Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Old-fashioned vaccine fights polio resurgence
• US envoys to Kuwait and Qatar confirmed, dozens more wait
• Ambassador John Bolton Raises A Record $4 Million
• UN agency: Seized Iraq nuclear material is no risk
• Kerry arrives in Afghanistan to meet candidates
• UN names 3rd point man in Syrian war
• John Kerry arrives in Kabul amid election turmoil
• Berlin tells CIA station chief to leave in spy scandal
• Morocco ramps up security faced with 'serious terror threat'
• Iraq's Kurds will boycott Cabinet meetings
• Two US ambassadors confirmed, dozens more wait
• Iraq's Kurds say will boycott Cabinet meetings
• De Mistura succeeds Brahimi as UN envoy for Syria
• Teenager charged with killing soldier at Tennessee armory
• U.N. chief says de Mistura to be new Syria mediator
• Oil rises for first time in 2 weeks, near $103
• Hamas drifts into Gaza fight it doesn't know how to finish
• Afghan aid is dropping, but how fast is too fast?
• Turkey passes bill to revive Kurdish peace talks
• UN chief confirms de Mistura appointed new Syria envoy
• Retail gasoline prices across Texas drop 2 cents
• US Canada relations; Pakistan on Hillary Clinton; US in Iraq; US relations with North Korea; politics of Bowe Bergdahl
• Islamic militants on offensive against Kurds
• Baghdad halts Kurdish cargo flights after ministers' boycott
• Seized nuclear material in Iraq 'low grade': U.N. agency
• Iraq's Kurds demand PM Maliki's resignation
• Is Obama’s America Becoming More European?
• UN: no danger from stolen nuke material in Iraq
• Bruised Iraqi army leans on Shi'ite militias, volunteers
• Britain unveils emergency laws to keep email, phone data for security
• Mother, father, sister, brother: The roles of Syria's refugee women
• Militants in Lebanon seek to emulate Islamic State
• Oil prices continue to fall as supplies grow
• Kerry faces uphill battle to defuse Afghan election standoff
• US, China talk cyberhacking amid new allegations
• China, US closer on North Korea, climate change
• Kerry cites frank cyberhacking talks with China
• Jihadi fighters on the offensive in northern Syria
• Baghdad halts cargo flights to Kurdish cities
• Trendy Tel Aviv counts the cost of Gaza rocket attacks

Old-fashioned vaccine fights polio resurgence Posted: 10 Jul 2014 04:59 PM PDT A jab to protect children against polio that fell out of favour in the 1960s should be given a frontline role to help stamp out the disease, doctors reported in The Lancet on Friday. The injection can provide better and long-lasting protection against the polio virus when used to supplement oral vaccine, which replaced it in most countries, they said. Oral polio vaccine (OPV) protects individuals against contracting the disease, but they can still be infected by the virus. It replicates in the gut and can then be passed to others through faecal-contaminated water, thus imperilling unvaccinated children.

US envoys to Kuwait and Qatar confirmed, dozens more wait Posted: 10 Jul 2014 03:53 PM PDT The Senate confirmed US ambassadors to Kuwait and Qatar on Thursday, as top Democrats fumed that lawmakers are slow-walking dozens more of President Barack Obama's nominations. Career diplomats Douglas Silliman and Dana Smith were confirmed as the new envoys to Kuwait and Qatar, respectively. Smith's confirmation process took a relatively quick two months, but Silliman's lasted seven months, a length of time that has become more the rule than the exception in a thoroughly gridlocked Senate.

Ambassador John Bolton Raises A Record $4 Million Posted: 10 Jul 2014 03:30 PM PDT WASHINGTON, July 10, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Ambassador John Bolton's PAC and Super PAC have raised over $2.3 million in the 2nd quarter with a record $4 million to date, and nearly $3 million cash on hand. The Ambassador is committed to ensuring that American security is a central factor in the 2014 midterm elections and that candidates who believe in policies focused on a free and secure America receive the support needed to win their respective House or Senate races. ...

UN agency: Seized Iraq nuclear material is no risk Posted: 10 Jul 2014 03:26 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. nuclear agency said Thursday that nuclear material seized by the Islamic State extremist group when it overran the Iraqi city of Mosul is "low grade" and doesn't pose "a significant safety, security or nuclear proliferation risk."

Kerry arrives in Afghanistan to meet candidates Posted: 10 Jul 2014 02:35 PM PDT KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. and its allies are growing increasingly concerned as Afghanistan shows signs of unraveling in its first democratic transfer of power from President Hamid Karzai. With Iraq wracked by insurgency, Afghanistan's dispute over election results poses a new challenge to President Barack Obama's effort to leave behind two secure states while ending America's long wars.

