Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• APNewsBreak: Obama aide to oversee VA review
• UN shocked at deliberate flooding in Iraq
• US names two Syria rebels 'global terrorists'
• Ten Years Ago, the Cannes Film Festival Became About More Than Just Cinema
• Lawyer: Treat leaker Manning at military facility
• Treasury sanctions al-Qaida leaders in Syria
• Somali Al Qaeda Ally Sends ‘Friend Request’ to Would-Be Jihadists in US
• As college students walk, speakers walk away
• After husband's tragic death, widow takes on PTSD
• The Daily Fix: Columbia Students Post Lists of Alleged Rapists, Sweatshop Riots in Vietnam, and Chelsea Manning to Get Hormone Therapy
• Is Iranian bomb research "mea culpa" needed for nuclear accord?
• Iraq attacks kill 12 as vote count goes on
• Syria peace prospects dim as Brahimi heads for the exit
• US names 2 Syria rebels 'global terrorists'
• Less than half under age 35 are aware of Holocaust: international poll
• Iraq parties plot for power as vote count drags on
• Manning, seeking gender treatment, OK'd for move
• Chinese police charge British former head of GSK in China with bribery
• Officials say attacks kill 13 people in Iraq
• Coptic Solidarity Annual Conference brings Mideast Christians to focus
• Iran says no written invitation, but visit to Saudi Arabia on agenda: IRNA
• Pentagon OKs Manning transfer for gender treatment
• Obama meets Syrian opposition leader
• ICC prosecutor to examine alleged British crimes in Iraq war
• California man facing terrorism charges denied house arrest
• Lawmaker asks Obama to form panel on veteran care delays

APNewsBreak: Obama aide to oversee VA review Posted: 14 May 2014 05:17 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is dispatching one of his closest White House advisers to oversee a review of the beleaguered Veterans Affairs Department as the agency grapples with allegations of treatment delays and preventable deaths at a Phoenix veterans hospital.

UN shocked at deliberate flooding in Iraq Posted: 14 May 2014 03:42 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. envoy in Iraq is expressing shock that deliberate flooding from a dam in Fallujah is being used as an instrument of terror against the Iraqi people.

US names two Syria rebels 'global terrorists' Posted: 14 May 2014 03:41 PM PDT The US government officially designated as \"global terrorists\" Wednesday two figures from rival jihadist groups in Syria, warning other rebel factions in the war-torn country to stay away from both men. The US Treasury added Saudi-born Abd Al-Rahman Muhammad Zafir Al-Dubaysi al-Juhni and Iraq native Abd Al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The two were cited for their ties to, respectively, Al-Qaeda operations in Syria, and Qaeda breakaway group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Al-Juhni is part of a group of senior Qaeda operatives in Syria formed to attack Western targets outside the country and also to mediate tensions between ISIL and the Al-Nusra Front, the local Qaeda affiliate, the Treasury said.

Ten Years Ago, the Cannes Film Festival Became About More Than Just Cinema Posted: 14 May 2014 02:39 PM PDT The Cannes Film Festival begins its 67th edition today in France with the requisite reports of critical drubbings and red carpet bombshells, but it's unlikely the featured films will make the kind of waves the 2004 edition did. Of course, it's not every year at Cannes that Quentin Tarantino is the jury head or Michael Moore walks away with the Palme D'Or, but that's not the only thing that makes the now ten-year-old festival edition interesting. There was no film more searing and yet ultimately disposable than Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, a polemical critique of the Bush administration and the War in Iraq that debuted to a 20-minute standing ovation. Cannes was getting more press attention than usual for the simple fact that Moore's new documentary would be in competition there;

Lawyer: Treat leaker Manning at military facility Posted: 14 May 2014 01:37 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is trying to transfer convicted national security leaker Pvt. Chelsea Manning to a civilian prison where she can get treatment for a gender-identity condition. But her lawyer said Wednesday that a move from a military prison would make Manning choose between the treatment and her safety.

Treasury sanctions al-Qaida leaders in Syria Posted: 14 May 2014 01:13 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department is levying sanctions on two individuals suspected of supporting al-Qaida in Syria.

Somali Al Qaeda Ally Sends ‘Friend Request’ to Would-Be Jihadists in US Posted: 14 May 2014 12:45 PM PDT New Video by Al-Shabab Militants Urges Americans in Rhyme to Catch 'Next Flight to Mogadishu'

As college students walk, speakers walk away Posted: 14 May 2014 11:58 AM PDT Forget about their students not making it to graduation. Now colleges have to wonder whether their speakers will.

After husband's tragic death, widow takes on PTSD Posted: 14 May 2014 11:53 AM PDT BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Amy Miner says her late husband's fight did not end when he left the war.

