Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Obama sends U.S. military advisers to Iraq as battle rages over refinery
• Sunnis accuse Iraq forces of jailhouse massacre
• Obama says U.S. military plans for Iraq strictly limited
• Obama says Iran can play a constructive role in Iraq
• Iraqi capital out of danger; urgent need for U.S. strikes eases: Maliki ally
• Back to Iraq: Obama sending military advisers
• Scott Walker’s Very Bad Thursday
• Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT
• Ancient parasite highlights humans' role in spread of disease
• House weighs defense bill with Guantanamo limits
• Obama warns Iran against stirring sectarian tide
• Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT
• Turkey Gives Up On Unified Iraq
• Should US intervene in Iraq? What key players are saying
• Antique parasite worms its way into human history
• Top Asian News at 11:00 p.m. GMT
• The Suárez Soirée
• Obama sending up to 300 military advisers to Iraq
• Iraq: al-Maliki's rivals jockey to replace him
• US Wants Old Cronies for New Iraq War
• Kerry expected to travel to Iraq 'soon': US sources
• Top Asian News at 10:30 p.m. GMT
• WE CAN'T SEEM TO STAY AWAY FROM IRAQ
• Turmoil in Iraq is pushing up US gasoline prices
• Iraqi TV Is Airing This Bizarre PSA to Try and Turn Citizens Against ISIS
• Military advisers also fight, history tells us
• Obama To Send Up To 300 U.S. Military Advisers To Iraq
• Top Asian News at 10:00 p.m. GMT
• Obama's Iraq plan: a middle path from a conflicted president
• Britain bans ISIL, other Syria-related groups
• Top Asian News at 9:30 p.m. GMT
• Late recovery gives S&P 500 another record close
• With gritty determination, Iraqi Shiites rush to fight ISIS militants
• S&P 500 ends at a record as Fed optimism lingers
• Top Asian News at 9:00 p.m. GMT
• IRAQ OIL
• Rice: US must continue to lead as democratic ideal
• Jihadists win headlines, but coalition behind Iraq drive
• S&P 500 edges to record as investors weigh data, Iraq
• Afghanistan vet honored as new troops head to Iraq

Obama sends U.S. military advisers to Iraq as battle rages over refinery Posted: 19 Jun 2014 05:48 PM PDT By Matt Spetalnick and Ghazwan Hassan WASHINGTON/TIKRIT Iraq (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday he was sending up to 300 U.S. military advisers to Iraq but stressed the need for a political solution to the Iraqi crisis as government forces battled Sunni rebels for control of the country's biggest refinery. Speaking after a meeting with his national security team, Obama said he was prepared to take "targeted" military action later if deemed necessary, thus delaying but still keeping open the prospect of airstrikes to fend off a militant insurgency. But he insisted that U.S. troops would not return to combat in Iraq. Obama also delivered a stern message to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on the need to take urgent steps to heal Iraq's sectarian rift, something U.S. officials say the Shi'ite leader has failed to do and which an al Qaeda splinter group leading the Sunni revolt has exploited.

Sunnis accuse Iraq forces of jailhouse massacre Posted: 19 Jun 2014 05:38 PM PDT The world has been shocked this week by video footage of Sunni militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant gunning down scores of prisoners piled in a shallow grave during their lightning advance through northern Iraq. But Sunni residents say government forces and their allied Shi'ite militia are responsible for similar atrocities, pointing to the deaths of dozens of prisoners at a jail in Baquba, a provincial capital in a religiously-mixed area an hour north of Baghdad that came under insurgent attack on Monday night. According to the local chief of police, ISIL fighters tried to assault the jail in the Mafraq district of Baquba, capital of Diyala province, during an attempt to seize the town on Monday. "After the battle cleared, we had one security forces member killed and found the prisoners had also been killed," he told Reuters.

Obama says U.S. military plans for Iraq strictly limited Posted: 19 Jun 2014 05:38 PM PDT By Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama insisted on Thursday that his decision to send military advisers to Iraq and consider targeted strikes against insurgents from an al Qaeda splinter group did not mean U.S. troops would again be at war in the country. "American combat troops are not going to be fighting in Iraq again," the U.S. president told a White House news conference after meeting his national security team to discuss the crisis. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday showed that Americans overwhelmingly oppose U.S. intervention in Iraq in the face of the Sunni insurgency. Obama and his advisers outlined the steps the United States would take to help Iraq repel the insurgency, led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.

