Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Syria says no aid deliveries without its approval
• Obama warns Iraq on unity
• Troops Surrounded, Trapped in Iraq's Key Refinery, Sources Tell ABC News
• Wall Street Week Ahead: Hoping for a consumer discretionary turnaround
• More than 400 US military drones lost in crashes: report
• Critics of Obama's troop order to Iraq: 'We told you so'
• BRAZIL BEAT: Fan mail pours in to Brazil players
• Sectarian tensions set stage for Iraq conflict, Obama says: NBC
• Fleeing Iraqis join large tide of displaced people
• Dow, S&P 500 end at record highs
• BRAZIL BEAT: Sinkhole swallows up cars in Natal
• Iraq's top cleric increases pressure on al-Maliki
• Rand Paul Says 'I Don't Blame' Obama for Iraq Crisis
• U.S. spy agencies warned Maliki was 'alienating' Iraq's Sunnis
• Iraq needs more inclusive governance to end turmoil: U.N. development chief
• Indonesia fears terror return as fighters head to Syria, Iraq
• Energetic stock market pushes toward milestones
• Amid local outcry, US pulls plan for Va. shelter
• BRAZIL BEAT: Benzema's 2nd goal can't beat clock
• Wall Street sets records on rates view; dollar rises
• Stocks manage small gains; Dow, S&P 500 at records
• Saudi king stops in Cairo to visit Egypt's Sisi
• Iraq’s Internet Blockade Lets ISIS Slide
• Bombing, arrests spark fear in Lebanon
• Dow, S&P 500 at records as investors eye Iraq, GE deal
• TSX ends flat as miners slip, energy shares gain
• BRAZIL BEAT: Argentina coach sees 'strong' Iran
• Bin Laden 'demon toy' and three other wacky CIA plots
• Saudi king meets Egypt's Sisi in Cairo
• UN chief opposes airstrikes on extremists in Iraq
• Obama eyes New Zealand trip
• Oil tops $107 as Iraq refinery battle goes on
• A guide to fast-moving events in Iraq
• Official: Plan to house immigrants in Va. scrapped
• Iran sent 'small numbers' of operatives into Iraq: US
• US stock drifting higher in afternoon trading
• Top Shiite cleric calls for new government in Iraq
• Iraqi forces ready push after Obama offers advisers
• Iran says Obama remarks show U.S. not serious in fighting terrorism
• US seeks legal protection for troops going to Iraq

Syria says no aid deliveries without its approval Posted: 20 Jun 2014 04:52 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Syria says any attempt to deliver humanitarian aid to rebel-controlled areas without government approval is tantamount to "an attack on the Syrian state" as well as its territorial integrity and political independence.

Obama warns Iraq on unity Posted: 20 Jun 2014 04:30 PM PDT US President Barack Obama warned Friday that no amount of US firepower could keep Iraq together if its political leaders did not disdain sectarianism and work to unite the country. Obama told CNN, a day after announcing the dispatch of 300 special forces advisors to Iraq following a lightning advance by extreme Sunni radicals, that American sacrifices had given Iraq a chance at a stable democracy, but it had been squandered. "We gave Iraq the chance to have an inclusive democracy.

Troops Surrounded, Trapped in Iraq's Key Refinery, Sources Tell ABC News Posted: 20 Jun 2014 03:59 PM PDT Loss of Baiji Refinery Would Be a Serious Blow to Iraqi Government

Wall Street Week Ahead: Hoping for a consumer discretionary turnaround Posted: 20 Jun 2014 03:54 PM PDT By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of specialty retailers and apparel makers helped lead the charge off the market's bottom in March 2009 but unraveled this year, leaving consumer discretionary stocks as the sole sector to still be lower through the first half of 2014. The S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector index is down 1.1 percent since the end of 2013, the worst performance of any of the 10 macro sectors so far this year, while the benchmark index is up 6.2 percent. Earnings are now expected to have risen just 8.7 percent for the year, compared with 13.5 percent at the start of the year, Thomson Reuters data showed.

