Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• President George W. Bush Inspires Packed House at ASI Dallas Show
• U.N. welcomes reported Homs humanitarian deal, U.S. skeptical
• Taliban Brag About Latest Battlefield Captive -- a Dog
• Syria conflict spurs growing jihadist threat in Lebanon
• GI Joe, the world's first action figure, turns 50
• 7 bombs hit Baghdad as US lawmakers slam Maliki
• Sisi Eyes the Egyptian Presidency as Islamic Insurgency Mounts
• Group: Iraq holding thousands of women illegally
• Syria rebels launch Aleppo campaign, bombing toll hits 257
• 'The Daily Show' Breaks Down The Mess in Syria
• Group: Thousands of women illegally held in Iraq
• Seven car bombs across Baghdad kill at least 13
• Car bombs kill 13 civilians in Iraqi capital
• Iraq to auction 3G licenses for at least $307 million each: sources
• Between Boredom and Terror
• Syrian rebels declare new assault on Aleppo after Assad gains
• India eases visa rules to boost tourist numbers
• Hagel orders urgent push for ethics crackdown
• Iraq security forces abuse women prisoners: HRW
• Iraq illegally detains thousands of women, tortures many: HRW
• Today in History
• Breaking: Jihadis Still Hate Art

President George W. Bush Inspires Packed House at ASI Dallas Show Posted: 06 Feb 2014 04:21 PM PST DALLAS, Feb. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President George W. Bush shared stories behind some of the most personal and defining moments of his presidency during a candid conversation on Thursday before a record-setting crowd of 1,200 at a promotional products trade show in Dallas hosted by the Advertising Specialty Institute . "History will ultimately judge whether I made the right decisions or not," Bush said about making on-the-spot decisions in the harrowing days after 9/11. During the one-hour keynote, President Bush answered questions in an interview conducted by Timothy M. Andrews, president and CEO of the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI; The special presentation took place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on the final day of the promotional products industry's largest event in the Southwest.

U.N. welcomes reported Homs humanitarian deal, U.S. skeptical Posted: 06 Feb 2014 03:41 PM PST By Erika Solomon and Michelle Nichols BEIRUT/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations on Thursday welcomed reports that an agreement had been reached to allow the evacuation of civilians from the besieged Syrian city of Homs as well as the delivery of aid, while Washington voiced skepticism about the government's intentions. The United Nations made clear that it was not a party to the deal and while it was ready to send in aid, it did not yet have the go-ahead from the government and opposition sides in Syria's war to move on the reported agreement. "The United Nations and humanitarian partners had pre-positioned food, medical and other basic supplies on the outskirts of Homs ready for immediate delivery as soon as the green light was given by the parties for safe passage," U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement. Syria earlier said it reached a deal to allow "innocent" civilians to leave the rebel-held old city of Homs, potentially the first positive result after last week's deadlocked peace talks in Switzerland.

Taliban Brag About Latest Battlefield Captive -- a Dog Posted: 06 Feb 2014 02:45 PM PST Colonel the Dog Seen on Taliban Video Wearing Black Vest, Flashlight and GPS.

Syria conflict spurs growing jihadist threat in Lebanon Posted: 06 Feb 2014 12:48 PM PST A string of recent bombings in Lebanon, many of them suicide attacks, has raised fears of a homegrown jihadist threat driven by the Syrian civil war across the border. Since July, a series of ten bomb blasts have hit Lebanon, six of them involving suicide bombers. The attacks have been claimed by various jihadist groups, some of them linked to organisations fighting across the border in Syria, including Al-Nusra Front in Lebanon, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The groups say they are targeting Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah movement for fighting in Syria alongside the regime.

GI Joe, the world's first action figure, turns 50 Posted: 06 Feb 2014 12:34 PM PST SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) — G.I. Joe is turning 50.

7 bombs hit Baghdad as US lawmakers slam Maliki Posted: 06 Feb 2014 11:10 AM PST Seven bombs ripped through Baghdad killing seven people Thursday, hours after American lawmakers criticised the slow pace of political reconciliation in Iraq which they said was stoking the worsening violence. The blasts, which mostly targeted Shiite-majority neighbourhoods of the capital, come amid the country's deadliest protracted period of unrest since 2008 as security forces grapple with near-daily attacks and battle militants in Anbar province. Diplomats have called for the Shiite-led government to do more to reach out to the disaffected Sunni Arab minority, but with a general election looming in April, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has taken a hard line. There has been no let-up in the bloodshed, with seven bombs going off across Baghdad from around noon (0900 GMT), while militants also mounted a massive, though ultimately abortive, assault on a jail in northern Iraq.

