Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• In international flight, volatile conflicts abound
• White House rebuffs criticism of Obama fundraising trip
• The Dogs in Our Fight: These Ignored American Soldiers Deserve Respect
• Lawyer for author's estate calls Jesse Ventura publicity seeker
• Jurors start considering Ventura defamation case
• Saudi Arabia Opens Up Its Stock Market to Foreigners
• Baghdad suicide car bomb kills 23
• Iraqi air strikes kill 19 around militant-held Falluja: medical official
• Suicide car bomb kills 23 in north Baghdad: sources
• At least 21 dead in Iraq checkpoint car bombing
• ISIS Torches 1800-Year-Old Mosul Church After Expelling Christians
• Gaza rocket lands near main Israel airport
• Gaza rocket lands near Israel's main airport
• Infighting as split emerges among Syrian rebels
• Iraq Christians flee with little more than clothes
• Iraq PM seeks Sunni tribal help in battling insurgency
• US tries to patch up spy row with Berlin
• Turkey's Erdogan acknowledges strains with Obama
• Kyle attorney: No proof by Ventura of defamation
• Turkish PM says he, Obama no longer talk directly
• Polio still threatens Middle East after Syria, Iraq cases: U.N.
• Iraq Christians flee Mosul after militant threats
• Iraq says Jordan's hosting of Sunni critics 'unacceptable'
• US consumer prices up 0.3 percent in June
• Syria war causes $21.4 bn losses to oil industry
• Israeli soldier missing as Gaza fighting rages on
• Airlines body says governments should lead review of airspace risks
• Turkey's top cleric calls new Islamic 'caliphate' illegitimate
• Yemen's al Qaeda wing seeks to set up 'emirate' in east
• Coptic Solidarity Urges Immediate International Action on Iraqi Genocide
• Islamic State crushes and coerces on march towards Baghdad
• UN Security Council denounces persecution of Iraqi Christians

In international flight, volatile conflicts abound Posted: 22 Jul 2014 04:37 PM PDT DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — In Libya, militias armed with shoulder-launched missiles are battling for control of the country's main airport. In Africa, the entire Sahel region is awash with weapons that include portable air defense systems leftover from the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi.

White House rebuffs criticism of Obama fundraising trip Posted: 22 Jul 2014 03:50 PM PDT US President Barack Obama left Washington Tuesday for a round of West Coast fundraising, with opponents questioning the trip's timing amid a proliferation of global crises. The trip to Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, in which Obama will help raise money for Democrats campaigning in November's mid-term elections, has elicited sharp criticism from Republicans. The White House assured reporters however that the president would not miss a beat in fulfilling his duties. "In terms of fundraising, it's a responsibility that presidents in both parties for generations have been responsible for," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest, following a barrage of questions over the trip's timing.

The Dogs in Our Fight: These Ignored American Soldiers Deserve Respect Posted: 22 Jul 2014 03:43 PM PDT After recovering from those wounds he continued to serve in the Marines for another five years, completing a decade of service before retiring. Normally this veteran would receive medical care free of charge for such ailments but, unfortunately, the medical care that applies to veterans upon their discharge does not apply to him because this Marine was a military working dog. His name was Rex E168 (his tracking number), a handsome 80 lb., pure-bred German Shepherd, and he, along with every military working dog, deserves to be medically cared for just as much as any other veteran after they leave service. It helps to know how hard military dogs work to understand why that kind of advocacy matters.

Lawyer for author's estate calls Jesse Ventura publicity seeker Posted: 22 Jul 2014 03:32 PM PDT By Art Hughes ST. PAUL Minn. (Reuters) - Former Minnesota Governor and ex-professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is a publicity seeker trying to grab headlines by filing a defamation case against the estate of a fellow ex-Navy SEAL who died after serving his country with honor, defense lawyers said on Tuesday. "Ventura thinks he deserves a pay day anytime someone mentions his name in a book," John Borger, a lawyer for Chris Kyle's estate, told the jury in closing arguments made at a federal court in St. Paul, Minnesota. "Jesse Ventura suffered untold humiliation and embarrassment," his lawyer David Bradley Olsen said in closing arguments.