Obama says Iran can play a constructive role in Iraq Posted: 19 Jun 2014 05:38 PM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Thursday said Iran can play a constructive role in Iraq if it follows the U.S. lead in pressing for all sides within Iraq to be respected. Obama said the United States had pressed Iran not to encourage steps that would lead to civil war within Iraq. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Susan Heavey)

Iraqi capital out of danger; urgent need for U.S. strikes eases: Maliki ally Posted: 19 Jun 2014 05:38 PM PDT Iraqi forces have blocked an immediate threat to the capital Baghdad, which means they no longer require immediate U.S. air strikes to halt the advance of Sunni fighters, a senior ally of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Thursday. U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Thursday that he would send up to 300 military advisors to Iraq. Iraq has asked for air support for its forces battling advancing fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The senior Maliki ally welcomed Obama's announcement and said the advisors would help identify ISIL targets which could be hit by air strikes in the future, now that the urgent need to safeguard the capital had receded.

Back to Iraq: Obama sending military advisers Posted: 19 Jun 2014 05:15 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is dispatching 300 U.S. military advisers to Iraq to help quell its rising insurgency, inching back into a fight he tried to leave behind. He also challenged Iraq's embattled leader to create a more inclusive government or risk his country descending into sectarian civil war.

Scott Walker’s Very Bad Thursday Posted: 19 Jun 2014 05:05 PM PDT Freshly unsealed court papers suggest the Wisconsin governor was illegally fundraising and coordinating with Karl Rove, the Club for Growth, and Koch brothers-backed groups.

Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT Posted: 19 Jun 2014 05:02 PM PDT BANGKOK (AP) — The jailed activist who helped organize protests against last month's military takeover in Thailand has some advice for his followers: The coup is an accomplished fact, so concentrate on keeping the junta honest. Sombat Boonngam-anong, speaking Thursday to an Associated Press reporter at a prison in Bangkok's northern outskirts, also had some words for the ruling military: don't expect to achieve reconciliation among the country's sharply polarized people by continuing to suppress free speech.

Ancient parasite highlights humans' role in spread of disease Posted: 19 Jun 2014 04:54 PM PDT By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - The discovery of a schistosomiasis parasite egg in a 6,200-year-old grave in Syria may be the earliest evidence that agricultural irrigation systems in the Middle East contributed to a vast spread of disease, scientists said on Friday. Schistosomiasis - also known as bilharzia, snail fever, or Katayama fever - is caused by flatworm parasites that live in the blood vessels of the bladder and intestines. The infection can lead to anaemia, kidney failure and bladder cancer. In a study in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, researchers said it may have been spread by the introduction of crop irrigation in ancient Mesopotamia, the region along the Tigris-Euphrates river system that covers parts of what is Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Syria and Turkey.

House weighs defense bill with Guantanamo limits Posted: 19 Jun 2014 04:53 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The House moved toward passage of a $570 billion defense spending bill that imposes new restrictions on President Barack Obama's handling of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and requires congressional approval for sustained military action in Iraq.

Obama warns Iran against stirring sectarian tide Posted: 19 Jun 2014 04:39 PM PDT US President Barack Obama warned Iran on Thursday it could end up fighting sectarian fury "in a whole lot of places" unless it helped stabilize Iraq and pushed for an inclusive, multiethnic government. Shiite Iran could play a "constructive" role in helping ease the crisis in Iraq sparked by the lightning advance of Sunni radicals from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Obama said. But he cautioned that "old habits die hard," following several days of maneuvering between Tehran and Washington over possible cooperation amid signs both sides may have a common interest in preventing Iraq's plight from worsening.

Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 19 Jun 2014 04:32 PM PDT BANGKOK (AP) — The jailed activist who helped organize protests against last month's military takeover in Thailand has some advice for his followers: The coup is an accomplished fact, so concentrate on keeping the junta honest. Sombat Boonngam-anong, speaking Thursday to an Associated Press reporter at a prison in Bangkok's northern outskirts, also had some words for the ruling military: don't expect to achieve reconciliation among the country's sharply polarized people by continuing to suppress free speech.

Turkey Gives Up On Unified Iraq Posted: 19 Jun 2014 04:25 PM PDT With ISIS advancing on Baghdad, the Turkish government has indicated it may support the division of Iraq into sectarian provinces.

Should US intervene in Iraq? What key players are saying Posted: 19 Jun 2014 04:18 PM PDT Should the US use military force to stabilize the country, as requested by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki? The question is not likely to be settled by President Obama's announcement Tuesday that he will send 300 military advisers to assist Iraqi security forces and gather intelligence. Polls show that Americans overwhelmingly want to keep US troops out of Iraq. Only 16 percent of Americans support sending combat troops to Iraq and 74 percent would oppose an influx of combat troops, according to a survey by Public Policy Polling released Tuesday.