More than 400 US military drones lost in crashes: report Posted: 20 Jun 2014 03:45 PM PDT The United States has lost more than 400 military drones in major crashes worldwide since 2001, The Washington Post said Friday in a report questioning the safety and reliability of the unmanned aircraft. Citing 50,000 pages of accident investigation reports, the Post said military drones have since the 9/11 attacks "malfunctioned in myriad ways," including mechanical breakdowns, human error and foul weather. "Military drones have slammed into homes, farms, runways, highways, waterways and, in one case, an Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane in midair," it said. Sixty-seven drone crashes occurred in Afghanistan, and 41 in Iraq, but 47 occurred within the United States during test and training flights, the Post said on its website.

Critics of Obama's troop order to Iraq: 'We told you so' Posted: 20 Jun 2014 03:34 PM PDT President Obama's announcement this week that he would be sending 300 US troops back to Iraq to "advise and assist" Iraqi soldiers has become something of an "I told you so" moment for those who had opposed the pullout of US forces in the first place. The surge of US troops in 2007 won the war in Iraq, and Mr. Obama created a "colossal failure" by failing to push hard enough to keep them in the country, goes the standard narrative dusted off by Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona this week.  "Rarely has a US president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many," former Vice President Dick Cheney wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, joining the blame game.  "Which president was he talking about?" was White House spokesman Jay Carney's riposte – a reference to the Bush administration's push to invade Iraq in 2003 based upon what turned out to be wrong reasoning.

BRAZIL BEAT: Fan mail pours in to Brazil players Posted: 20 Jun 2014 03:33 PM PDT TERESOPOLIS, Brazil (AP) — Brazilian players received nearly 6,000 fan letters before the team's practice Friday.

Sectarian tensions set stage for Iraq conflict, Obama says: NBC Posted: 20 Jun 2014 03:31 PM PDT Iraq's conflict is the result of sectarian divisions that have been allowed to fester, President Barack Obama said on Friday. "Some of the forces that have always possibly pulled Iraq apart are stronger now, (and) those forces that could keep the country united are weaker," he told NBC Nightly News. "It is ultimately going to be up to the Iraqi leadership to try to pull the politics of the country back together again." Obama is sending U.S. military advisers to Iraq and has threatened air strikes as Sunni Islamists have seized the north of the country and made a push toward Baghdad.

Fleeing Iraqis join large tide of displaced people Posted: 20 Jun 2014 03:08 PM PDT TAZA KHORMATO, Iraq (AP) — In a battered car loaded with blankets and clothes, Hassan Abbas and his mother left a dusty town in northern Iraq, fleeing this week's violence and joining what the United Nations says is the largest worldwide population of displaced people since World War II.

Dow, S&P 500 end at record highs Posted: 20 Jun 2014 03:04 PM PDT By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Friday, driving the Dow and the S&P 500 to close at record highs as the shares of 330 companies hit 52-week highs on the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500 scored its third record closing high in a row while the Dow surpassed its previous record close on June 10.

BRAZIL BEAT: Sinkhole swallows up cars in Natal Posted: 20 Jun 2014 03:04 PM PDT NATAL, Brazil (AP) — A giant sinkhole has swallowed cars and damaged the homes of some 150 families living in a poor neighborhood in a northern Brazilian city that's one of 12 hosting the World Cup matches.

Iraq's top cleric increases pressure on al-Maliki Posted: 20 Jun 2014 02:54 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — The most respected voice for Iraq's Shiite majority on Friday joined calls for the country's prime minister to form an inclusive government or step aside, a day after President Barack Obama challenged Nouri al-Maliki to create a leadership representative of all Iraqis.

Rand Paul Says 'I Don't Blame' Obama for Iraq Crisis Posted: 20 Jun 2014 02:54 PM PDT ABC's Shushannah Walshe and Benjamin Siegel report: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky took opposite views of the crisis in Iraq today, with Christie blaming it on President Obama's foreign policy while Paul said he doesn't put the "blame on...

