Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Iraq crisis: Kerry to meet with Saudi king, seeking Sunni Arab restraint
• Iraq helicopter crashes in airborne commando assault on Tikrit
• 'Great Conciliator' Howard Baker dies
• Obama seeks $500M to train, equip Syrian rebels
• Obama seeks $500 mn to train, equip Syrian rebels
• WE'RE PAYING FOR THE MESS WE MADE IN CENTRAL AMERICA
• Obama seeks $500 million from Congress to help moderate Syrian rebels
• Iraqi Shiites pushing for al-Maliki's removal
• Obama shares an (atypical) 'day in life' of Minnesota woman
• White House sends $60 billion war-funding request to Congress
• Stocks slip on Fed official's rate hike call; sterling up
• Price of oil falls on some easing of Iraq worries
• Obama Requests $500 Million for 'Moderate' Syrian Rebels
• U.N. aid chief urges Security Council to act on Syria aid crisis
• TSX rises as energy, materials shares show strength
• Tens of Thousands of Christians Flee ISIS Attack on Nineveh Town of Qaraqosh (Hamdaniya)
• U.S. drone strikes risk 'slippery slope' to endless war, panel says
• ISIL deploys in Syria border town
• Putin-Style Human Rights at the UN
• UN accuses Syria of impeding aid deliveries
• Medal of Honor recipient: This belongs to comrades
• Global role divides US across political spectrum
• Senate confirms new US ambassadors to Iraq, Egypt
• Court acquits radical Jordanian cleric in 1 case
• Iraqi parliament prepares to start work next week
• UN humanitarian chief points finger at Syria
• US, Sunni states meet on Mideast insurgent crisis
• Analysis: Iraq producing unusual Mideast dynamic
• Kerry asks Gulf states to do what they can to help Iraq
• Iraqi parliament to meet in step to form new govt
• Syria not the answer to Iraq turmoil: US
• Israel offers to help Arab nations over Iraq crisis
• More U.S. forces arrive in Baghdad, two-star general leads effort
• Hague urges Iraq unity in face of militants
• Saudi king orders steps against 'terrorist threats'
• US drone killings: 'a secret war governed by secret law'?
• Suicide bombers bring Iraq conflict ever closer to Lebanon
• British spymaster John Sawers, head of MI6, to step down
• Mideast crisis exposes failure to build democracy -IPU
• Saudi king orders measures to defend against Iraq jihadists

Iraq crisis: Kerry to meet with Saudi king, seeking Sunni Arab restraint Posted: 26 Jun 2014 04:50 PM PDT In the run-up to his stop in Riyadh – a last-minute add-on to his week-long trip to the Middle East and Europe – Mr. Kerry has been imploring the region's powers to refrain from entering the Iraqi fray in ways he says could cause the conflict to deteriorate into a full-blown sectarian war. In particular, he is encouraging the region's Sunni Arabs to tamp down their harsh public criticisms of Iraq's Shiite prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, and to press Iraq's Sunni tribes to reject the country's Sunni insurgency, which has aligned with the advancing Islamist extremist group, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS). "We've made it clear to everyone in the region that we don't need anything to take place that might exacerbate the sectarian divisions that are already at a heightened level of tension," Kerry said Wednesday, warning against actions that he said "could act as a flashpoint with respect to the sectarian divide" between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. Yet while Kerry emphasizes the need for regional unity against extremist forces like ISIS, the region's Sunni Arabs, and the Saudis in particular, worry more about Shiite Iran – whose influence they see growing, and whose interests they fear are increasingly aligned with those of the US.

Iraq helicopter crashes in airborne commando assault on Tikrit Posted: 26 Jun 2014 04:29 PM PDT By Oliver Holmes and Isabel Coles BAGHDAD/ARBIL (Reuters) - Iraqi forces launched an airborne assault on rebel-held Tikrit on Thursday with commandos flown into a stadium in helicopters, at least one of which crashed after taking fire from insurgents who have seized northern cities. Witnesses said battles were raging in the city, hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein, which fell to Sunni Islamist fighters two weeks ago on the third day of a lightning offensive that has given them control of most majority Sunni regions. The helicopters were shot at as they flew low over the city and landed in a stadium at the city's university, a security source at the scene said. Ahmed al-Jubbour, professor at the university's college of agriculture, described fighting in the colleges of agriculture and sports education after three helicopters arrived.