The Daily Fix: Columbia Students Post Lists of Alleged Rapists, Sweatshop Riots in Vietnam, and Chelsea Manning to Get Hormone Therapy Posted: 14 May 2014 11:26 AM PDT The writing on the wall in four women's bathrooms at Columbia University has exposed deep tensions in the wake of formal accusations filed against administrators who allegedly bungled sex assault cases reported on campus. Last month, 23 students filed a lawsuit against Columbia, alleging the school was in violation of Title IX and the Clery Act for its lackluster response to reports of rape. The complaint alleges that students were discouraged from reporting rape, and cases were mishandled when they did, leaving them vulnerable to continued contact with their attackers, among other problems. Much like the problem of slow and ineffective response to claims of sexual violence among America's young, bright college students, the tactic is not new.

Is Iranian bomb research "mea culpa" needed for nuclear accord? Posted: 14 May 2014 11:19 AM PDT By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - U.N. watchdog findings that Iran may have worked on designing an atomic bomb helped the West tighten sanctions on Tehran which ultimately forced it, U.S. officials say, to enter serious talks on reining in its nuclear program. But as Iran and six world powers enter a crucial stage in their efforts to hammer out a long-term deal by late July [ID:nL6N0O02IM], the issue of how to handle suspicions that the Islamic Republic has carried out nuclear weapon research could emerge as a serious stumbling block. At issue is whether to press Iran to fully admit to any such activity in the past - even if it complicates the search for a broader deal to end the nuclear dispute - or whether to focus more on ensuring that whatever happened then has since stopped. The outcome could have far-reaching consequences for the standing of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has long struggled to end Iranian stonewalling of its investigations and which says clarification of all its questions is vital.

Iraq attacks kill 12 as vote count goes on Posted: 14 May 2014 11:04 AM PDT Bombings and shootings killed at least 12 people in Iraq on Wednesday, most of them police or soldiers, as the count drags on from an April 30 general election. The deaths came a day after attacks, including nine car bombs in Baghdad, killed 42 people, the latest in a protracted surge of violence that has killed more than 3,300 people already this year, according to an AFP tally. In Baghdad, attacks killed two civilians, while in Jurf al-Sakhr to its south a roadside bomb killed two soldiers. Violence is running at its highest levels since 2006-7, when an all-out sectarian conflict between Iraq's Shiite majority and Sunni Arab minority killed tens of thousands.

Syria peace prospects dim as Brahimi heads for the exit Posted: 14 May 2014 09:01 AM PDT The resignation of the United Nations special envoy to Syria provided a new indicator of the dim prospects at present for a diplomatic solution to the war in Syria, which has killed more than 150,000 since March 2011. Lakhdar Brahimi's departure comes as the Syrian regime, emboldened by a string of battlefield victories, gears up for elections to renew Bashar al-Assad's presidency, a move that Mr. Brahimi reportedly once said would spell an end to negotiations.  Liz Sly, who covers Syria for The Washington Post, succinctly notes:  UN envoy Brahimi joins the growing list of people who have stepped down over Syria.

US names 2 Syria rebels 'global terrorists' Posted: 14 May 2014 08:59 AM PDT Washington (AFP) - The US government officially designated two officials of rival jihadist groups in Syria as "global terrorists" Wednesday, warning other Syrian rebel groups to stay away from both men.

Less than half under age 35 are aware of Holocaust: international poll Posted: 14 May 2014 08:47 AM PDT If you're under 35, chances are you're unaware of the Holocaust. That's according to a new global survey released by the Anti-Defamation League on Tuesday, which found less than half of respondents (48 percent) under age 35 were aware of it.

Iraq parties plot for power as vote count drags on Posted: 14 May 2014 07:53 AM PDT Iraq's political parties are already manoeuvring to form a government nearly two weeks before preliminary results from the elections are due, with Nuri al-Maliki's bid to retain the premiership hanging in the balance. But Maliki's bloc is still widely expected to take the largest number of parliament seats from the April 30 vote, even if they do not win a majority, sparking a race between him and his rivals to secure the 165 seats necessary to form a government. Parties from Iraq's Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities have already begun to meet to discuss potential alliances, though provisional results are not expected until May 25. Maliki's State of Law bloc sent a letter to rival parties, including those Maliki has publicly refused to ally with, earlier this month outlining a potential programme for government.

Manning, seeking gender treatment, OK'd for move Posted: 14 May 2014 07:25 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — In an unprecedented move, the Pentagon is trying to transfer convicted national security leaker Pvt. Chelsea Manning to a civilian prison so she can get treatment for her gender disorder, defense officials said.

Chinese police charge British former head of GSK in China with bribery Posted: 14 May 2014 06:12 AM PDT By Megha Rajagopalan and Kazunori Takada BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese police on Wednesday said they had charged the former British boss of drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC's China business and other colleagues with corruption, after a probe found the firm made billions of yuan from elaborate schemes to bribe doctors and hospitals. Mark Reilly and two Chinese executives, Zhang Guowei and Zhao Hongyan, were also suspected of bribing officials in the industry and commerce departments of Beijing and Shanghai, the official Xinhua news agency reported, quoting police in Hunan province. The case is the biggest corruption scandal to hit a foreign company in China since the Rio Tinto affair in 2009, which resulted in four executives, including an Australian, being jailed for between seven and 14 years.

