a US passenger plane out of the sky was so determined to die for Al-Qaeda that he used the email address sacrifice72@yahoo.com. Saajid Badat, 35, told the New York trial of British hate preacher Abu Hamza on Tuesday that he used the Yahoo account while researching Jewish targets in South Africa. The word sacrifice was a nod to his determination to die in the cause of violent jihad and 72 a reference to the number of virgins that Al-Qaeda preached a "martyr" is entitled to deflower in heaven. Under cross-examination from Abu Hamza's lawyer Jeremy Schneider, he said he spent two days preparing a "detailed" report for Al-Qaeda bosses on the targets.
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| A look at major players in Iraq national elections Posted: 29 Apr 2014 11:32 PM PDT  BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq is holding its third parliamentary elections since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. Wednesday's vote is also the first after the withdrawal of the U.S. forces in 2011. More than 22 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots to choose 328 lawmakers out of more than 9,000 candidates.
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| Today in History Posted: 29 Apr 2014 09:00 PM PDT Today is Wednesday, April 30, the 120th day of 2014. There are 245 days left in the year. |
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