UN names 3rd point man in Syrian war Posted: 10 Jul 2014 02:25 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Staffan de Mistura, who has held top U.N. positions in Iraq and Afghanistan, on Thursday inherited the mandate to try to end Syria's three-year-old conflict, a goal that eluded his two predecessors.

John Kerry arrives in Kabul amid election turmoil Posted: 10 Jul 2014 02:09 PM PDT US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Afghanistan Friday on a key mission to try to quell tensions over disputed presidential polls, which have triggered fears of violence and ethnic unrest. Kerry, who landed on a pre-dawn, unannounced visit, had earlier said Afghanistan faces a "critical moment" as Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani wrangle to take up the reins while international forces withdraw following more than a decade of war. Preliminary results from a second round run-off have put Ghani in the lead, but Abdullah, who has already once lost a presidential bid, has declared himself the true winner, saying massive fraud robbed him of victory. The election stand-off has sparked concern that protests could spiral into ethnic violence and even lead to a return of the fighting between warlords that ravaged Afghanistan during the 1992-1996 civil war.

Berlin tells CIA station chief to leave in spy scandal Posted: 10 Jul 2014 02:02 PM PDT By Madeline Chambers BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany told the CIA station chief in Berlin to leave the country on Thursday in a dramatic display of anger from Chancellor Angela Merkel at the behaviour of a close ally after officials unearthed two suspected U.S. spies. The scandal has chilled relations with Washington to levels not seen since Merkel's predecessor opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. It follows allegations that Merkel herself, who grew up in Stasi-ridden East Germany, was among thousands of Germans whose mobile phones have been bugged by American agents. Today there are completely new threats," Merkel said in Berlin, once a key CIA listening post behind the Iron Curtain during the superpower duel with Moscow and now the reunited capital of Europe's most powerful economy.

Morocco ramps up security faced with 'serious terror threat' Posted: 10 Jul 2014 01:50 PM PDT Morocco announced on Thursday that it is tightening security measures in response to a "serious terrorist threat" linked to the growing number of its citizens joining jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq. Interior Minister Mohamed Hassad said there was "a serious threat of a terrorist attack against the kingdom because of the growing number of Moroccans belonging to extremist organisations in Syria and Iraq".

Iraq's Kurds will boycott Cabinet meetings Posted: 10 Jul 2014 01:39 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's already testy relationship with Iraq's Kurdish minority further frayed Thursday, as the Kurds declared their politicians will boycott Cabinet meetings and authorities in Baghdad suspended all cargo flights to the largely autonomous northern Kurdish region.

Two US ambassadors confirmed, dozens more wait Posted: 10 Jul 2014 01:37 PM PDT The Senate confirmed US ambassadors to Kuwait and Qatar on Thursday, as top Democrats laid into Republicans for slow-walking dozens more of President Barack Obama's nominations. Career Foreign Service officers Douglas Silliman and Dana Smith were confirmed as the new envoys to Kuwait and Qatar, respectively. Smith's confirmation process took a relatively quick two months, but Silliman's lasted seven months, a length of time that has become more the rule than the exception in a thoroughly gridlocked Senate. "I really appreciate it today, we get two ambassadors," Senate Majority leader Harry Reid said sarcastically on the Senate floor.

Iraq's Kurds say will boycott Cabinet meetings Posted: 10 Jul 2014 01:27 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's already testy relationship with Iraq's Kurdish minority further frayed Thursday, as the Kurds declared their politicians will boycott Cabinet meetings and authorities in Baghdad suspended all cargo flights to the largely autonomous northern Kurdish region.

De Mistura succeeds Brahimi as UN envoy for Syria Posted: 10 Jul 2014 01:10 PM PDT Italian-Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura was named UN mediator for Syria on Thursday, taking on the Herculean task of finding a political solution to the dragging civil war. He replaces the hugely respected Lakhdar Brahimi, who resigned in May after two rounds of peace talks collapsed and as the conflict escalated into a fourth year, killing more than 162,000 people. UN chief Ban Ki-moon confirmed the appointment of the special representative and his Egyptian deputy, urging the much-divided Security Council and Syrian parties to work closely with him. Ban has frequently criticized animosity on the Council between Western powers and Russia, a close ally of Damascus, which has all but paralyzed an international response to the crisis.