'Great Conciliator' Howard Baker dies Posted: 26 Jun 2014 04:11 PM PDT Howard Baker, a former Senate majority leader and presidential contender known for his ability to achieve compromise across the political aisle, died on Thursday. Baker became the first Republican leader of the Senate in 26 years when he took the reins in 1981. He later went on to serve as chief of staff for president Ronald Reagan, to whom he lost the Republican nomination in 1980. Current Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who took to the Senate floor to announce Baker's death, hailed him as "one of the Senate's most towering figures."

Obama seeks $500M to train, equip Syrian rebels Posted: 26 Jun 2014 04:10 PM PDT President Barack Obama is asking Congress for $500 million to train and arm vetted members of the Syrian opposition, as the U.S. grapples for a way to stem a civil war that has also fueled the al-Qaida inspired insurgency in neighboring Iraq.

Obama seeks $500 mn to train, equip Syrian rebels Posted: 26 Jun 2014 04:03 PM PDT The White House asked lawmakers Thursday for $500 million to train and equip vetted Syrian rebels, in what would be a significant escalation of US involvement in a conflict that has spilled into Iraq. Following several signals in recent weeks by President Barack Obama's administration -- and months of pressure from lawmakers like Senator John McCain -- the White House said it intends to "ramp up US support to the moderate Syrian opposition." The request is part of a $1.5 billion Regional Stabilization Initiative to bolster stability in Syrian neighbors Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, and to support communities hosting refugees. The proposed funding would serve "vetted elements of the Syrian armed opposition to help defend the Syrian people, stabilize areas under opposition control, facilitate the provision of essential services, counter terrorist threats and promote conditions for a negotiated settlement," the White House said in a statement.

WE'RE PAYING FOR THE MESS WE MADE IN CENTRAL AMERICA Posted: 26 Jun 2014 04:01 PM PDT In the 1960s and '70s, when you would land at the international airport in El Salvador in Central America, more than likely you'd soon be sickened. San Salvador, the capital, is up in the mountains. That was the era of Washington's brave new world anti-communist crusade in these small and impossibly poor countries of Central America, which had so little to build on from the beginning. Cuba was sending trainers and inspiration into El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua, and those countries were, in turn, sending their best youth to Cuba for advanced training.

Obama seeks $500 million from Congress to help moderate Syrian rebels Posted: 26 Jun 2014 04:00 PM PDT By Steve Holland and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, under pressure from some lawmakers to provide more help to Syria's opposition, asked the U.S. Congress on Thursday to approve $500 million to train and equip moderate Syrian rebels seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad. It was the administration's most tangible move yet to help beleaguered Assad opponents who have been frustrated at a lack of U.S. assistance after Obama stepped back from launching air strikes on Syria nearly a year ago. Senior Obama administration officials have long debated how best to help rebels in Syria's three-year-old civil war, which is showing signs of spilling over into neighboring Iraq.

Iraqi Shiites pushing for al-Maliki's removal Posted: 26 Jun 2014 03:37 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Prominent Shiite leaders pushed Thursday for the removal of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as parliament prepared to start work next week on putting together a new government, under intense U.S. pressure to rapidly form a united front against an unrelenting Sunni insurgent onslaught.

Obama shares an (atypical) 'day in life' of Minnesota woman Posted: 26 Jun 2014 03:14 PM PDT By Roberta Rampton MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - President Barack Obama spent a "day in the life" of a young Minnesota accountant struggling to make ends meet, but the road trip quickly turned into a typical day in the life of Obama - one spent defending his actions and criticizing Republicans. The trip, billed as the first in a series, was aimed at reconnecting Obama with Democrats ahead of midterm elections where Republicans stand a good chance of taking control of the Senate, jeopardizing the chance to accomplish goals for his last two years in office. After Obama chatted with Rebekah Erler, 36, over a cheese-filled "Jucy Lucy" hamburger at the dark-paneled Matt's Bar in Minneapolis, he drove to a city park where 350 invited participants were waiting. These were issues Obama loves to talk about, and the friendly crowd frequently applauded his answers, which were salted with stories about his family and childhood, and his frustrations trying to make changes in Washington.