U.S. spy agencies warned Maliki was 'alienating' Iraq's Sunnis Posted: 20 Jun 2014 02:46 PM PDT By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned top government officials that Iraq's Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki and his policies were gravely antagonizing his country's Sunni population, two U.S. security officials said on Friday. The officials said the warnings were contained in secret intelligence reports and analyses presented in the last two years to policymaking officials, including President Barack Obama. The reports concluded that Maliki and his government were creating so much animosity among Iraq's Sunnis that this would empower and embolden violent militant groups, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Obama is sending 300 military advisers to Iraq to help stop the offensive by the Sunni militant ISIL and is demanding a more inclusive government be formed in Baghdad.

Iraq needs more inclusive governance to end turmoil: U.N. development chief Posted: 20 Jun 2014 02:46 PM PDT By Dasha Afanasieva ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Iraq needs more inclusive governance across sectarian and religious divides if it is to end its turmoil, something only its own politicians can deliver, one of the United Nations' top officials said on Friday. Helen Clark, head of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the world body's third most senior figure, said only a political solution in Iraq, and in neighboring Syria, could end the crises. "The political leaders need to come together to plan how you can run Iraq within its current borders," the former New Zealand prime minister told Reuters in an interview in Istanbul. "Iraq must solve its own problems ... People have to want one country," she said, when asked if that was possible without foreign military intervention.

Indonesia fears terror return as fighters head to Syria, Iraq Posted: 20 Jun 2014 02:43 PM PDT Indonesians are joining the procession of jihadists to Syria and Iraq, sparking fears they will revive sophisticated militant networks when they return and undermine a decade-long crackdown that has crippled the most dangerous cells. Support for groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Sunni radicals currently rampaging through northern Iraq, is growing among Indonesian extremists with dozens believed to have joined the insurgency. Analysts say the fighters will pose a new and serious threat to Indonesia when they return home with honed insurgency tactics and international militant connections, echoing the concerns of Western governments. Britain and Australia have expressed fears that Syria and Iraq are breeding grounds for violent fanatics who travel there from the West to fight and pose a threat to national security on their return.

Energetic stock market pushes toward milestones Posted: 20 Jun 2014 02:42 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is back to setting records.

Amid local outcry, US pulls plan for Va. shelter Posted: 20 Jun 2014 02:33 PM PDT RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The government is shopping for a new location to temporarily shelter hundreds of Central American children after residents and officials of a tiny Virginia farm town angrily protested the secretive selection of their community.

BRAZIL BEAT: Benzema's 2nd goal can't beat clock Posted: 20 Jun 2014 02:26 PM PDT SALVADOR, Brazil (AP) — Karim Benzema had just scored his second goal of the game and fourth of the tournament, and the sixth of the day for France.

Wall Street sets records on rates view; dollar rises Posted: 20 Jun 2014 02:11 PM PDT By Michael Connor NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street equities rose on Friday for a sixth straight session and hit new highs, boosted by money managers convinced that U.S. policymakers will keep a lid on interest rates through 2016. U.S. equities rallied for a sixth straight session and took the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 and Dow Jones industrial indices to record highs. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Wednesday effectively cleared the way for more Wall Street gains by suggesting that interest rates will remain low through 2016, several top U.S. money managers told Reuters.

Stocks manage small gains; Dow, S&P 500 at records Posted: 20 Jun 2014 02:06 PM PDT Stocks inched past more milestones Friday, delivering the third consecutive record-high close for the Standard & Poor's 500 index and a new high for the Dow Jones industrial average.

Saudi king stops in Cairo to visit Egypt's Sisi Posted: 20 Jun 2014 02:02 PM PDT Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah stopped in Cairo late on Friday to meet with Egypt's new president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to show his strong support through a symbolic but brief visit. Sisi and his delegation were on board for just over 30 minutes. Egypt's official news agency reported that the talks covered the importance of the two nations working together to address regional challenges, a sign of how the Gulf monarchy sees Cairo as a crucial partner against the rapid rise of Islamism. Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, and its wealthy Gulf Arab partners Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, have given more than $20 billion to help Egypt since Sisi ousted Islamist President Moahmed Mursi last July, and are likely to pledge more.

