Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Mortar fire kills at least 13 in government-held Syria
• Israel's race to succeed President Peres heats up
• Condi Rice cancels Rutgers speech after Iraq War protest
• Iraq faces criticism on press freedoms
• Condoleezza Rice backs out of Rutgers commencement
• Condoleezza Rice pulls out of Rutgers speech after protests
• Tunisia elections probably to be held in November: election chief
• Condoleezza Rice decides against Rutgers address
• Gunmen kill 4 Sunni fighters in Iraq
• Al Qaeda's leader says Iraqi branch in Syria must return to fight at home
• The US Marine Who Disappeared in Syria

Mortar fire kills at least 13 in government-held Syria Posted: 03 May 2014 11:55 AM PDT By Alexander Dziadosz BEIRUT (Reuters) - At least 13 people were killed by mortar fire in government-held areas of Syria on Saturday, including central Damascus, a monitoring group and state media said, just days after President Bashar al-Assad said he would seek another term in office. The attacks occurred as activists said rebel fighters had delayed their planned withdrawal from the Old City district of Homs, once called the "capital of the revolution", although a ceasefire with government forces continued there. Damascus residents say the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim insurgents have stepped up mortar attacks into the government-held capital in recent weeks as government forces have tightened their grip over central parts of the country. Syria's state news agency SANA blamed "terrorists" for the mortar attack in Damascus, saying it killed four people including a 16-year-old girl when it struck a minibus in the al-Dwel'a area of the capital.

Israel's race to succeed President Peres heats up Posted: 03 May 2014 11:24 AM PDT TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Among those vying to become Israel's next president are a former defense minister, a former foreign minister, a former finance minister, a respected long-serving lawmaker and a Nobel Prize winner. Amazingly, the man they all seek to replace has held all of those titles and more during a legendary 65-year political career.

Condi Rice cancels Rutgers speech after Iraq War protest Posted: 03 May 2014 10:35 AM PDT After Rutgers University President Robert Barchi refused to rescind a commencement speech invitation to former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Ms. Rice said on Saturday that she won't appear at Rutgers after all. "Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families," Ms. Rice wrote in a Facebook post. "Rutgers' invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time." Coming only a week after Attorney General Eric Holder cancelled at the last minute a contested speech at a police academy graduation, Rice's decision to forego the appearance was gracious enough.

Iraq faces criticism on press freedoms Posted: 03 May 2014 10:26 AM PDT From unsolved murders of journalists to lawsuits against commentators, rights groups and diplomats say Iraq's press freedom record falls dramatically short of international standards. Reporters, photographers and video journalists face threats and pressures from both militants and the security forces, as well as mundane everyday restrictions. In a statement marking Saturday's World Press Freedom Day, the UN's culture and media body voiced "deep concern" over the situation in Iraq. The authorities insist that any regulations are for public safety and note that Iraqi journalists have more freedom than before 2003, when now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein crushed all dissent.

Condoleezza Rice backs out of Rutgers commencement Posted: 03 May 2014 09:41 AM PDT NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has backed out of delivering the commencement address at Rutgers University following protests by some faculty and students over her role in the Iraq War.

Condoleezza Rice pulls out of Rutgers speech after protests Posted: 03 May 2014 08:58 AM PDT By Victoria Cavaliere NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pulled out of delivering the commencement speech at Rutgers University in New Jersey on Saturday, following a months-long protest by students and faculty over her role in the Iraq war. Rice was the face of foreign policy under President George W. Bush, a Republican, serving as national security advisor from 2001 to 2005, and later as secretary of state. She was a leading hawk in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war. In her statement, Rice said her role in the festivities had become a "distraction".

Tunisia elections probably to be held in November: election chief Posted: 03 May 2014 06:58 AM PDT By Tarek Amara TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's next presidential and parliamentary elections will probably be held in the second half of November, the election agency chief said on Saturday, about polls that will mark the country's final step towards full democracy. Tunisia's often turbulent political transition began after an 2011 uprising that ousted autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali and inspired the "Arab Spring" revolutions across the region. Since then, Tunisia has been led by a caretaker government and has adopted a new constitution. Islamist party Ennahda rose to power in the first election after the uprising, held in October 2011, and Tunisia, one of the Arab world's most secular countries, has struggled with growing divisions over the role of Islam in politics.

Condoleezza Rice decides against Rutgers address Posted: 03 May 2014 06:22 AM PDT NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has decided against delivering the commencement address at Rutgers University following protests by some faculty and students over her role in the Iraq War.

Gunmen kill 4 Sunni fighters in Iraq Posted: 03 May 2014 06:01 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities say gunmen have killed four Sunni anti-al-Qaida militiamen in a town north of Baghdad.

Al Qaeda's leader says Iraqi branch in Syria must return to fight at home Posted: 03 May 2014 01:41 AM PDT Iraqi al Qaeda's entry into Syria's civil war caused "a political disaster" for Islamist militants there, the movement's global leader Ayman al-Zawahri said in a video message, urging the faction to redouble its efforts in Iraq instead. Zawahri has repeatedly tried to end infighting between the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and another al Qaeda-aligned group, the Nusra Front. He said on Friday in a message translated by SITE Monitoring that if ISIL had accepted his decision not to get involved in Syria and had instead worked to "busy itself with Iraq, which needs double its efforts" then it could have avoided the "waterfall of blood" caused by militant infighting.

The US Marine Who Disappeared in Syria Posted: 02 May 2014 07:12 PM PDT A Marine combat veteran, Austin Tice was in law school when he went to Syria and disappeared. Like Tice, a group of veterans has returned to the Middle East drawn by nostalgia for war.

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