Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Hagel declines to reopen Medal of Honor case
• Case dismissed against NYPD over broad surveillance of Muslims in New Jersey
• Black Hawk helicopter maker to eliminate 600 jobs
• Fighting rages in northeast Damascus
• UK tabloid ex-editor lays bare 'car-crash' private life
• In Yemen, a woman's life entangled with al-Qaida
• UN urges nations to take in 100,000 Syrian refugees
• Syrian air force steps up attacks in south
• Fears of Syria militancy expand influence of Saudi prince
• Iran boosts military support in Syria to bolster Assad
• China and US establish dialogue between armies
• Lebanon detains top suspect in car bomb campaign
• Drugs on Maersk ship where 2 ex-SEALs died
• World War I root of Mideast conflict, Armenian genocide
• UNICEF launches record $2.2bn crisis appeal, focus on Syria
• Judge: Spying on NJ Muslims by NYPD was legal
• Australia to send asylum seeker body home to Iran
• Today in History
• US Army chief of staff meets top Chinese generals

Hagel declines to reopen Medal of Honor case Posted: 21 Feb 2014 04:35 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says he will not reopen a Medal of Honor nomination for Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta, killed in the Iraq war in 2004.

Case dismissed against NYPD over broad surveillance of Muslims in New Jersey Posted: 21 Feb 2014 03:46 PM PST When a federal judge on Thursday threw out a lawsuit challenging the New York Police Department's secret surveillance of New Jersey Muslims, saying it was not motivated by religious bias, the controversial police tactics of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, received a measure of post-administration vindication. The US District judge, William Martini, of the District of New Jersey, dismissed the lawsuit brought by a group of Muslim residents in 2012, including a decorated Iraq war veteran, leaders of local mosques and small businesses, and university student organizations. The residents had argued that the NYPD – working across the Hudson River and outside its municipal borders – had singled them out simply because of the way they prayed, violating their First Amendment right to religious freedom and their 14th Amendment right to equal treatment under the law. Judge Martini's dismissal of their case highlighted, once again, America's ongoing grappling with a clash of civic values – the "security versus liberty" conundrum in a post-9/11 world.

Black Hawk helicopter maker to eliminate 600 jobs Posted: 21 Feb 2014 02:12 PM PST The company that manufactures Black Hawk helicopters said Friday it is eliminating 600 jobs, most of them in Connecticut, as it struggles with cuts to U.S. defense spending and a reduction in the demand ...

Fighting rages in northeast Damascus Posted: 21 Feb 2014 01:14 PM PST Fierce clashes raged Friday between Syrian troops and rebels in northeastern Damascus as government warplanes raided insurgent strongholds, a monitoring group said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least seven rebels were killed in regime shelling and air raids in the district of Jobar. Violence has escalated in Jobar since February 9 when a Jordanian suicide bomber from the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant killed 32 government forces. Since then clashes have intensified between the rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, said the Observatory which relies on a network of activists and medics on the ground for its reports.

UK tabloid ex-editor lays bare 'car-crash' private life Posted: 21 Feb 2014 11:13 AM PST Rebekah Brooks, the former editor of Britain's News of the World tabloid, laid bare her "car-crash" private life in emotional testimony Friday in her phone hacking trial. The former editor of Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct Sunday newspaper spoke of her difficulties becoming a mother during her "roller-coaster" first marriage, and her affair with Andy Coulson, her former deputy, who is standing trial alongside her. Giving evidence for a second day in the trial at the Old Bailey court in London, Brooks talked about royal stings and the huge deals for exclusives with celebrities such as football icon David Beckham. Brooks divorced Kemp in 2009 and later that year married her second husband, Charlie Brooks -- also a co-defendant -- with whom she has a two-year-old daughter born via a surrogate mother.

In Yemen, a woman's life entangled with al-Qaida Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:18 AM PST SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Abeer al-Hassani's ex-husband was famed for his beautiful voice. He used it, she says, singing poetic hymns to martyrdom and jihad to try to draw youth from their neighborhood of the Yemeni capital into joining al-Qaida. He sang at weddings of fellow members of the terror group, and held discussions with young men at local mosques.

UN urges nations to take in 100,000 Syrian refugees Posted: 21 Feb 2014 08:52 AM PST Genève (AFP) - The UN refugee agency on Friday urged countries outside the Middle East to open their doors to 100,000 Syrians who need to find a haven outside their conflict-hit region. The call from the United Nations high commissioner for refugees follows an earlier appeal to developed countries to grant a new home to 30,000 of the most vulnerable Syrians driven from their country. With no sign of an end to the brutal three-year conflict between the regime of Bashar al-Assad and rebel forces, tens of thousands more will need help in the near future, it said. "UNHCR anticipates that in the coming years, there will be increasing numbers of vulnerable Syrian refugees who will be in need of resettlement, relocation, or other forms of humanitarian admission," said spokesman Dan McNorton.

Syrian air force steps up attacks in south Posted: 21 Feb 2014 07:05 AM PST BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian army intensified its aerial bombardment Friday of southern Syria as opposition fighters were preparing to launch a wide offensive in a province bordering Jordan, activists said.

