Yahoo! News: Iraq

---

• Lawmakers press US to fund Taiwan fighter jets
• Stolen passports on Malaysia Airlines plane: stark evidence of security gap
• Syrian forces enter rebel bastion of Yabrud
• Syrian foreign minister's heart surgery a success
• New law paves way for re-election of Syria's Assad
• US defends surveillance before UN rights panel
• Veteran Goes for Gold With Sled Hockey Team at Sochi Paralympics
• US no longer holds any 'war on terror' minors: official
• British socialist stalwart Tony Benn dies at 88
• Al Qaeda splinter group in Syria leaves two provinces: activists
• Morocco, Spain break up militant cell sending fighters abroad
• Syrian foreign minister rushed to Beirut hospital
• Continuing Syria refugee crisis 'unconscionable': UN
• Spain, Morocco, arrest seven in jihadist cell bust
• Morocco's King urges 'comprehensive perception of security' at 31st meeting of Arab Interior Ministers Council
• Former Lebanese President Warns of "Crisis of Pluralism" in Middle East
• Turkey threatens retaliation if historic Syria tomb attacked
• Turkey vows to protect Ottoman tomb in northern Syria from rebels
• Slovakians to elect a new president
• Seven dead in Baghdad area attacks
• Saudis hardened by wars in Syria, Iraq join al Qaeda in Yemen
• Festival brings 13 plays including 'Rupert' to DC
• Tony Benn, veteran voice of the British left, dies aged 88
• Tony Benn, devoted British socialist, dies at 88
• U.S. Preps for Russian Retaliation
• Relax, Robots Won’t Take Every Job
• Philippines, US hurdle obstacle in military talks
• Iraq: Bombs kill at least 8 people in Baghdad
• German held over alleged Syria terror links
• Iraqi bill to legalize child marriage criticized
• Today in History
• Partisanship engulfs U.S. Congress effort to avoid doctor pay cut
• Maggie Grace headed for Wall Street in CBS pilot

Lawmakers press US to fund Taiwan fighter jets Posted: 14 Mar 2014 03:28 PM PDT US lawmakers pressed Friday for a robust defense of Taiwan, voicing alarm over Pentagon plans to defund upgrades of the island's fighter jets as part of budget cuts. Crossing party lines, members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee called for the United States to stand firm on protecting Taiwan and to ignore concerns by a rising China, which considers the self-governing democracy to be a province awaiting reunification. The Air Force, as part of its 2015 budget request, ends funding for a program announced in 2011 in which the United States planned $5.85 billion in upgrades of Taiwan's fleet of F-16 jets. "It just makes no sense to me whatsoever," said Representative Eliot Engel, the top member of the panel from President Barack Obama's Democratic Party.

Stolen passports on Malaysia Airlines plane: stark evidence of security gap Posted: 14 Mar 2014 01:58 PM PDT Two Iranian men who boarded Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 using stolen passports may turn out not to be responsible for the plane's mysterious disappearance, but their unauthorized presence on the aircraft is shining a bright light on a scourge of international travel: the black-market passport industry. It comes as no surprise to experts that the passports were stolen in Thailand, ground zero for global trafficking in fake and stolen passports. "Anywhere where there is illegal migration or human trafficking would be ripe for passport theft," says Richard Bloom, director of terrorism, intelligence, and security studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz. who specializes in aviation intelligence and security issues. Terrorist groups also could use fake or stolen passports to enter target countries, experts say.

Syrian forces enter rebel bastion of Yabrud Posted: 14 Mar 2014 01:54 PM PDT Syrian forces entered the key rebel bastion of Yabrud on Friday, one of the last opposition-held areas near the border with Lebanon, a military source told AFP. "The Syrian army on Friday entered the town of Yabrud north of Damascus from the east, and advanced along the town's main street," the source said. Earlier, state television reported Syrian army units advancing in the Yabrud area, saying they "now control its eastern approaches and northeastern boundary". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Lebanon's powerful Shiite group Hezbollah was spearheading the fight to dislodge insurgents from Yabrud.

Syrian foreign minister's heart surgery a success Posted: 14 Mar 2014 01:54 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's foreign minister, a close confidant of President Bashar Assad and a staunch defender of the government, underwent a successful heart operation Friday, state media said.

New law paves way for re-election of Syria's Assad Posted: 14 Mar 2014 01:51 PM PDT Syria's exiled opposition will be barred from a presidential vote to be held before July, virtually ensuring Bashar al-Assad's re-election three years into an uprising against his family's four-decade rule. The opposition has repeatedly insisted that Assad must step down as part of any peace agreement, most recently in two rounds of failed talks earlier this year. Assad has not announced his candidacy but is widely expected to seek another seven-year term. A new electoral law approved by parliament Thursday says any candidate must have lived in Syria for the past 10 years and not hold any other nationality.

