Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT
• World stocks hold at all-time high after bumper week
• Iraq chaos fuels Kurds' independence dream, but hurdles remain
• Syrian army poised for Aleppo assault
• Iraq analyzing tape purported to show top militant
• Syrian opposition meets to elect new president
• Egypt's Sisi says independence for Iraq's Kurds would be 'catastrophic'
• Preventing a religious war in the Mideast
• Syrian opposition to elect new president
• Iraq analysing jihadist sermon video for authenticity
• Shi'ite cleric Sadr urges Maliki's bloc to choose new Iraq PM candidate
• Ventura must show sniper disregarded truth in book
• Iranian pilot killed defending Iraqi shrine: IRNA
• Dalai Lama urges Buddhists to halt Muslim violence
• Iran backs Maliki as Iraq PM but open to change
• Top Asian News at 12:00 p.m. GMT
• 'Caliph' sermon at Iraq mosque a show of confidence, say experts
• Dick Cheney’s Swipe at Obama Divides the GOP

Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 06 Jul 2014 04:33 PM PDT KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan's election crisis deepened Sunday as the two presidential candidates sparred over the release of preliminary results and calls mounted for a broader investigation of suspect ballots amid allegations of massive fraud. The impasse has threatened to undermine what the U.S. and its allies had hoped would be the country's first democratic transfer of authority after President Hamid Karzai agreed to step down after two terms as legally required.

World stocks hold at all-time high after bumper week Posted: 06 Jul 2014 03:51 PM PDT By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks were enjoying the view at an all-time high on Friday, lifted by a week of strong U.S. economic data and promises from the European Central Bank that cheap money will be sloshing around for years. European shares were marginally in the red as the dust settled from Thursday's forecast-busting U.S. jobs data and ECB meeting, with investors taking the opportunity to lock in profits after the biggest week of gains since March. A new three-year peak for Asian stocks overnight meant MSCI's All World share index , which tracks 45 countries, set its fourth consecutive record high, while the dollar , U.S. bond yields and growth-sensitive copper were also up for the week. "Markets keep going up," said Daniel McCormack an equities strategist at Macquarie Capital in London.

Iraq chaos fuels Kurds' independence dream, but hurdles remain Posted: 06 Jul 2014 02:00 PM PDT By Isabel Coles KELE BI Iraq (Reuters) - A grave, freshly dug and adorned with pebbles, is the modest tribute to one more sacrifice in the long history of struggle for an independent Kurdish state. Hogir Fathi was looking forward to home leave in his village in autonomous Kurdistan when the 24-year-old, a fighter in the Iraqi region's peshmerga forces, was killed by a bomb while on the frontline against Islamist militants who last month drove the Iraqi army from most of the north outside the Kurdish zone. "I am proud my son was martyred," said his father, Mehdi, himself a peshmerga, who fought the army of Saddam Hussein. "There is no sacrifice too great for an independent Kurdistan." A century after the Kurds lost out in the carve-up of the Ottoman empire after World War One, denied a state of their own and left scattered across four others, that dream is suddenly closer as fighting among Iraq's Arabs - minority Sunnis and the Shi'ites in power - fuels talk of the country being partitioned.

Syrian army poised for Aleppo assault Posted: 06 Jul 2014 12:24 PM PDT The opposition Syrian National Coalition said Sunday that regime forces are preparing to launch a major assault on rebel-held areas of the northern city of Aleppo. The group's leadership, meanwhile, was meeting in Istanbul to elect a successor to SNC chief Ahmad Jarba. "The military situation is very difficult, the siege of Aleppo has become a reality," coalition spokesman Luay Safi said on the group's website. "Syrian troops are preparing to invade Aleppo," he said.

Iraq analyzing tape purported to show top militant Posted: 06 Jul 2014 12:22 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq security agencies are working to verify the authenticity of a video that purportedly shows the elusive leader of the Sunni extremist group that has declared an Islamic state in a large chunk of territory it controls leading prayers this week in northern Iraq, authorities said.