Jurors start considering Ventura defamation case Posted: 22 Jul 2014 03:05 PM PDT ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An attorney for Jesse Ventura asked a federal jury Tuesday to award the former Minnesota governor millions of dollars in damages for what he claimed is a lie in a memoir by the late military sniper Chris Kyle.

Saudi Arabia Opens Up Its Stock Market to Foreigners Posted: 22 Jul 2014 03:05 PM PDT Saudi Arabia is seeking to add some new money into their $745 billion economy, as they are finally allowing foreign investors to buy and sell shares on their stock market, starting next year.  This move comes as Saudi Arabia moves to boost their non-oil industries. As the biggest exporter of oil in the world, it has been the driving factor of their overall economy. Nonetheless, other industries are becoming increasingly important, and the government has decided to spend $130 billion to help improve the non-energy sectors. "The move by Saudi Arabia helps accelerate efforts by the Gulf into becoming a more mainstream destination for international investors," Ryan Huang, a market strategist, told Bloomberg. "Opening up the market will be a liquidity boost for Saudi corporations."

Baghdad suicide car bomb kills 23 Posted: 22 Jul 2014 02:53 PM PDT A suicide car bomb explosion ripped through a police checkpoint in Baghdad Tuesday, killing 23 people and wounding more than 40, police and medical sources said. The suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at an entrance to the northwestern neighbourhood of Kadhimiyah, a police colonel and an interior ministry official said. At least five of the those killed were policemen, as were eight of those wounded, said police and medical sources, who both gave figures higher than 40 for the number of wounded. The predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of Kadhimiyah lies across the Tigris river from the mainly Sunni district of Adhamiyah and is frequently targeted when sectarian tension in the country is high.

Iraqi air strikes kill 19 around militant-held Falluja: medical official Posted: 22 Jul 2014 02:52 PM PDT By Kamal Namaa FALLUJA Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi government air strikes killed 19 people, including children, in Falluja on Monday and Tuesday, a health official in the militant-held city said. The Iraqi army has been shelling Falluja, 70 km (44 miles) west of Baghdad, for months, trying to drive out the Sunni militants from the group now known as Islamic State. Ahmed al-Shami, a spokesman for the Falluja health office - the local arm of the health ministry - said the 19 dead included women and children and that Falluja hospital had also received 38 wounded people since Monday evening. Residents of Falluja and the nearby town of Garma said helicopters fired artillery and dropped three barrel bombs on Falluja and two on Garma.

Suicide car bomb kills 23 in north Baghdad: sources Posted: 22 Jul 2014 02:47 PM PDT A suicide bombing in northern Baghdad killed 23 people, including nine police officers and wounded 52 others on Tuesday night, police and a local hospital source said. The car bomb exploded at a police checkpoint in the Kadhimiya district, a mainly Shi'ite area in the north of the capital, the sources said. The Islamic State, the militant group that seized large parts of northern Iraq last month, has claimed several suicide bombings in the capital.

At least 21 dead in Iraq checkpoint car bombing Posted: 22 Jul 2014 02:33 PM PDT A suicide driver rammed his explosive-laden car into a police checkpoint in the Iraqi capital killing 21 people, including more than a dozen civilians en route to a Shiite shrine in the final days of the Islamic holy month.