US defends surveillance before UN rights panel Posted: 14 Mar 2014 01:31 PM PDT The United States defended its controls on mass surveillance on Friday before a UN watchdog body amid a sweeping review of Washington's record on civil and political rights. The US government has faced a cascade of scandals over online and telephone snooping around the globe by the US National Security Agency (NSA) since fugitive former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden went public in 2013. During a session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, experts from the 18-member panel repeatedly quizzed Washington's delegation about the scale and scope of spying. Bruce Swartz, deputy assistant attorney general for the criminal division at the US Department of Justice, underlined that the intelligence programmes in the spotlight were "lawful under the law of the United States".

Veteran Goes for Gold With Sled Hockey Team at Sochi Paralympics Posted: 14 Mar 2014 01:24 PM PDT ABC News' Tess Scott reports: Staff Sgt. Rico Roman said that when he was first approached to play sled hockey, his response was: "No, thank you." "They [a coach] asked me to come out and play sled hockey," Roman told PBS for its documentary "Ice...

US no longer holds any 'war on terror' minors: official Posted: 14 Mar 2014 11:20 AM PDT The United States is no longer holding any "war on terror" detainees aged under 18, Washington told a UN human rights watchdog body on Friday. Pressed by the United Nations Human Rights Committee on its treatment of minors captured since the September 2001 attacks, the US delegation said that none were now in custody. "We are not currently detaining anyone under the age of 18 in an armed conflict," Brigadier General Richard Gross, legal counsel at the Department of Defense, told the committee. The exchange came during a two-day review by experts on the 18-member committee of Washington's respect for the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

British socialist stalwart Tony Benn dies at 88 Posted: 14 Mar 2014 11:05 AM PDT Political foes and allies paid tribute to Tony Benn, the totem of the British left who spearheaded the movement against the Iraq war, following his death on Friday aged 88. A Labour cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s, Benn was a widely respected orator who clashed with his party's leadership over its drift away from the radical socialism he espoused. Benn also forced a change in the law allowing hereditary members of parliament's upper House of Lords to renounce their titles, after he was disqualified from his seat in the elected lower House of Commons on inheriting his father's Viscount Stansgate title in 1960.

Al Qaeda splinter group in Syria leaves two provinces: activists Posted: 14 Mar 2014 10:57 AM PDT By Alexander Dziadosz BEIRUT (Reuters) - An al Qaeda splinter group in Syria finished pulling out of two provinces in the country's northwest on Friday and headed to its eastern strongholds after months of clashes with rival rebels, activists said. The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a former al Qaeda affiliate, and competing insurgents have been fighting since the start of the year, killing some 4,000 people and undermining the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. On Friday, ISIL finished withdrawing from Idlib and Latakia provinces and moved its forces toward the eastern Raqqa province and the eastern outskirts of the northern city of Aleppo, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Observatory, a monitoring group with a network of sources in Syria, said the withdrawal started about a week ago and was overseen by the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's branch in Syria, making the two provinces "completely free" of ISIL forces.

Morocco, Spain break up militant cell sending fighters abroad Posted: 14 Mar 2014 10:56 AM PDT By Aziz El Yaakoubi RABAT (Reuters) - Morocco and Spain made seven arrests and dismantled an Islamist militant cell led by a Spanish citizen that sent fighters to "hotbeds of tension" such as Syria, officials from both countries said on Friday. Hundreds of fighters from Morocco and other Maghreb states like Tunisia and Algeria have joined Islamist-dominated rebel forces in Syria's civil war and North African governments fear they will pose security threats once they return home. Spain's interior ministry said the group's leader, Mustafa Maya Amaya, a nationalized Spaniard born in Belgium, was arrested in Melilla along with two French citizens. Melilla is a Spanish enclave on the Mediterranean, surrounded by Morocco.

Syrian foreign minister rushed to Beirut hospital Posted: 14 Mar 2014 10:54 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian foreign minister was rushed to a Beirut hospital and was undergoing treatment Friday for blocked coronary arteries, Lebanese security officials and a lawmaker said.

Continuing Syria refugee crisis 'unconscionable': UN Posted: 14 Mar 2014 10:13 AM PDT Syria's civil war has forced more than nine million people from their homes, creating the world's largest displaced population, the UN said on Friday, describing the continuing conflict as "unconscionable". "It is unconscionable that a humanitarian catastrophe of this scale is unfolding before our eyes with no meaningful progress to stop the bloodshed," UN refugee chief Antonio Guterres said in a statement. With more than 2.5 million Syrians currently registered or awaiting registration as refugees in neighbouring countries, Syrians are expected to soon overtake Afghans as the world's largest refugee population. The total number of people who have fled their homes in Syria now exceeds 40 percent of the war-ravaged nation's pre-conflict population, UNHCR said, stressing that at least half of all those displaced are children.