Iraq’s Internet Blockade Lets ISIS Slide Posted: 20 Jun 2014 02:00 PM PDT Baghdad is restricting access to all kinds of websites—except ones affiliated with the Islamic extremists taking over the country. Why?

Bombing, arrests spark fear in Lebanon Posted: 20 Jun 2014 01:56 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — A suicide bomber detonated his vehicle Friday near a police checkpoint in eastern Lebanon, while troops raided two hotels in the capital, arresting 17 suspected members of an al-Qaida breakaway group allegedly plotting terrorist attacks in the country.

Dow, S&P 500 at records as investors eye Iraq, GE deal Posted: 20 Jun 2014 01:55 PM PDT New York (AFP) - The Dow and S&P 500 edged to fresh records Friday as the chances rose for GE's acquisition of parts of France's Alstom and fighting in Iraq lifted oil prices.

TSX ends flat as miners slip, energy shares gain Posted: 20 Jun 2014 01:53 PM PDT By John Tilak TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was little changed on Friday as a decline in shares of gold miners was offset by strength in the energy sector, which extended a solid run since the start of the year. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE is up about 11 percent so far in 2014. "When an index reaches new highs, you definitely take a step back," said Patrick Blais, a portfolio manager and managing director at Manulife Asset Management. "With stock valuations now close to historical norms, the case for similar equity price gains going forward (has) diminished," Capital Economics said in a research note.

BRAZIL BEAT: Argentina coach sees 'strong' Iran Posted: 20 Jun 2014 01:46 PM PDT BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AP) — Argentina is not just facing Iran's national football team, but its culture and war-torn history, too, when the two teams go head to head at the Mineirao Stadium on Saturday.

Bin Laden 'demon toy' and three other wacky CIA plots Posted: 20 Jun 2014 01:11 PM PDT The Central Intelligence Agency secretly developed an Osama bin Laden action figure whose face peeled off to reveal a scary devil beneath, according to an account first published this week in The Washington Post. The point was to frighten children and their parents and lower their esteem for the then-hidden Al Qaeda leader, said the Post.

Saudi king meets Egypt's Sisi in Cairo Posted: 20 Jun 2014 01:05 PM PDT Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah visited Cairo Friday, on his first trip to Egypt since the 2011 ouster of dictator Hosni Mubarak, for talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Riyadh hailed last July's ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by ex-army chief Sisi and has pledged billions of dollars in aid to Egypt's military-installed authorities.

UN chief opposes airstrikes on extremists in Iraq Posted: 20 Jun 2014 01:01 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Friday that any possible airstrikes against Sunni extremists in Iraq could be ineffective and backfire. He urged Iraq's feuding communities to unite against the terrorists who have captured a vast swath of territory.

Obama eyes New Zealand trip Posted: 20 Jun 2014 12:54 PM PDT US President Barack Obama said Friday that he is badgering his staff to line up a trip to New Zealand, after holding talks with his golfing buddy, Prime Minister John Key. Obama and Key met for talks in the Oval Office on trade, security and economic issues, but the conversation also turned to their shared passion for the links and Obama's travel plans. "I indicated to him that I would love to come to New Zealand because I hear it's really nice," Obama told reporters. "We're going to be working with my scheduler to see what I can come up with, if not this year, certainly before the end of my presidency," Obama said.

Oil tops $107 as Iraq refinery battle goes on Posted: 20 Jun 2014 12:54 PM PDT The price of oil rose Friday and ended the week with a slight gain, as a battle for control of Iraq's biggest refinery remained undecided. The Beiji oil refinery has a capacity of 320,000 barrels a day, ...