White House sends $60 billion war-funding request to Congress Posted: 26 Jun 2014 03:09 PM PDT By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House sent Congress a 2015 war-funding request on Thursday of nearly $60 billion, a drop of $20 billion from the current fiscal year after President Barack Obama decided to withdraw all but 9,800 troops from Afghanistan by Dec. 31. Obama, in a letter to the House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, asked for $58.6 billion for the war in Afghanistan and other overseas military activity, the smallest Pentagon war-funding request in a decade. ...

Stocks slip on Fed official's rate hike call; sterling up Posted: 26 Jun 2014 03:09 PM PDT By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended slight lower on Thursday after a Federal Reserve official said interest rates should rise by early 2015, while the pound gained on talk that UK rates also will go up, even as the Bank of England took only mild steps to tighten lending. The dollar erased gains to trade flat against a basket of major currencies as foreign exchange traders discounted the remarks by the president of the St. Louis Fed, James Bullard.

Price of oil falls on some easing of Iraq worries Posted: 26 Jun 2014 02:56 PM PDT The price of oil fell Thursday as fears diminished somewhat over supply disruptions from Iraq. Benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery slipped 66 cents per barrel to $105.85 on the New York Mercantile ...

Obama Requests $500 Million for 'Moderate' Syrian Rebels Posted: 26 Jun 2014 02:48 PM PDT President Barack Obama wants to increase the U.S.'s involvement in the Syrian conflict by asking Congress to approve $500 million in funding to train and arm "moderate" Syrian rebel forces.  The proposed assistance will "help defend the Syrian people, stabilize areas under opposition control and facilitate the provision of essential services, counter terrorist threats, and promote conditions for a negotiated settlement," the administration said in its budget request to Congress. The CIA vets any opposition group that receives training and small arms from the U.S.  Some lawmakers fear any weapons provided to Syrian rebels will end up in the hands of terrorists. "This funding request would build on the administration's longstanding efforts to empower the moderate Syrian opposition, both civilian and armed, and will enable the Department of Defense to increase our support to vetted elements of the armed opposition," Caitlin Hayden, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said.

U.N. aid chief urges Security Council to act on Syria aid crisis Posted: 26 Jun 2014 02:42 PM PDT By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. aid chief appealed to the Security Council on Thursday to take action on the "inhuman" obstruction of humanitarian relief in Syria, as Russia and Western nations appeared at an impasse in talks on a draft resolution intended to boost access. Four months after the 15-member council adopted a resolution demanding rapid and unhindered humanitarian access, Valerie Amos, U.N. undersecretary for humanitarian relief, said there were 10.8 million people in need of help, 1.5 million more than six months ago.

TSX rises as energy, materials shares show strength Posted: 26 Jun 2014 02:35 PM PDT Canada's main stock index closed modestly higher on Thursday, reversing earlier weakness on the back of higher energy and financial shares and a turnaround in mining stocks. The index's heavily weighted energy sector rose 0.73 percent despite crude oil prices that declined as fears eased that fighting in Iraq would spur export disruptions. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE ended the session up 56.09 points, or 0.37 percent, at 15,030.74. Rick Hutcheon, president of RKH Investments, said he expected the index to regain the lost ground.

Tens of Thousands of Christians Flee ISIS Attack on Nineveh Town of Qaraqosh (Hamdaniya) Posted: 26 Jun 2014 02:26 PM PDT ERBIL, Iraq, June 26, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Over 50,000 Iraqis, mainly Christians, from the Nineveh township of Qaraqosh, 12 miles east of Iraq's second-largest city Mosul, were displaced last night as a result of shelling by the armed forces of the Sunni extremist Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). With the collapse of the Iraqi army in Mosul earlier this month, the only armed defenders of Qaraqosh are members of the Kurdish Pershmerga militia.

U.S. drone strikes risk 'slippery slope' to endless war, panel says Posted: 26 Jun 2014 02:22 PM PDT By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration's reliance on drone strikes abroad threatens to create a "slippery slope" toward endless war and sets a dangerous precedent that other countries could follow, former senior U.S. officials said in a report on Thursday. The report acknowledged that the armed unmanned aircraft are a useful tool in the U.S. counterterrorism arsenal and are "here to stay," but it called on President Barack Obama to allow increased public scrutiny and tighter oversight for the secretive program while developing international norms. The report by the 10-member task force, including former high-ranking State Department and Pentagon officials, comes as the United States considers drone strikes in support of beleaguered Iraqi government forces fighting Sunni insurgents who have taken over a large swathe of northern Iraq. It concluded that "while tactical strikes may have helped keep the homeland free of major terrorist attacks," this has come at a cost of "blowback" for Washington in places like Pakistan and Yemen.