Teenager charged with killing soldier at Tennessee armory Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:59 PM PDT By Tim Ghianni NASHVILLE Tenn. (Reuters) - A teenager has been arrested and charged with criminal homicide in the shooting death of a Tennessee National Guard soldier at an armory southwest of Nashville, authorities said on Thursday. Christopher Farrar, 15, is accused of gaining access to the Perry County National Guard Armory on Wednesday afternoon and firing several shots, one of which struck the soldier, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. Sergeant First Class Michael Braden, 45, died later at an area hospital, the bureau said. Braden served two tours during the Iraq war, in 2003 and 2007, when his unit was stationed in Kuwait to help resupply forces, the Tennessee National Guard said.

U.N. chief says de Mistura to be new Syria mediator Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:55 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday appointed veteran U.N. official Staffan de Mistura, a former U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan and Iraq, to replace Lakhdar Brahimi as the international mediator seeking an end to Syria's civil war. The move comes amid worsening violence as Islamist militants seized swathes of Syria and Iraq and after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was re-elected in a June 3 poll described by Ban as a blow to international efforts to end to the conflict.

Oil rises for first time in 2 weeks, near $103 Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:55 PM PDT The price of oil bounced back late Thursday and rose for the first time in two weeks. Benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery gained 64 cents to $102.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent ...

Hamas drifts into Gaza fight it doesn't know how to finish Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:49 PM PDT By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Noah Browning GAZA (Reuters) - The latest mini-war between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas began with the Gaza-based militants eager to strike a blow, but the escalation that followed has left them physically and diplomatically exposed, with no ready way out. Hamas has sent its rockets streaking into Israel after a month of army raids in the occupied West Bank - in search of three missing Israeli teenagers - that landed more than 900 Palestinians in jail, many of them Hamas members. The self-styled Islamic Resistance Movement was further prompted to action by widespread anger at the burning alive of a Palestinian youth by suspected Jewish extremists last week, an apparent revenge attack after the missing teens were found shot dead in the West Bank - murders Israel blames on Hamas. Hamas said it hadn't sought a war, but now hundreds of Israeli bombs continue to pound the coastal strip, killing scores of Gazans - almost all of them civilians, according to Palestinian medical officials.

Afghan aid is dropping, but how fast is too fast? Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:48 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Civilian assistance to Afghanistan was always slated to shrink with America's military footprint, but U.S. aid officials were caught off-guard when Congress, upset by testy relations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, slashed civilian aid by 50 percent this year.

Turkey passes bill to revive Kurdish peace talks Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:44 PM PDT Turkish lawmakers Thursday adopted a bill to revive peace talks with Kurdish rebels, in a move the government hopes will rally Kurdish votes to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's bid to win presidential elections next month. The jailed leader of the outlawed rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, hailed the move as a "historic development" and called on Turkey to implement the law "without losing time". The law, also deemed as a "turning point" by the government, would grant immunity to key actors including politicians, diplomats and spies involved in peace talks with Kurdish militants. The six-article package of reforms proposed by Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government provides a "legal framework" to advance peace negotiations with the PKK, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and its Western allies.

UN chief confirms de Mistura appointed new Syria envoy Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:22 PM PDT UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced Thursday the appointment of Italian-Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura as the new special envoy tasked with resolving the war in Syria. De Mistura replaces Lakhdar Brahimi, who resigned in May after two rounds of peace talks yielded no concrete results and as the conflict escalated into a fourth year, killing more than 162,000 people. Ban said he had consulted "broadly" before making the appointment, including with Syrian authorities, and then consulted with the Arab League also on the appointment of Egypt's Ramzy Ezzedine Ramzy as deputy envoy.

Retail gasoline prices across Texas drop 2 cents Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:03 PM PDT Retail gasoline prices across Texas have declined 2 cents this week to reach $3.48 per gallon. AAA Texas on Thursday reported that compares to the nationwide price at the pump of $3.64 per gallon, which ...

US Canada relations; Pakistan on Hillary Clinton; US in Iraq; US relations with North Korea; politics of Bowe Bergdahl Posted: 10 Jul 2014 11:03 AM PDT "Ottawa's relations with Washington are not good. 'Frayed' is the operative adjective," writes Lawrence Martin, who says the problems are caused by differences in philosophies. "With the end of the Cold War, Canada is no longer as dependent on Washington's military protection. Why Pakistan respects Hillary Clinton She was secretary of [State] during some of the most crucial years in Pakistan's relationship with America..., and showed remarkable understanding...," states an editorial.