A guide to fast-moving events in Iraq Posted: 20 Jun 2014 12:48 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — The crisis in Iraq is increasingly taking on a political tone as calls are growing for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to step down. The Shiite leader, who faces criticism that his failure to promote reconciliation among the country's myriad religious sects sparked the widespread Sunni anger that has emboldened the al-Qaida breakaway group that has overtaken large sections of northern territories. Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader Ali al-Sistani, an Iranian-born cleric who has been unusually active with recent pronouncements made via intermediaries, called for "an effective government that enjoys broad national support." The U.S. also has found itself drawn back into the country, with President Barack Obama announcing plans to dispatch up to 300 military advisers to help quell the insurgency.

Official: Plan to house immigrants in Va. scrapped Posted: 20 Jun 2014 12:45 PM PDT RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The government has abandoned a botched plan to temporarily shelter hundreds of Central American children in a rural Virginia town, an elected official informed of the decision told The Associated Press on Friday.

Iran sent 'small numbers' of operatives into Iraq: US Posted: 20 Jun 2014 12:21 PM PDT Iran has sent "small numbers" of operatives into Iraq to bolster the Shiite-led government in Baghdad, but there is no sign of a large deployment of army units, the Pentagon said Friday. The comments by spokesman Admiral John Kirby marked the US government's first public confirmation that Iranian operatives had crossed into Iraq, where the Baghdad government is struggling to counter the swift advance of Sunni extremists. "There are some Iranian revolutionary operatives in Iraq but I've seen no indication of ground forces or major units," Kirby told a news conference, apparently referring to Tehran's Quds force, the covert arm of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

US stock drifting higher in afternoon trading Posted: 20 Jun 2014 12:00 PM PDT Stocks held on to slight gains in afternoon trading Friday, moving closer to finishing in positive territory for the week. On a light day for economic data, investors focused on individual stocks in the news. CarMax shares vaulted after the auto dealership operator reported strong quarterly earnings growth, while Darden and Oracle slumped.

Top Shiite cleric calls for new government in Iraq Posted: 20 Jun 2014 11:51 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — The spiritual leader of Iraq's Shiite majority called for a new, "effective" government Friday, increasing pressure on the country's prime minister a day after U.S. President Barack Obama challenged him to create a more inclusive leadership or risk a sectarian civil war.

Iraqi forces ready push after Obama offers advisers Posted: 20 Jun 2014 11:48 AM PDT By Isra' al-Rubei'i BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi forces were massing north of Baghdad on Friday, aiming to strike back at Sunni Islamists whose drive toward the capital prompted the United States to send military advisers to stiffen government resistance. Iraq's senior Shi'ite religious cleric issued a call for unity, saying Shi'ites and Sunnis should rally behind the authorities to prevent the Sunni militant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from destroying the country. Already, ISIL has started to enact its puritanical vision of Islam in Mosul, which it captured 10 days ago as it swept across northern Iraq. Mosul residents said ISIL members had destroyed symbols of Iraq's rich heritage, razing statues of cultural icons and the tomb of a Mediaeval philosopher.

Iran says Obama remarks show U.S. not serious in fighting terrorism Posted: 20 Jun 2014 11:48 AM PDT President Barack Obama's plan to send advisers to Iraq to help Baghdad counter Sunni Islamist militants shows the United States is not serious about fighting terrorism, an Iranian official was quoted by official media as saying on Friday. Obama on Thursday offered up to 300 Americans to help coordinate the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). But he held off granting a request for air strikes from the Shi'ite-led government and renewed a call for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to do more to overcome sectarian divisions that have fueled resentment among the Sunni minority. "Obama's recent remarks showed that the White House lacks serious will for confronting terrorism in Iraq and the region," the official IRNA news agency reported Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying.

US seeks legal protection for troops going to Iraq Posted: 20 Jun 2014 11:31 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon expects Iraq to agree in writing to legal protections for the military advisory teams that President Barack Obama is sending as part of an effort to stiffen Iraqi defenses against insurgents, a spokesman said Friday.

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