ISIL deploys in Syria border town Posted: 26 Jun 2014 01:51 PM PDT Jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant bolstered their presence Thursday in the Syrian town of Albu Kamal on the border with Iraq, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the move came a day after members in the town of Al-Qaeda's franchise in Syria, Al-Nusra Front, pledged loyalty to ISIL, giving it control over both sides of the frontier. ISIL, which aspires to create an Islamic state that straddles Iraq and Syria, has spearheaded a lightning jihadist offensive that has already captured swathes of territory north and west of Baghdad. Pro-ISIL militants posted videos on YouTube showing a convoy of cars and trucks entering Albu Kamal and flying the jihadists' black flag.

Putin-Style Human Rights at the UN Posted: 26 Jun 2014 01:40 PM PDT The UN Human Rights Council just passed a resolution that could have come from Pat Robertson—but passed thanks to Vladimir Putin's Russia.

UN accuses Syria of impeding aid deliveries Posted: 26 Jun 2014 01:24 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. humanitarian chief accused the Syrian government Thursday of imposing "arbitrary restrictions and obstructions" on the delivery of aid and banning life-saving medical supplies from shipments to opposition-held areas.

Medal of Honor recipient: This belongs to comrades Posted: 26 Jun 2014 01:02 PM PDT CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Ryan Pitts will wear the nation's highest award for combat valor, but the humble and soft-spoken Medal of Honor recipient who continued to fight after being wounded in one of Afghanistan's bloodiest battles insisted Thursday that the medal belongs to all of his comrades who fought and died that day.

Global role divides US across political spectrum Posted: 26 Jun 2014 12:51 PM PDT Most Americans want the United States to do less overseas, with the question of the country's global role divisive across the political spectrum, a survey said Thursday. Six in ten said the United States should focus more on home and less overseas, according to a wide-ranging study of US political views by the Pew Research Center. Some 71 percent of Americans classified by the survey as "steadfast conservatives," who tend to be religious and traditional, said that the United States should focus less abroad. Most liberals also supported an active US role overseas, but the strongest opposition came from Americans identified as "hard-pressed skeptics," who lean toward President Barack Obama's Democratic Party but are generally low-income and distrustful of government.

Senate confirms new US ambassadors to Iraq, Egypt Posted: 26 Jun 2014 12:16 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed new U.S. ambassadors to Iraq and Egypt after lengthy delays.

Court acquits radical Jordanian cleric in 1 case Posted: 26 Jun 2014 11:58 AM PDT AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — A military court on Thursday acquitted a radical Jordanian preacher known for his fiery pro-al-Qaida rhetoric of involvement in a foiled 1999 plot to attack an American school in Amman but postponed a ruling on other terrorism charges.

Iraqi parliament prepares to start work next week Posted: 26 Jun 2014 11:34 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's vice president called on parliament Thursday to convene next week, taking the first step toward forming a new government to present a united front against a rapidly advancing Sunni insurgency as a bombing killed 12 people in a Baghdad Shiite neighborhood and police found eight more bullet-riddled bodies south of the capital.

UN humanitarian chief points finger at Syria Posted: 26 Jun 2014 11:17 AM PDT Syria is more concerned with obstructing the United Nations than getting urgent aid to millions of its most needy, UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos told the Security Council on Thursday. Amos was presenting the fourth UN report on humanitarian access in war-torn Syria, and stressed that 10.8 million Syrians were in desperate need of humanitarian aid -- but that workers were having trouble reaching about half of them. Amos repeated her demand that Damascus allow aid to pass into Syria from neighboring Turkey, Iraq and Jordan, which she said would help 1.3 million people. Syria opposes the delivery of cross-border aid that would send supplies directly to areas held by the armed opposition in its brutal civil war.