Officials say attacks kill 13 people in Iraq Posted: 14 May 2014 05:27 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Authorities in Iraq say attacks targeting security forces have killed 13 people across the country.

Coptic Solidarity Annual Conference brings Mideast Christians to focus Posted: 14 May 2014 04:00 AM PDT WASHINGTON, May 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Coptic Solidarity will host its Fifth Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., June 26 – 27 focusing on the theme: After Arab Spring, Middle East Christians Between Local Violence and International Indifference The escalation of attacks on Christians in countries such as Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and Libya demonstrate a clear need for concerted attention to save these minorities before they become extinct in their ancestral homelands. Targeted by Islamist extremists, they suffer daily tragedies, from murder, torture, abduction and rape, to forced payment of Jizyah (tribute) and forced displacement from their homes and neighborhoods. The Iraqi Christian population has been decimated to a mere 25% of their pre-1991 numbers, while 25% of Syrian Christians departed the country during the current uprising.

Iran says no written invitation, but visit to Saudi Arabia on agenda: IRNA Posted: 14 May 2014 03:39 AM PDT Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on Wednesday that Tehran had not received a written invitation for its foreign minister to visit Saudi Arabia, but it was on Iran's agenda, state news agency IRNA reported. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said Riyadh had invited Iran's foreign minister to visit.

Pentagon OKs Manning transfer for gender treatment Posted: 14 May 2014 02:19 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — In an unprecedented move, the Pentagon is trying to transfer convicted national security leaker Pvt. Chelsea Manning to a civilian prison so she can get treatment for her gender disorder, defense officials said.

Obama meets Syrian opposition leader Posted: 13 May 2014 07:25 PM PDT President Barack Obama met Syrian opposition leader Ahmad Jarba in a show of support for moderate, embattled foes of President Bashar al-Assad. Obama dropped by a meeting between Jarba, president of the Syrian National Coalition, and his national security advisor Susan Rice. The White House said Obama and Rice condemned \"the Assad regime's deliberate targeting of Syrian civilians through aerial bombardments -- including the use of barrel bombs -- and the denial of food and humanitarian assistance to civilians located in areas under siege by the regime.\"

ICC prosecutor to examine alleged British crimes in Iraq war Posted: 13 May 2014 07:19 PM PDT By Mirjam Donath UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court re-opened on Tuesday a preliminary examination of allegations of \"systematic detainee abuse\" by British troops in Iraq between 2003 and 2008 after receiving new information. The Hague-based court had previously concluded an examination of similar accusations in 2006, but it did not launch a full investigation because the information did not meet the \"required gravity threshold.\" \"I received earlier this year substantial information, much more than what we had in 2006, on alleged crimes that were committed by the UK forces,\" ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told reporters at the United Nations after she had briefed the U.N. Security Council on the court's cases in Libya. They said more than 400 Iraqi former detainees had made allegations of grave mistreatment, of which 85 had been chosen as \"representative cases.\" Bensouda's office said in a statement earlier on Tuesday: \"The communication alleges a higher number of cases of ill-treatment of detainees and provides further details on the factual circumstances and the geographical and temporal scope of the alleged crimes.\" The British government rejected the allegations that British troops had carried out systematic abuse in Iraq.

California man facing terrorism charges denied house arrest Posted: 13 May 2014 07:08 PM PDT By Jennifer Chaussee SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California man charged with attempting to travel to Syria to fight alongside an al Qaeda splinter group was denied a request to be put under house arrest while he awaits trial, a federal judge in California ruled on Tuesday. Nicholas Teausant, a 20-year-old American citizen, was arrested on terrorism charges in March as he approached the Canadian border. In early May, a magistrate judge approved a request by Teausant's lawyer Benjamin Galloway to put Teausant on house arrest while he awaited trial, with bail set at $200,000. Teausant's paternal grandparents, who are 66 and 71 years old, would have served as his guardians under the plan.

Lawmaker asks Obama to form panel on veteran care delays Posted: 13 May 2014 06:10 PM PDT By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Expressing frustration with a growing controversy over medical care delays for veterans, a prominent U.S. congressman asked President Barack Obama on Tuesday to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the issue. Representative Jeff Miller, who chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said the commission was needed because \"VA's delays in care problem is growing in size and scope by the day.\" Probes into deaths of veterans who were waiting for medical appointments at some VA clinics and hospitals and into allegations of schemes to mask months-long waiting times for care were now beyond the capabilities and resources of the VA's own inspector general's office, the Florida Republican said. \"For nearly a year, we have been pleading with top Department of Veterans Affairs leaders and the president to take immediate steps to stop the growing pattern of preventable veteran deaths and hold accountable any and all VA employees who have allowed patients to slip through the cracks,\" Miller said in a statement.

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