Islamic militants on offensive against Kurds Posted: 10 Jul 2014 10:29 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Islamic militants using weapons they recently seized in neighboring Iraq intensified an offensive against Kurdish areas in northern Syria as they fight to expand the territory under their control, activists said Thursday.

Baghdad halts Kurdish cargo flights after ministers' boycott Posted: 10 Jul 2014 09:43 AM PDT By Raheem Salman and Isabel Coles BAGHDAD/ARBIL (Reuters) - Kurdish ministers boycotted Iraq's caretaker cabinet and authorities in Baghdad halted cargo flights to two Kurdish cities on Thursday in an escalating feud between the Kurds and the Shi'ite-led central government. The dispute, linked to an Islamist insurgency raging in Sunni Muslim provinces of Iraq, is likely to complicate efforts to reach agreement on a new government in Baghdad to help tackle the violence. The four Kurdish ministers withdrew from cabinet meetings in protest at Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's "provocative" branding of their provincial capital Arbil as a haven for the Sunni militants who have seized much of north and west Iraq.

Seized nuclear material in Iraq 'low grade': U.N. agency Posted: 10 Jul 2014 09:19 AM PDT By Fredrik Dahl VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. atomic agency said on Thursday it believed nuclear material which Iraq said had fallen into the hands of insurgents was "low grade" and did not pose a significant security risk. Iraq told the United Nations that the material was used for scientific research at a university in the northern town of Mosul and appealed for help to "stave off the threat of their use by terrorists in Iraq or abroad". Iraq's U.N. envoy this week also said that the government had lost control of a former chemical weapons facility to "armed terrorist groups" and was unable to fulfil its international obligations to destroy toxins kept there. An al Qaeda offshoot, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, took over swathes of Syria and Iraq before renaming itself Islamic State in June and declaring its leader caliph - a title held by successors of the Prophet Mohammad.

Iraq's Kurds demand PM Maliki's resignation Posted: 10 Jul 2014 09:02 AM PDT Iraq's Kurds said Thursday Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was "hysterical" and not fit to run the country, further dimming the prospect of a new leadership uniting to face jihadist fighters. The worsening political discord comes three days ahead of a planned parliamentary session meant to revive the process of replacing what has effectively been a caretaker government since April elections. Maliki "has become hysterical and has lost his balance", a statement from the office of Kurdish regional president Massud Barzani said, reacting to accusations by the prime minister a day earlier that his administration was harbouring militants. Maliki has accused Barzani of exploiting the chaos created by the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group's military offensive, but the Kurdish president said the security collapse was of the premier's own making.

Is Obama’s America Becoming More European? Posted: 10 Jul 2014 08:47 AM PDT Relations between the United States and Germany have been quite complicated in recent years, veering from the highs of the early Obama administration to the lows of the current accusations that the CIA had recruited German workers to snoop on Angela Merkel's government.  When President Obama first visited Berlin in 2008, he was greeted by hundreds of thousands of Germans who viewed him as an historic figure that would lead the United States away from the missteps of George W. Bush. After years of hostility between Berlin and Washington, the German political establishment viewed Obama as a cosmopolitan politician who would work with Europe instead of ignoring it.

UN: no danger from stolen nuke material in Iraq Posted: 10 Jul 2014 06:46 AM PDT VIENNA (AP) — The U.N.'s nuclear agency says atomic material has been taken from a university in Iraq in a region controlled by Islamic militants but it does not present a health, safety or proliferation risk.

Bruised Iraqi army leans on Shi'ite militias, volunteers Posted: 10 Jul 2014 06:41 AM PDT "I have my faith." The deserter's story illustrates a dynamic increasingly shaping a conflict that could tear Iraq apart: With the army's northern divisions hard hit by desertions as key Sunni cities fell in June, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government has leaned heavily on Shi'ite militias and volunteers motivated by a sense of religious duty. In some areas, there are now at least as many Shi'ite gunmen and civilian volunteers as there are regular soldiers, volunteers and a militia spokesman said. Tens of thousands have been mobilized since Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric issued a call to arms in response to the lightning offensive led by the Islamic State, a hardline Sunni group. The effort probably helped security forces stave off total collapse.

Britain unveils emergency laws to keep email, phone data for security Posted: 10 Jul 2014 06:27 AM PDT By Michael Holden and William James LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said on Thursday it would rush through emergency legislation to force telecoms firms to retain customer data for a year, calling the move vital for national security following a decision by Europe's top court. Communication companies had been required to retain data for 12 months under a 2006 European Union directive but this was thrown out in April by the European Court of Justice on the grounds that it infringed human rights. Britain's coalition government said the scrapping of that directive could deprive police and intelligence agencies of access to information about who customers contacted by phone, text or email, and where and when. Prime Minister David Cameron said it was vital these powers were not compromised at a time of growing concern over Britons travelling to Iraq and Syria to join militant Islamist groups.