US, Sunni states meet on Mideast insurgent crisis Posted: 26 Jun 2014 10:59 AM PDT PARIS (AP) — The United States met Thursday with its top Sunni state allies in the Mideast to consider how to confront the region's growing turmoil that has been spawned by a Sunni Muslim insurgency group.

Analysis: Iraq producing unusual Mideast dynamic Posted: 26 Jun 2014 10:56 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has found itself in a foreign policy and national security pickle of rare complexity with the apparent entry of Syria into the Iraq conflict on the side of the U.S.-backed government in Baghdad, as well as active Iranian military support for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Kerry asks Gulf states to do what they can to help Iraq Posted: 26 Jun 2014 10:47 AM PDT By Lesley Wroughton PARIS (Reuters) - The United States urged Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday to do what they can to encourage Iraq to form an inclusive government to tackle Islamist militant forces threatening to tear apart the country. In a frenetic round of meetings in Paris, Secretary of State John Kerry briefed his counterparts about U.S. intelligence-gathering on potential targets in Iraq aimed at beating back the insurgency, according to senior State Department officials. The foreign ministers of the three Arab states expressed concerns with the current Shi'ite Muslim-dominated leadership in Iraq, the officials said.

Iraqi parliament to meet in step to form new govt Posted: 26 Jun 2014 10:43 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's vice president called on parliament Thursday to convene next week, taking the first step toward forming a new government to present a united front against a rapidly advancing Sunni insurgency as a bombing killed 12 people in a Baghdad Shiite neighborhood and police found eight more bullet-riddled bodies south of the capital.

Syria not the answer to Iraq turmoil: US Posted: 26 Jun 2014 10:43 AM PDT The United States said Thursday it opposed a role by Syria in resolving Iraq's turmoil after President Bashar al-Assad's government was said to have carried out air strikes against militants. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, facing Sunni extremists who have swept across his country from war-torn Syria, told the BBC that Assad's air force this week struck the insurgents on the Syrian side of the border, in a marked escalation. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, while not confirming the air strikes, said that the United States believed military action by Assad would not be "in any way helpful to Iraq's security." "Iraq's security situation cannot and should not be resolved by the Assad regime, by air strikes from the Assad regime or by militias funded and supported by other countries in the region stepping in," Harf told reporters.

Israel offers to help Arab nations over Iraq crisis Posted: 26 Jun 2014 10:32 AM PDT Israel offered to help moderate Arab nations threatened by a lightning offensive by Islamic militants in Iraq, as the country's top diplomat met with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Kerry at a meeting in Paris that "the extremists currently operating in Iraq will try to challenge the stability in the entire Gulf region, first of all in Kuwait," a statement from the Israeli minister's office said. "Israel could provide effective and reliable assistance to moderate Arab states who are dealing with extremists," it added, without going into specific details.

More U.S. forces arrive in Baghdad, two-star general leads effort Posted: 26 Jun 2014 10:19 AM PDT By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Another 50 U.S. special operations forces have arrived in Baghdad under the newly appointed command of a two-star general as the U.S. military steadily ramps up an advisory mission aimed at helping Iraq battle back Sunni militants, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The Pentagon said the first of two planned Joint Operations Centers in Iraq had also become activated, bolstering its ability to oversee U.S. teams and gather information about the situation on the ground, including about Iraq's security forces. "It will of course serve as a fusion center where information that's coming in from the various teams can be consolidated and it can be analyzed," said Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman. Iraq's million-strong army, trained and equipped by the United States, largely evaporated in the north after Sunni fighters led by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant launched their assault with the capture of the north's biggest city Mosul on June 10.

Hague urges Iraq unity in face of militants Posted: 26 Jun 2014 09:57 AM PDT British Foreign Secretary William Hague called on Iraq's leaders during a surprise visit to Baghdad Thursday to unite in the face of a Sunni militant offensive that threatens the country's existence. Hague met with beleaguered Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and several other political leaders, during which he called the Sunni Muslim jihadist group leading the offensive a "mortal threat" to Iraq. "The single most important factor that will determine whether or not Iraq overcomes the challenge is political unity," he told journalists in Baghdad. "It is vital to demonstrate to the world that Iraq is uniting in the face of this threat.