Syrian opposition meets to elect new president Posted: 06 Jul 2014 12:12 PM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — The main Western-backed Syrian opposition group began a three-day meeting in Istanbul on Sunday to elect a new president and discuss the offensive by Islamic militants straddling Iraq and Syria, an official with the group said.

Egypt's Sisi says independence for Iraq's Kurds would be 'catastrophic' Posted: 06 Jul 2014 11:33 AM PDT Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday a referendum on the independence of Iraq's Kurdish region would lead to a "catastrophic" break up of the country, which is facing an onslaught by Sunni Islamist militants. The comments from Sisi, leader of the most populous Arab nation, indicate a growing fear in the region that the division of Iraq could further empower the insurgents who have declared a "caliphate" on land seized in Iraq and neighboring Syria. "The referendum that the Kurds are asking for now is in reality no more than the start of a catastrophic division of Iraq into smaller rival states," Egypt's MENA news agency quoted Sisi as saying during a meeting with local journalists.

Preventing a religious war in the Mideast Posted: 06 Jul 2014 11:01 AM PDT This tactic aims to incite a violent response by the perceived heretics and help unite all Sunnis behind the group's leader, who calls himself "Khalifa Ibrahim," or caliph Abraham, after the ancient prophet. The attacks run the risk of igniting a wider war of religion, perhaps drawing in Iran, which is largely Shiite, and Saudi Arabia, which is mainly Sunni. A major war of religion has not occurred on the world scene since the Thirty Years' War in 17th-century Europe. For one, wars over theology and religious traditions are particularly brutal.

Syrian opposition to elect new president Posted: 06 Jul 2014 10:11 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — The Western-backed Syrian opposition group will begin a three-day meeting in Istanbul later Sunday to elect a new president and discuss the offensive by Islamic militants straddling Iraq and Syria, an official with the group said.

Iraq analysing jihadist sermon video for authenticity Posted: 06 Jul 2014 09:39 AM PDT Iraqi forces are analysing an online video that purports to show a brutal jihadist group's leader delivering a sermon in the militant-held city of Mosul, a spokesman said on Sunday. The video, which if authenticated would be the first time the leader of the Islamic State (IS) has appeared on camera since proclaiming himself the leader of the world's Muslims, was apparently taken during Friday prayers at Al-Nur mosque in the northern Iraqi city. "The video is being investigated and analysed and verified by security forces and intelligence officers," said Lieutenant General Qassem Atta, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's security spokesman. The video posted on Saturday showed a portly man clad in a long black robe and turban with a thick greying beard -- purportedly IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi -- addressing worshippers at weekly prayers in central Mosul.

Shi'ite cleric Sadr urges Maliki's bloc to choose new Iraq PM candidate Posted: 06 Jul 2014 08:04 AM PDT By Raheem Salman BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition should withdraw its support for his bid for a third term and pick another candidate, Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr urged, amid parliamentary deadlock over the formation of a new government. Maliki has come under mounting pressure since Islamic State militants took swathes of the north and west of Iraq last month and declared a caliphate on land they and other Sunni armed groups have captured in Iraq and Syria. In a statement published on his website late on Saturday, Sadr said Maliki "has involved himself and us in long security quarrels and big political crises" and suggested that preventing Maliki from serving a third term would be a "welcome step". "It is necessary to demonstrate the national and paternal spirit by aiming for a higher, wider goal from individuals and blocs and by that I mean changing the candidates," said Sadr, who gained political influence during the U.S. occupation.

Ventura must show sniper disregarded truth in book Posted: 06 Jul 2014 07:59 AM PDT MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When a man regarded as the deadliest sniper in U.S. history detailed his kills in a bestselling autobiography, he also included details about a 2006 incident in which he says he punched a guy he called "Scruff Face" — later identified as former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura.