Sisi Eyes the Egyptian Presidency as Islamic Insurgency Mounts Posted: 06 Feb 2014 08:52 AM PST Egyptian Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Sisi will almost certainly run for president, preparing to combat a rising Islamic insurgency he more or less created.  Though Adly Mansour has been serving as Egypt's interim president since the Army deposed former president Mohammed Morsi over the summer, Sisi is recognized as being the country's de facto leader. Though the Egyptian Army denied that he made the statements, they did not refute his candidacy. Last week, Egypt's top military council publicly urged the field marshal to run, hours after he was elevated to the country's top military rank.

Group: Iraq holding thousands of women illegally Posted: 06 Feb 2014 07:42 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq authorities are illegally detaining thousands of women, including many subjected to torture, the threat of sexual abuse and other ill-treatment despite promises of reform, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

Syria rebels launch Aleppo campaign, bombing toll hits 257 Posted: 06 Feb 2014 06:42 AM PST A coalition of Syrian rebels announced a new military operation in Aleppo province on Thursday, where more than 250 people have been killed in regime barrel bomb attacks since Saturday. The Islamic Front -- a huge alliance grouping tens of thousands of rebels -- and the jihadist Al-Nusra Front announced an operation dubbed "Truthful Promise Approaches," the name a reference to a passage in the Quran. The announcement comes as the Syrian army seeks to take territory in the rebel-held eastern part of Aleppo city. Troops are moving from areas around Aleppo international airport after recapturing territory nearby and reopening it to air traffic.

'The Daily Show' Breaks Down The Mess in Syria Posted: 06 Feb 2014 06:18 AM PST News out of Syria may have faded into the background lately, but fear not because Jon Stewart is here with an update on what he calls, "the spinach of world news." Unfortunately, though, things are kind of a mess in Syria. Stewart breaks it down: "How bad have things gotten in Syria? In other words, conditions in Syria are bleak. Just ask Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN Special Envoy to Syria: "In Homs, we haven't been able to do anything."

Group: Thousands of women illegally held in Iraq Posted: 06 Feb 2014 04:48 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq authorities are illegally detaining thousands of women, many of whom are subjected to torture and ill-treatment including the threat of sexual abuse, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

Seven car bombs across Baghdad kill at least 13 Posted: 06 Feb 2014 04:07 AM PST But Sunni Islamist militants have been regaining ground in Iraq, particularly in the western province of Anbar where they overran two cities on January 1. Since then, more than 1,000 people have been killed across the country, building on a trend of intensifying violence that made last year Iraq's bloodiest since 2008, when sectarian warfare began to abate from its height. Civilians from Iraq's Shi'ite majority are often targeted by Sunni insurgents. In recent days, militants have staged a series of attacks near the Green Zone and outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, heightening concerns about Iraq's ability to protect strategic sites as security deteriorates.

Car bombs kill 13 civilians in Iraqi capital Posted: 06 Feb 2014 03:53 AM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — A string of car bomb attacks hit commercial areas in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 13 people, said Iraqi officials.

Iraq to auction 3G licenses for at least $307 million each: sources Posted: 06 Feb 2014 03:21 AM PST By Matt Smith and Raheem Salman DUBAI/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq plans to auction third-generation (3G) telecommunications licenses for a minimum of $307 million each, sources familiar with the matter said, a move that could allow new entrants into the sector but slow the rollout of mobile Internet services. The country did not have a mobile phone industry under Saddam Hussein but the sector expanded rapidly after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion which toppled the dictator. Yet revenue growth has stagnated in recent years, largely because the government delayed permission for the three national operators - Zain Iraq, a unit of Kuwait's Zain, Ooredoo subsidiary Asiacell and Orange affiliate Korek - to launch 3G services. The hold-up has persisted for several years, but last week the Council of Ministers agreed in principle to auction 3G licenses for a minimum price of $307 million, Ahmed Alomary, a former commissioner at the Communications and Media Commission (CMC), told Reuters.