Mother, father, sister, brother: The roles of Syria's refugee women Posted: 10 Jul 2014 06:26 AM PDT Before Syria's civil war began, Rabaa Ahmed was a housewife in Damascus taking care of three children and occasionally helping out with her husband's cleaning-products business. "I feel like mother, father, sister, brother, everything [to my children]," Ms. Ahmed says. The struggles these women face are outlined in a new report by the United Nations refugee agency based on interviews with 135 Syrian women displaced to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt, where the report says they face hunger, harassment, and exploitation. The conflict in Syria, now in its fourth year, has led 2.8 million Syrians to leave, mostly to neighboring countries in what aid agencies have called the worst refugee crisis in two decades.

Militants in Lebanon seek to emulate Islamic State Posted: 10 Jul 2014 06:07 AM PDT By Laila Bassam and Tom Perry BEIRUT (Reuters) - The success of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has emboldened like-minded militants in Lebanon who believe they can emulate it, the interior minister said, confirming the militant Sunni group had now appeared in Beirut for the first time. In an interview with Reuters, Nohad Machnouk also signalled there would be no quick end to the political instability buffeting Lebanon. Indicating how the country's politics remains hostage to events in the wider region, Machnouk said the fate of the presidency that fell empty in May was out of Lebanese hands.

Oil prices continue to fall as supplies grow Posted: 10 Jul 2014 05:54 AM PDT The price of oil continued to fall Thursday, trading below $102 a barrel as the outlook for supply remained robust.

Kerry faces uphill battle to defuse Afghan election standoff Posted: 10 Jul 2014 05:52 AM PDT By Maria Golovnina and Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will arrive to a sceptical audience in Afghanistan this week to try to resolve a deepening crisis over a disputed presidential election which has stirred ethnic tensions in the fragile country. Afghanistan has plunged into political chaos in recent months as a protracted election process to pick a successor to President Hamid Karzai has run into a deadlock between two leading candidates, Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani. Preliminary results from the June 14 second-round run-off put Ghani, a former World Bank official, in the lead with 56.4 percent of the vote, but Abdullah has rejected the count and his aides have threatened to set up an alternative administration. Kerry is expected to arrive in the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday to try to mediate between the feuding camps, according to Abdullah, although U.S. officials have not confirmed the trip.

US, China talk cyberhacking amid new allegations Posted: 10 Jul 2014 05:48 AM PDT Top American officials said Thursday they challenged their counterparts in China to rein in alleged cybersecurity infringements as a new allegation emerged of a brazen attempt by Chinese hackers to break ...

China, US closer on North Korea, climate change Posted: 10 Jul 2014 04:47 AM PDT BEIJING (AP) — China and the United States on Thursday promised closer cooperation on climate change and North Korea, although China warned the U.S. not to take sides on its maritime disputes with Asian neighbors.

Kerry cites frank cyberhacking talks with China Posted: 10 Jul 2014 04:46 AM PDT BEIJING (AP) — China and the United States on Thursday promised closer cooperation on climate change and North Korea, although China warned the U.S. not to take sides on its maritime disputes with Asian neighbors.

Jihadi fighters on the offensive in northern Syria Posted: 10 Jul 2014 04:40 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Activists say jihadi fighters using weapons they recently captured in neighboring Iraq are battling to take predominantly Kurdish areas in northern Syria.

Baghdad halts cargo flights to Kurdish cities Posted: 10 Jul 2014 03:53 AM PDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Authorities in Baghdad have halted cargo flights to the Kurdish cities of Arbil and Sulaimaniya, the top aviation official said on Thursday, in an escalating row between the Shi'ite-led central government and Kurdish leaders. "At present we stopped the shipment of cargo to both Arbil and Sulaimaniya until further notice," the head of Iraq's civil aviation authority Nasser Bandar told Reuters. He said passenger flights were unaffected. (Reporting by Raheem Salman; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Trendy Tel Aviv counts the cost of Gaza rocket attacks Posted: 10 Jul 2014 03:45 AM PDT Israel's commercial capital is under rocket fire from Palestinian militants in Gaza, its normally nonchalant residents using black humour to disguise the anguish of another open war with Hamas. Tel Aviv, some 70 kilometres (40 miles) north of the Palestinian enclave, is well within rocket range.

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