Antique parasite worms its way into human history Posted: 19 Jun 2014 04:11 PM PDT Forensic sleuths said Thursday they had found the oldest known egg of the bilharzia parasite, revealing how human advancement enabled a tiny freshwater worm to become a curse for millions. In a letter published by the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, a team of archaeologists and biologists said they found a 6,200-year-old egg of the feared intestinal parasite in an ancient grave in northern Syria. The site, Tell Zeidan, is in the valley of the Euphrates -- part of the fabled "Fertile Crescent" where humans settled down to farm nearly 8,000 years ago, making the historic leap from hunter-gatherer. The egg, say the researchers, is from one of two species of schistosomes -- flatworms that cause bilharzia, which affects hundreds of millions of people in tropical Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Top Asian News at 11:00 p.m. GMT Posted: 19 Jun 2014 04:03 PM PDT BANGKOK (AP) — The jailed activist who helped organize protests against last month's military takeover in Thailand has some advice for his followers: The coup is an accomplished fact, so concentrate on keeping the junta honest. Sombat Boonngam-anong, speaking Thursday to an Associated Press reporter at a prison in Bangkok's northern outskirts, also had some words for the ruling military: don't expect to achieve reconciliation among the country's sharply polarized people by continuing to suppress free speech.

The Suárez Soirée Posted: 19 Jun 2014 04:00 PM PDT Wayne Rooney breaks his World Cup jinx, as an Uruguayan by way of Liverpool crushes England's prospects.

Obama sending up to 300 military advisers to Iraq Posted: 19 Jun 2014 03:56 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday said he was dispatching up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to help quell the rising insurgency in the crumbling state. He called on Iraqi leaders to govern with a more "inclusive agenda" to ensure the country does not descend into civil war.

Iraq: al-Maliki's rivals jockey to replace him Posted: 19 Jun 2014 03:55 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — With the country in turmoil, rivals of Iraq's Shiite prime minister are mounting a campaign to force him out of office, with some angling for support from Western backers and regional heavyweights.

US Wants Old Cronies for New Iraq War Posted: 19 Jun 2014 03:45 PM PDT U.S. troops in Iraq is just the start. The Obama administration is also reaching out to a host of one-time allies as it ramps up its campaign against ISIS.

Kerry expected to travel to Iraq 'soon': US sources Posted: 19 Jun 2014 03:42 PM PDT Washington (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to travel to Iraq "soon," congressional sources said Thursday.

Top Asian News at 10:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 19 Jun 2014 03:33 PM PDT BANGKOK (AP) — The jailed activist who helped organize protests against last month's military takeover in Thailand has some advice for his followers: The coup is an accomplished fact, so concentrate on keeping the junta honest. Sombat Boonngam-anong, speaking Thursday to an Associated Press reporter at a prison in Bangkok's northern outskirts, also had some words for the ruling military: don't expect to achieve reconciliation among the country's sharply polarized people by continuing to suppress free speech.

WE CAN'T SEEM TO STAY AWAY FROM IRAQ Posted: 19 Jun 2014 03:31 PM PDT WASHINGTON -- A tiny bell of hope rang in my heart after President Obama announced, after the barbarians of ISIL had taken Mosul in northern Iraq, that the Iraqi troops themselves would have to solve their own problems this time. It's simple: These people don't WANT to live together.

Turmoil in Iraq is pushing up US gasoline prices Posted: 19 Jun 2014 03:30 PM PDT Violence in Iraq is helping to make gasoline in the U.S. more expensive, depriving drivers of the usual price break between Memorial Day and July Fourth. Global oil prices have risen 5 percent since an ...

Iraqi TV Is Airing This Bizarre PSA to Try and Turn Citizens Against ISIS Posted: 19 Jun 2014 03:16 PM PDT The Iraqi government, which has been vehemently criticized for failing to fend off ISIS militants, has apparently tried to ramp up anti-ISIS sentiment using this very creepy television commercial:

Military advisers also fight, history tells us Posted: 19 Jun 2014 03:13 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's announcement that he's sending military advisers to Iraq raises questions — in some quarters, red flags — about whether that could mean a return to warfare under another name.

Obama To Send Up To 300 U.S. Military Advisers To Iraq Posted: 19 Jun 2014 03:10 PM PDT President Said American Combat Troops Won't Be Fighting in Iraq

Top Asian News at 10:00 p.m. GMT Posted: 19 Jun 2014 03:03 PM PDT BANGKOK (AP) — The jailed activist who helped organize protests against last month's military takeover in Thailand has some advice for his followers: The coup is an accomplished fact, so concentrate on keeping the junta honest. Sombat Boonngam-anong, speaking Thursday to an Associated Press reporter at a prison in Bangkok's northern outskirts, also had some words for the ruling military: don't expect to achieve reconciliation among the country's sharply polarized people by continuing to suppress free speech.