Spain, Morocco, arrest seven in jihadist cell bust Posted: 14 Mar 2014 10:06 AM PDT Spanish and Moroccan security forces have broken up a major jihadist network suspected of sending fighters to Syria and other conflict zones, the two countries said Friday. "It has been a very big operation that has dismantled an international cell, without doubt the biggest and most active in Spain and one of the biggest and most active currently in Europe," Spain's Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz told a news conference. Security forces arrested four of the suspects in Spain, including the head of the network, and another three in Morocco, in what his ministry called a "hard blow" against extremist killers and kidnappers. Security forces seized the suspected leader of the ring, Mustafa Maya Amaya, a Belgian naturalised in Spain, as well as two French suspects he is thought to have recruited to send to Syria, the interior ministry said in a statement.

Morocco's King urges 'comprehensive perception of security' at 31st meeting of Arab Interior Ministers Council Posted: 14 Mar 2014 09:29 AM PDT WASHINGTON, March 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ (MACP) -- Interior Ministers from 22 Arab nations met in Marrakesh, Morocco March 12-13 for the 31st session of the Arab Interior Ministers Council, adopting the "Marrakesh Declaration of Struggle Against Terrorism" that calls for greater cooperation to meet the region's security and counterterrorism challenges. "The concept of real security is much broader than the narrow meaning it is usually given," said the Moroccan King's message.

Former Lebanese President Warns of "Crisis of Pluralism" in Middle East Posted: 14 Mar 2014 08:19 AM PDT ZURICH, March 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Amine Gemayel, the former President of Lebanon, warned on Wednesday that the Arab world is experiencing a "crisis of religious pluralism" driven by "the rise of religious extremists," which threatens "any community which does not constitute the majority" – including Druze, Shiite Muslims, Alawites, Baha'is, and "Sunni Muslims living in Shiite-dominated areas." Speaking  last night at a Christian Solidarity International (CSI) event, Gemayel paid particular attention to the plight of Middle Eastern Christians, who he said are fleeing the region "in an exodus approaching biblical proportions." Gemayel cited "church burnings, physical assaults and killings" in Egypt, "an onslaught of murder" in Iraq and "a bloody-minded reign of terror" from "ultra-radical Islamists in regions of Syria where they have imposed their rule." Calling for an international response to the crisis, the former president declared that "preserving religious pluralism in the Middle East is a vital imperative." Gemayel welcomed the U.S. State Department's recent condemnation of extremist persecution of Syrian Christians, but called for the U.S. to back up its "eloquent words" with action.

Turkey threatens retaliation if historic Syria tomb attacked Posted: 14 Mar 2014 08:07 AM PDT Turkey warned on Friday that it would retaliate "in kind" if a historic memorial that it controls inside war-torn Syria comes under attack. "Any kind of attack, be it from the regime or radical groups ... will face retaliation in kind and Turkey will take any measures to defend its homeland without any hesitation," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. The Tomb of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of Ottoman Empire founder Osman, is located in the province of Aleppo, the scene of major clashes between the Syrian government and several rebel groups. The tomb sits 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the Turkey-Syria border and remains Turkish territory under a 1921 treaty signed between Turkey and France, which was then the colonial power in Syria.

Turkey vows to protect Ottoman tomb in northern Syria from rebels Posted: 14 Mar 2014 07:39 AM PDT Turkey threatened on Friday to retaliate for any attack on the tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, in an area of northern Syria largely controlled by militant Islamists. Ankara regards the tomb of Suleyman Shah as sovereign Turkish territory under a treaty signed with France in 1921, when Syria was under French rule. About two dozen Turkish special forces soldiers permanently guard the tomb. The Turkish warning follows clashes this week between militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an al Qaeda breakaway group, and rival rebel groups in the area of the tomb, which lies east of Aleppo near the Turkish border.

Slovakians to elect a new president Posted: 14 Mar 2014 07:29 AM PDT BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakians vote for a new president Saturday as 14 hopefuls vie to succeed Ivan Gasparovic, the first since Slovakia's independence in 1993 to be elected to two five-year terms. Here is a look at the vote:

Seven dead in Baghdad area attacks Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:37 AM PDT Bombings in and around Baghdad on Friday, including blasts near two markets, killed seven people, the latest in a year-long surge in violence that authorities have failed to quell. A car bomb Friday at a market in Baghdad's predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of Shuala killed three people, while another blast near a market in Rashid left one dead, security and medical officials said. On Thursday evening, a suicide car bomb that went off in the middle of a wedding party convoy killed 15 people and wounded 17 others in the town of Rawa, in the Sunni desert province of Anbar. Anbar has been roiled in recent months by unrest that has seen anti-government fighters take control of Fallujah, a city on Baghdad's doorstep, as well as shifting areas of provincial capital Ramadi.