Between Boredom and Terror Posted: 06 Feb 2014 02:45 AM PST From the frontlines of America's war in Afghanistan a Yale graduate turned Army warrior reflected on his experience in letters home. Now he's put those letters together and they reveal a man comforted by the trivial and questioning why he is there.

Syrian rebels declare new assault on Aleppo after Assad gains Posted: 06 Feb 2014 01:38 AM PST Rebels announced a new military campaign in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo on Thursday, a few days after government forces stepped up air attacks in a bid to recapture territory and drive residents out of opposition-held areas. The largest Syrian rebel coalition, known as the Islamic Front, joined forces with the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's franchise in Syria, to launch an assault dubbed "The promise of truth approaches", a reference to a Koranic verse about Judgment Day. President Bashar al-Assad's forces recently mounted a series of attacks on Aleppo city, once Syria's business hub, using barrel bombs - oil drums or cylinders packed with explosives and metal fragments. They are a particularly indiscriminate weapon activists say is being used to push out civilians as the army tries to seize the initiative on the long-stalemated Aleppo battlefront.

India eases visa rules to boost tourist numbers Posted: 06 Feb 2014 01:10 AM PST Tourists travelling to India from 180 countries will no longer have to queue at their local consulates to obtain visas after New Delhi announced an "historic" overhaul of its strict visa regime. Most foreigners currently have to wait several weeks before learning whether they will be allowed to enter India after submitting their applications at visa processing centres, a major deterrent for potential visitors. Under the new scheme, many tourists will be allowed to apply online and then receive the green light within five days, before picking up their visa at the airport on arrival into India. "We have decided to extend the visa-on-arrival facility to tourists from 180 nations," Planning Minister Rajiv Shukla told reporters in the capital late Wednesday.

Hagel orders urgent push for ethics crackdown Posted: 06 Feb 2014 12:48 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel wants military leaders to inject more urgency into ensuring "moral character and moral courage" in a force suffering a rash of ethical lapses.

Iraq security forces abuse women prisoners: HRW Posted: 05 Feb 2014 10:36 PM PST Thousands of women are being illegally held in Iraqi prisons, where they suffer torture and other forms of abuse, including sexual assault, Human Rights Watch said Thursday. The minority community says it is unfairly targeted by the authorities and security forces, and points in particular to the treatment of women in prisons, with the issue dominating long-running protests in Iraq's Sunni-dominated areas. HRW said that women in Iraqi prisons -- the vast majority of whom are Sunni -- have reported being beaten, kicked, and slapped, given electric shocks, and raped, while others have been threatened with sexual assault, sometimes in front of male relatives. "Iraqi security forces and officials act as if brutally abusing women will make the country safer," HRW deputy Middle East and North Africa director Joe Stork said in a statement.

Iraq illegally detains thousands of women, tortures many: HRW Posted: 05 Feb 2014 10:34 PM PST Iraqi authorities are detaining thousands of women illegally and subjecting many to torture and ill-treatment, including the threat of sexual abuse, Human Rights Watch said in a report published on Thursday. Many women were detained for months or even years without charge before seeing a judge, HRW said, and security forces often questioned them about their male relatives' activities rather than crimes in which they themselves were implicated. In custody, women described being kicked, slapped, hung upside-down and beaten on the soles of their feet, given electric shocks, threatened with sexual assault by security forces during interrogation, and even raped in front of their relatives and children. "The abuses of women we documented are in many ways at the heart of the current crisis in Iraq," said HRW's deputy Middle East and North Africa director Joe Stork in a statement accompanying the report, titled: "'No One Is Safe': Abuses of Women in Iraq's Criminal Justice System." "These abuses have caused a deep-seated anger and lack of trust between Iraq's diverse communities and security forces, and all Iraqis are paying the price." A spokesman for Iraq's Human Rights Ministry said the testimonies in the HRW report were "over-exaggerated", but acknowledged that "we have some limited illegal behaviors which were practiced by security forces against women prisoners", which it said had been identified by the ministry's own teams.

Today in History Posted: 05 Feb 2014 09:01 PM PST Today is Thursday, Feb. 6, the 37th day of 2014. There are 328 days left in the year.

Breaking: Jihadis Still Hate Art Posted: 05 Feb 2014 04:58 PM PST They haven't gone away. If you draw the Prophet or insult his teachings, you might wind up dead

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