Obama's Iraq plan: a middle path from a conflicted president Posted: 19 Jun 2014 02:59 PM PDT So American boots are about to be back on the ground in Iraq – but no more than a few hundred, and not in a combat role.

Britain bans ISIL, other Syria-related groups Posted: 19 Jun 2014 02:39 PM PDT The British government on Thursday banned the ISIL militant group currently rampaging through northern Iraq, adding it to a list of proscribed organisations along with four other groups linked to the Syrian conflict. Security Minister James Brokenshire told lawmakers that terrorism related to the civil war in Syria "will pose a threat to the UK for the forseeable future", and said banning the groups sent a "strong message". It is now an offence in Britain to belong or invite support for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the four other proscribed groups, or even to wear clothing or carry items in public indicating support. After taking hold in Syria, where it is one of numerous groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad's regime, ISIL is leading an offensive that has seized Iraq's second largest city Mosul and a swathe of territory north of Baghdad.

Top Asian News at 9:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 19 Jun 2014 02:34 PM PDT BANGKOK (AP) — The jailed activist who helped organize protests against last month's military takeover in Thailand has some advice for his followers: The coup is an accomplished fact, so concentrate on keeping the junta honest. Sombat Boonngam-anong, speaking Thursday to an Associated Press reporter at a prison in Bangkok's northern outskirts, also had some words for the ruling military: don't expect to achieve reconciliation among the country's sharply polarized people by continuing to suppress free speech.

Late recovery gives S&P 500 another record close Posted: 19 Jun 2014 02:33 PM PDT Investors remained in a record-setting mood Thursday.

With gritty determination, Iraqi Shiites rush to fight ISIS militants Posted: 19 Jun 2014 02:19 PM PDT Without showing a trace of pain, he lets the wasp sting his palm before throwing it away – a fitting sign, perhaps, of the gritty determination he and his fellow Shiite recruits say they share as they enlist to push back the Sunni jihadists now rampaging across north and central Iraq. Saad Hassan Abed may be just 28 years old, but he is an experienced fighter, having cut his teeth battling American troops in Sadr City, a poor Shiite enclave of Baghdad. Today, he's heeding the call to arms by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric, to defend the nation and its holy shrines. They're waiting to enter a training base in north Baghdad where they will be joining the Iraqi Army.

S&P 500 ends at a record as Fed optimism lingers Posted: 19 Jun 2014 02:13 PM PDT By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended at another record high on Thursday, extending gains for a fifth day on investors' optimism that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates low for a long period of time. The S&P 500's gain was slim, however, with the benchmark index recovering late in the session from earlier losses.

Top Asian News at 9:00 p.m. GMT Posted: 19 Jun 2014 02:03 PM PDT BANGKOK (AP) — The jailed activist who helped organize protests against last month's military takeover in Thailand has some advice for his followers: The coup is an accomplished fact, so concentrate on keeping the junta honest. Sombat Boonngam-anong, speaking Thursday to an Associated Press reporter at a prison in Bangkok's northern outskirts, also had some words for the ruling military: don't expect to achieve reconciliation among the country's sharply polarized people by continuing to suppress free speech.

IRAQ OIL Posted: 19 Jun 2014 02:02 PM PDT Map shows Iraq's oil infrastructure and production, recent violence.; 3c x 7 inches; 146 mm x 177 mm;

Rice: US must continue to lead as democratic ideal Posted: 19 Jun 2014 01:57 PM PDT NORTHFIELD, Vt. (AP) — Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday the United States must continue to lead the world because it represents an ideal of democracy.

Jihadists win headlines, but coalition behind Iraq drive Posted: 19 Jun 2014 01:45 PM PDT A brutal jihadist group has garnered headlines for an Iraq onslaught, but it is actually the leading member of a fragile Sunni coalition including Saddam loyalists and others unified only by a common enemy. The swift assault, spearheaded by jihadist group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), swept down from north Iraq last week, overrunning all of one province and major areas of three others. ISIL is the major force behind the drive, and has been the focus of international attention, but the onslaught also involves a raft of other groups that have little in common except anger towards Iraq's Shiite-led government. "ISIL represents the main force that is in control and that is driving things," an officer in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's security office told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

S&P 500 edges to record as investors weigh data, Iraq Posted: 19 Jun 2014 01:41 PM PDT New York (AFP) - The S&P 500 Thursday edged to a new record as investors weighed solid economic data with ongoing violence in Iraq that pushed oil prices to a new nine-month high.

Afghanistan vet honored as new troops head to Iraq Posted: 19 Jun 2014 01:36 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A 24-year-old veteran who lost an eye after taking a grenade blast in Afghanistan to save a fellow Marine received the nation's highest military honor Thursday in a somber White House ceremony.

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