Iranian pilot killed defending Iraqi shrine: IRNA Posted: 06 Jul 2014 07:51 AM PDT An Iranian pilot was killed defending Shi'ite Muslim holy sites in neighboring Iraq, Iran's state news agency said, in the first official report of an Iranian death related to an upsurge in violence there since June. Shoja'at Alamdari Mourjani, who was buried in the Iranian city of Shiraz on Friday, was killed while fighting "takfiri terrorists" in Samarra, north of Baghdad, it said, using a term for Sunni Muslim militant fighters. Iraq's Shi'ite-led government is fighting an insurgency by Sunni rebels led by an al Qaeda splinter group, the Islamic State, who consider Shi'ites heretics. There was no information in the IRNA report to indicate whether Mourjani was flying aircraft in Samarra, and whether he went there on his own initiative or on behalf of the Iranian state.

Dalai Lama urges Buddhists to halt Muslim violence Posted: 06 Jul 2014 07:47 AM PDT The Dalai Lama Sunday reiterated his plea to Buddhists in Myanmar and Sri Lanka to halt violence against Muslims, in a speech to tens of thousands of devotees to mark his 79th birthday. In front of the massive crowd that included Hollywood film star Richard Gere in northern India, the Dalai Lama said the violence in both Buddhist-majority countries targeting religious minority Muslims was unacceptable. "I urge the Buddhists in these countries to imagine an image of Buddha before they commit such a crime," Tibet's exiled spiritual leader said on the outskirts of Leh, high in the Himalayas. If the Buddha is there, he will protect the Muslims whom the Buddhists are attacking," the leader, who fled Tibet for India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said.

Iran backs Maliki as Iraq PM but open to change Posted: 06 Jul 2014 07:39 AM PDT Iran said Sunday it supports Nuri al-Maliki's bid to stay on as Iraq's premier but that it is ready to back any other candidate chosen by parliament in Baghdad. Maliki's "State of Law coalition won first place in the last legislative elections... (and) any decision that is taken in Iraq and has the support of parliament has Iran's backing," said Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. "If Mr Maliki is chosen as prime minister, we will work hard together. If another person is chosen by parliament, the Islamic Republic of Iran will also support them.

Top Asian News at 12:00 p.m. GMT Posted: 06 Jul 2014 05:02 AM PDT ISLAMABAD (AP) — The father of a pregnant Pakistani woman who was stoned to death and four other men have been charged with killing her after she married against the family's wishes and their trial was set to begin on Monday, police said. Farzana Parveen, 25, was killed May 27 before a crowd of onlookers near a downtown courthouse in the eastern city of Lahore. A mob beat her with bricks and killed her as she was on her way to court to contest an abduction case her family had filed against her husband.

'Caliph' sermon at Iraq mosque a show of confidence, say experts Posted: 06 Jul 2014 03:01 AM PDT The first appearance of self-proclaimed "caliph" Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a video shot in an Iraqi mosque illustrates the extent of his jihadist group's control and confidence, experts say. Baghdadi, whose Islamic State (IS) group holds territory in both Iraq and Syria, called for Muslims to "obey" him during the prayer sermon at the Al-Nur mosque in Mosul on Friday, according to the video distributed online the following day. "Put simply, one of the most wanted men on earth was able to travel into central Mosul and give a 30-minute sermon in the most venerated mosque in the largest city under control of the most notorious jihadist group of our time," said Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center. "The fact that Baghdadi has appeared publicly at all in such a central location underlines the extent of confidence felt within his organisation."

Dick Cheney’s Swipe at Obama Divides the GOP Posted: 06 Jul 2014 03:00 AM PDT Former Vice President Dick Cheney has been on a tear lately. He has blasted the Obama administration for the ongoing collapse of Iraq, criticized Republicans for capitulating to the president, and all the while, seemed completely oblivious to his own role in the quagmire that now threatens the stability of the entire Middle East.  His role in the faulty lead-up to the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent chaos that enveloped the country – as well as his refusal to acknowledge missteps along the way – have long made liberals disdain him.  So it's no surprise that he enraged the left with his op-ed column in The Wall Street Journal when he blamed only President Obama for the advance of the Islamic State militant group - not himself or for the Bush administration.

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