Fears of Syria militancy expand influence of Saudi prince Posted: 21 Feb 2014 05:36 AM PST By Angus McDowall RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef, perhaps the most powerful younger prince in the ruling al-Saud family, is shaping Riyadh's new emphasis on protecting the kingdom from a fresh wave of Islamist militancy inspired by the war in Syria. The United States pulled out the stops for him when he visited Washington last week to prepare for President Barack Obama's fence-mending trip to Riyadh next month. Secretary of State John Kerry, National Security Adviser Susan Rice, Central Intelligence Agency chief John Brennan, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey and National Security Agency director Keith Alexander all sat down with the 54-year-old, a veteran of Saudi Arabia's fight against al Qaeda. Prince Mohammed seems likely to be a central figure in the world's top oil exporter for decades to come.

Iran boosts military support in Syria to bolster Assad Posted: 21 Feb 2014 05:34 AM PST By Jonathan Saul and Parisa Hafezi LONDON/ANKARA (Reuters) - As Syria's war nears the start of its fourth year, Iran has stepped up support on the ground for President Bashar al-Assad, providing elite teams to gather intelligence and train troops, sources with knowledge of military movements say. This further backing from Tehran, along with deliveries of munitions and equipment from Moscow, is helping to keep Assad in power at a time when neither his own forces nor opposition fighters have a decisive edge on the battlefield. Assad's forces have failed to capitalize fully on advances they made last summer with the help of Iran, his major backer in the region, and the Hezbollah fighters that Tehran backs and which have provided important battlefield support for Assad. Shi'ite Iran has already spent billions of dollars propping up Assad in what has turned into a sectarian proxy war with Sunni Arab states.

China and US establish dialogue between armies Posted: 21 Feb 2014 04:34 AM PST BEIJING (AP) — China and the United States moved Friday to establish regular dialogue between their armies as part of efforts to build trust and understanding amid rising regional tensions.

Lebanon detains top suspect in car bomb campaign Posted: 21 Feb 2014 04:31 AM PST By Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese security forces said on Friday they had detained a Sunni Muslim militant suspected of recruiting suicide bombers and assembling car bombs for a radical group behind attacks on Iranian interests in Beirut. Hassan Abu Afleh, they said, was suspected of being a leading figure in the Abdullah Azzam Brigades - a movement that has carried out bombings to punish Iran and Tehran's Shi'ite Lebanese ally Hezbollah for their role in the Syrian war. The Brigades claimed responsibility for Wednesday's twin suicide attack near the Iranian cultural center in Beirut that killed eight people, and an assault on the Iranian embassy in November.

Drugs on Maersk ship where 2 ex-SEALs died Posted: 21 Feb 2014 04:10 AM PST Drugs were in the room where two former Navy SEALs were found dead aboard the Maersk Alabama, a ship that was the focus of a 2009 hijacking dramatized in the movie "Captain Phillips," a company ...

World War I root of Mideast conflict, Armenian genocide Posted: 21 Feb 2014 02:38 AM PST A century on, World War I casts a haunting shadow far from the trenches of western Europe, having spawned two crises that still strain international relations: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Armenian genocide. When Ottoman Sultan Mehmed V declared "holy war" on Britain, France and Russia on November 24, 1914, his five-century-old empire was already in decline and had lost most of its European territory. The Ottoman army inflicted a brutal defeat on British and French forces on the strategic Gallipoli peninsula during the Dardanelles campaign in 1915, but its war turned into a nightmare on the eastern front against Russia. Defeated by Russia in Armenia and the Caucasus, the Ottomans responded by attacking the Armenian minority in their midst.

UNICEF launches record $2.2bn crisis appeal, focus on Syria Posted: 21 Feb 2014 02:26 AM PST UNICEF launched a record $2.2 billion aid appeal Friday to help tens of millions of children around the world, saying the lion's share was to deal with the Syria war. "Children are always the most vulnerable group in emergencies, facing a high risk of violence, exploitation, disease and neglect," said Ted Chaiban, head of emergency operations at the UN children's agency. The appeal outstripped the call for $1.4 billion made by UNICEF at the beginning of 2013, and which was revised to $1.7 billion in October. UNICEF said that 40 percent of the money it was asking for would be destined to tackle the impact of Syria's civil war.

Judge: Spying on NJ Muslims by NYPD was legal Posted: 21 Feb 2014 12:19 AM PST NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that the New York Police Department's surveillance of Muslims in New Jersey was a lawful effort to prevent terrorism, not a civil rights violation.

Australia to send asylum seeker body home to Iran Posted: 20 Feb 2014 10:39 PM PST CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The body of an asylum seeker who was killed in a violent breakout from an Australian-run detention camp on Papua New Guinea will be repatriated to his family in Iran, an Australian official said on Friday.

Today in History Posted: 20 Feb 2014 09:01 PM PST Today is Friday, Feb. 21, the 52nd day of 2014. There are 313 days left in the year.

US Army chief of staff meets top Chinese generals Posted: 20 Feb 2014 08:40 PM PST BEIJING (AP) — China and the United States share common objectives and should boost cooperation between their militaries, the U.S. Army chief said Friday at the start of meetings with top Chinese generals aimed at building trust amid rising regional tensions.

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