Yahoo! News: Iraq

---

• 2015 begins: Shanghai tragedy, fireworks elsewhere
• Bull market for stocks keeps on going in 2014
• Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials
• Oil price slump erases Gulf stocks 2014 gains
• Ailing Saudi King Abdullah admitted to hospital for checks
• Kurds in new Islamic State group offensive in Iraq
• Bosnian indicted over recruiting militants for Syria and Iraq
• Saudi beheads 83 people in 2014, the most in years
• U.S.-led forces launch 10 air strikes in Syria, Iraq
• Syria Kurds control 70 percent of besieged Kobani: monitor
• Five Important Fresh Faces in the 114th Congress
• Shi'ite militias expand influence, redraw map in central Iraq
• Soccer-2015 Asian Cup schedule
• 10 Things to Know for Wednesday

2015 begins: Shanghai tragedy, fireworks elsewhere Posted: 31 Dec 2014 04:19 PM PST Revelers converged on the beaches of Brazil, the skyscrapers of Dubai and New York's Times Square to say good riddance to a turbulent 2014 marred by terror woes, Ebola outbreaks and a horrific series of airline disasters.

Bull market for stocks keeps on going in 2014 Posted: 31 Dec 2014 01:51 PM PST Stocks delivered again in 2014.

Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials Posted: 31 Dec 2014 01:38 PM PST Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

Oil price slump erases Gulf stocks 2014 gains Posted: 31 Dec 2014 08:41 AM PST In the fourth quarter, the Saudi stock market slumped 23.2 percent, Dubai dived 23 percent, Oman dropped 15.2 percent and Kuwait by 14.3 percent. Abu Dhabi dipped 11.2 percent, Qatar lost 10.5 percent and Bahrain was 3.4 percent down. Oil income makes up around 90 percent of revenues of most of the Gulf states which are forecast to lose half of their oil revenues, which stood at $729 billion in 2013. "The fall in the fourth quarter was a direct result to the sharp drop in oil prices," said Humoud al-Sabah, senior analyst at Kuwait Financial Center (Markaz).

Ailing Saudi King Abdullah admitted to hospital for checks Posted: 31 Dec 2014 07:52 AM PST Saudi Arabia's ailing King Abdullah was admitted to hospital on Wednesday for "medical checks," the royal court said, with the country's stock market falling sharply following the news. The king, whose age and frequent hospitalisation have raised concerns about the future leadership of the key oil producer, was admitted to the King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, a court statement carried by the official SPA news agency said. The Saudi stock market dropped by about five percent at one point following the royal court's announcement, before clawing back some of its losses to finish the day 1.8 percent lower. He was named crown prince in June 2012 following the death of Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz.

Kurds in new Islamic State group offensive in Iraq Posted: 31 Dec 2014 07:04 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Backed by U.S.-led airstrikes, Kurdish Iraqi forces said they launched a large-scale offensive Wednesday to push Islamic State group extremists from an area outside the militant-held northern city of Mosul.

Bosnian indicted over recruiting militants for Syria and Iraq Posted: 31 Dec 2014 06:57 AM PST SARAJEVO (Reuters) - A Bosnian court indicted a Muslim priest on Wednesday for recruiting people to fight for the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, using a new law aimed at stopping people traveling to fight alongside militants in the Middle East. Husein Bosnic, known as an unofficial leader of the ultra-conservative Salafi movement in Bosnia, was arrested in September along with four other men who were later released but who had their passports confiscated. ...

Saudi beheads 83 people in 2014, the most in years Posted: 31 Dec 2014 06:50 AM PST RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi authorities beheaded a Pakistani man on Wednesday convicted of smuggling "large quantities" of heroin, the kingdom's state news agency reported, bringing the number of publicly announced executions to its highest level in at least five years.

U.S.-led forces launch 10 air strikes in Syria, Iraq Posted: 31 Dec 2014 06:33 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.-led coalition launched seven air strikes in Syria and three in Iraq on Wednesday against Islamic State militants, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement. In Syria, five of the air strikes were near Kobani and two were near al Hasakah, the task force said in a statement. Two of the strikes in Iraq hit Islamic State positions near Fallujah and one hit targets near Mosul, the statement said. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Bill Trott)

Syria Kurds control 70 percent of besieged Kobani: monitor Posted: 31 Dec 2014 06:08 AM PST BEIRUT (Reuters) - Kurdish forces have regained control of around 70 percent of the Syrian town of Kobani near the Turkish border after pushing back Islamic State fighters that have spent months besieging it, a group monitoring the war said on Wednesday. Backed by U.S-led air strikes, Kurdish forces made significant advances overnight on Tuesday after violent clashes with Islamic State in the south of the town, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. ...

Five Important Fresh Faces in the 114th Congress Posted: 31 Dec 2014 04:00 AM PST As the Republicans take command of both the House and the Senate next week for the first time in nearly a decade, a substantial freshman class will be poised to take their seats and join in the cacophonous national debate. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will realize his life-long dream of becoming Senate Majority Leader, thanks largely to the nine GOP challengers who captured Democratic-held seats. The Republicans will now hold a 54-to-46 seat advantage over the Democrats. The heroes of the hour will be a politically potent group of fairly seasoned Republicans who bowled over their Democratic foes in convincing fashion – many of them experienced House members or state and local elected officials.

Shi'ite militias expand influence, redraw map in central Iraq Posted: 31 Dec 2014 12:33 AM PST By Ahmed Rasheed and Ned Parker BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Behind black gates and high walls, Iraqi national security agents watch 200 women and children. Boys and girls play in the yard and then dart inside their trailers, located in a former U.S. military camp and onetime headquarters for Saddam Hussein's officials in Babel province's capital Hilla. The women and children are unwilling guests, rounded up as they fled with their male relatives in October from Jurf al-Sakhr, a bastion of Islamic State, during a Shi'ite militia and military operation to clear the farming community. ...

Soccer-2015 Asian Cup schedule Posted: 31 Dec 2014 12:00 AM PST Dec 31 (Reuters) - Following is the schedule of the 2015 Asian Cup. All times in GMT: - - - Group A Australia, South Korea, Kuwait, Oman Jan. 09: 0900: Australia v Kuwait, Melbourne Jan. 10: 0500: South Korea v Oman, Canberra Jan. 13: 0700: Kuwait v South Korea, Canberra Jan. 13: 0900: Oman v Australia, Sydney Jan. 17: 0900: Australia v South Korea, Brisbane Jan. 17: 0900: Oman v Kuwait, Newcastle - - - Group B Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, China Jan. 10: 0700: Uzbekistan v North Korea, Sydney Jan. 10: 0900: Saudi Arabia v China, Brisbane Jan. ...

10 Things to Know for Wednesday Posted: 30 Dec 2014 06:05 PM PST Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Wednesday:

You are subscribed to email updates from Iraq News Headlines - Yahoo! News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States