Saudi king orders steps against 'terrorist threats' Posted: 26 Jun 2014 09:45 AM PDT King Abdullah ordered all necessary measures to protect Saudi Arabia against potential "terrorist threats" after chairing a security meeting to discuss the fall-out from Iraq, the state news agency SPA said on Thursday. The world's top oil exporter shares an 800-km (500-mile) border with Iraq, where the militant Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other Sunni Muslim groups have seized towns and cities in a lightning advance this month. Riyadh has long expressed fears of being targeted by jihadists, including some of its own citizens, who have taken part in conflicts in Iraq and Syria, and earlier this year decreed long jail terms for those who travel overseas to fight.

US drone killings: 'a secret war governed by secret law'? Posted: 26 Jun 2014 09:43 AM PDT Among the chief concerns of critics – and even some supporters – of the program is that the "largely covert campaign of targeted killing" has created a "secret war governed by secret law," says the Task Force on US Drone Policy, co-chaired by retired Gen. John Abizaid, former head of US Central Command, the US military entity responsible for running the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The task force is composed of a number of former administration insiders, including the former legal adviser to the National Security Council under President George W. Bush, who issue a stark warning. The report wrestles with the same concerns that were raised earlier this week when a federal court released the Justice Department memorandum justifying the drone killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a US citizen, in Yemen. It was a memo that itself set a dangerous precedent, critics of US drone strategy argue, when it reasoned that killing Mr. Awalaki without an arrest or trial was justified because he posed an "imminent threat" to the US.

Suicide bombers bring Iraq conflict ever closer to Lebanon Posted: 26 Jun 2014 09:22 AM PDT A spate of suicide bombings in Lebanon and a security sweep of suspected extremists and militant cells has raised fears that the violence roiling Iraq has arrived in Lebanon.  Three suicide bombings, two of them car bombs, since Friday have left two people dead and 70 wounded and snapped a three-month period of calm. Lebanese security sources suspect that the current wave of attacks is being directed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), which is leading a Sunni offensive in northern Iraq. These sources say ISIS may be exploiting sleeper cells in Lebanon or sending foreign jihadis to Beirut to target the militant Shiite group Hezbollah, which is fighting in Syria alongside the forces of President Bashar al-Assad.

British spymaster John Sawers, head of MI6, to step down Posted: 26 Jun 2014 09:15 AM PDT By Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's foreign spymaster, who at times quoted Machiavelli and fought off demands to ease secrecy around his MI6 intelligence agency, will step down in November after five years, the Foreign Office said on Thursday. John Sawers, an ex-career diplomat, became the first outsider to head the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in 41 years when he took over in November 2009 under then-prime minister Gordon Brown. MI6, cast by novelists as the employer of some of the most memorable fictional spies from John le Carré's George Smiley to Ian Fleming's James Bond, operates overseas and is tasked with defending Britain and its interests. "Sir John has spent 36 years in a range of jobs in public service, defending UK national interests and keeping our country safe." Sawers, who argued that al Qaeda and its affiliates posed the biggest threat to Britain, is believed to have wanted to relinquish his sensitive role before a national election next year.

Mideast crisis exposes failure to build democracy -IPU Posted: 26 Jun 2014 09:12 AM PDT The surging crisis in Iraq and battles over democracy in Arab Spring nations have exposed the failure of the international community to help lay political foundations, a top official says. In a wide-ranging interview, Anders Johnsson said global players have repeatedly got the recipe wrong by seeing elections as the end of a process rather than the beginning. Johnsson, a Swede, heads the International Parliamentary Union, a grouping of 164 legislative chambers that seeks to improve representative democracy worldwide. "I have seen this time and time again," Johnsson told AFP, saying the international community pours billions of dollars into paving the way for free elections but fails to help newly-crafted parliaments find their feet.

Saudi king orders measures to defend against Iraq jihadists Posted: 26 Jun 2014 09:03 AM PDT Saudi King Abdullah instructed authorities in the oil-rich kingdom Thursday to take "necessary measures" to defend the country from jihadists battling the government in neighbouring Iraq. The announcement comes days after militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized the border crossing from Iraq into Jordan, which also neighbours the kingdom, as they press an offensive in Iraq. The measures were not spelled out but decided during a security cabinet meeting chaired by the king and devoted to discussing developments in Iraq and their impact on Gulf Arab monarchies. The meeting comes on the eve of a visit to Saudi Arabia by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who has been holding talks with regional and international players to seek ways of containing the unrest in Iraq.

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