Saudis hardened by wars in Syria, Iraq join al Qaeda in Yemen Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:20 AM PDT By Rania El Gamal SANAA (Reuters) - Dozens of Saudi Islamist militants have left the battlefields of Syria and Iraq for Yemen, where their experience appears to have contributed to a spate of lethal al Qaeda attacks, a senior Yemeni security official said. The influx detected in the last few months is worrying for Yemen, a turbulent country where several hundred Saudi militants are already thought to be fighting alongside their Yemeni counterparts in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

Festival brings 13 plays including 'Rupert' to DC Posted: 14 Mar 2014 03:59 AM PDT Rupert Murdoch is getting the cabaret treatment in a new play about his 60 years building a newspaper and television empire. As a media mogul with strong ties to Australia, Great Britain and the U.S., ...

Tony Benn, veteran voice of the British left, dies aged 88 Posted: 14 Mar 2014 03:25 AM PDT By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - Veteran British Labour politician Tony Benn, who was born into the aristocracy but became a champion of the left, has died aged 88, his family said on Friday. Benn was a member of parliament for 50 years and a cabinet minister for 11 years. Born Anthony Wedgwood Benn, he forced a change in the law so that he could renounce an aristocratic title inherited from his father to continue serving as an elected member of parliament.

Tony Benn, devoted British socialist, dies at 88 Posted: 14 Mar 2014 03:11 AM PDT LONDON (AP) — Tony Benn, a committed British socialist who irritated and fascinated Britons through a political career spanning more than five decades and who renounced his aristocratic title rather than leave the House of Commons, has died. He was 88.

U.S. Preps for Russian Retaliation Posted: 14 Mar 2014 02:45 AM PDT If the U.S. moves to sanction Putin and his pals next week, Moscow will definitely strike back. Inside the Obama administration, officials are gearing up for an economic Cold War.

Relax, Robots Won’t Take Every Job Posted: 14 Mar 2014 02:45 AM PDT The co-author of 'The Second Machine Age' talks about the possibility that machines will put us all of work and why that is just one of several scenarios of the future.

Philippines, US hurdle obstacle in military talks Posted: 14 Mar 2014 02:16 AM PDT MANILA, Philippines (AP) — American negotiators have agreed that Philippine authorities can have access to U.S. facilities set up inside local military bases, hurdling a key obstacle in their talks on a new military accord, Philippine officials said Friday.

Iraq: Bombs kill at least 8 people in Baghdad Posted: 14 Mar 2014 02:11 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi officials say a string of bombings has targeted marketplaces and a commercial area in the capital, Baghdad, killing at least eight people and wounding 26.

German held over alleged Syria terror links Posted: 14 Mar 2014 01:50 AM PDT BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say they are holding a man suspected of fighting for a hardline Islamic group in Syria during a stay in the country last year.

Iraqi bill to legalize child marriage criticized Posted: 14 Mar 2014 12:05 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A contentious draft law being considered in Iraq could open the door to girls as young as nine getting married and would require wives to submit to sex on their husband's whim, provoking outrage from rights activists and many Iraqis who see it as a step backward for women's rights.

Today in History Posted: 13 Mar 2014 09:01 PM PDT Today is Friday, March 14, the 73rd day of 2014. There are 292 days left in the year.

Partisanship engulfs U.S. Congress effort to avoid doctor pay cut Posted: 13 Mar 2014 04:24 PM PDT By David Morgan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan deal in Congress to spare doctors from recurring Medicare pay cuts was in jeopardy on Thursday, as Republicans ignored protests from physicians and moved forward with legislation that would use the so-called "doc fix" to undermine Obamacare. Hundreds of thousands of doctors who participate in traditional Medicare face a 24 percent pay cut on April 1, as part of a 1990s initiative to restrain federal spending on the government healthcare program, which today serves nearly 50 million elderly and disabled people. Doctors thought they would see a permanent fix this year after Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives and Senate agreed on a policy to replace the payment formula, known as the sustainable growth rate or SGR, according to lobbyists, congressional aides and analysts.

Maggie Grace headed for Wall Street in CBS pilot Posted: 13 Mar 2014 08:53 AM PDT The 30-year-old actress will co-star with Charlie Cox in an untitled pilot produced by John Cusack for CBS. The project, to be helmed by Danish director Niels Arden Oplev ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"), will depict Wall Street through the eyes of Jackson (Cox), a smart, sophisticated and honest trader who served his country in Iraq. Maggie Grace will play Jaime, an ambitious character who serves as an in-house legal counsel at a hedge fund. Grace rose to fame from 2004 through her role as Shannon on the first two seasons of "Lost." The role paved the way to a number of film roles, including her now famous portrayal of Kim, Liam Neeson's daughter in the "Taken" franchise.

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., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610