ISIS Torches 1800-Year-Old Mosul Church After Expelling Christians Posted: 22 Jul 2014 12:47 PM PDT ISIS, which recently rebranded as the Islamic State, has solidified its control over Iraq's second-largest city by imposing Sharia law and expelling Christians who won't convert to Islam. Friday at noon was the deadline for Christian families to meet ISIS's demands: Convert to Islam, pay an anachronistic Islamic tax for non-Muslims known as jizya, leave Mosul, or be killed. On the way out of town last week, the final 1500 families of Mosul's Christian population were reportedly robbed at ISIS checkpoints. And following Friday's deadline, ISIS reportedly set fire to a 1800-year-old church. Last month, ISIS shocked much of the world by swiftly capturing Mosul in an offensive that allowed the group to take control of major parts of northern and western Iraq.

Gaza rocket lands near main Israel airport Posted: 22 Jul 2014 12:23 PM PDT JERUSALEM (AP) — A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed near Israel's main airport Tuesday, wounding one Israeli and prompting all U.S. and some European and Canadian airlines to cancel flights to Tel Aviv — a reflection of high anxiety over air travel after the downing of a Malaysian jet over Ukraine.

Gaza rocket lands near Israel's main airport Posted: 22 Jul 2014 12:22 PM PDT A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed near Israel's main airport Tuesday, wounding one Israeli and prompting all U.S. and some European and Canadian airlines to cancel flights to Tel Aviv — a reflection ...

Infighting as split emerges among Syrian rebels Posted: 22 Jul 2014 11:28 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Fighters of an al-Qaida affiliate seized a northern border town in Syria from rival rebels, activists reported Tuesday, as new infighting threatened opposition gains.

Iraq Christians flee with little more than clothes Posted: 22 Jul 2014 11:25 AM PDT IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi Christians who fled the northern city of Mosul rather than convert to Islam by a deadline imposed by extremist militants said they had to leave most of their belongings behind and gunmen stole much of what they did manage to take along.

Iraq PM seeks Sunni tribal help in battling insurgency Posted: 22 Jul 2014 10:33 AM PDT Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki met several Sunni tribal leaders on Tuesday in a renewed bid to gain their support in battling a raging jihadist-led Sunni insurgency. Maliki, a Shiite, has had a troubled relationship with Iraq's Sunni tribes, who in 2006 began helping the government fight Al-Qaeda-linked Sunni militants, but who now accuse him of sectarian discrimination. The Iraqi premier's fresh overtures to tribal chiefs comes amid an onslaught spearheaded by Islamic State Sunni militants that has taken swathes of the country in recent weeks. "Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki added that the government would provide the tribes with everything they need to defend their areas."

US tries to patch up spy row with Berlin Posted: 22 Jul 2014 10:14 AM PDT The White House chief of staff and his German counterpart met Tuesday amid a serious rift over allegations of US spying. Germany ordered the Berlin CIA station chief to leave the country on July 10 in an unprecedented show of anger after uncovering two cases of suspected US spying, hot on the heels of mass surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA). German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose mobile phone was tapped by the NSA, last week spoke by telephone with US President Barack Obama with relations between the two allies at their most strained since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. "Following the telephone conversation between President Obama and Chancellor Merkel last Tuesday, the chief of staff of the White House, (Denis) McDonough, and Chancellery Minister (Peter) Altmaier met today in Berlin for detailed discussions on the state of bilateral relations and future cooperation," said a German government statement.

Turkey's Erdogan acknowledges strains with Obama Posted: 22 Jul 2014 10:03 AM PDT By Gulsen Solaker ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has acknowledged his relations with U.S. President Barack Obama have soured, saying he had been disappointed among other things by a lack of U.S. action over the war in neighbouring Syria. Erdogan enjoys strong support in Turkey and is expected to become Turkey's first directly elected president in a vote on Aug. 10, but his leadership has left Turkey increasingly isolated on the global stage. Everything from his bombastic rhetoric on Israel to his crackdown on anti-government protests last summer has raised concern among Western allies. Turkey has been an opponent of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, backing rebels fighting to oust him and allowing the political opposition to organise on Turkish soil.

Kyle attorney: No proof by Ventura of defamation Posted: 22 Jul 2014 09:44 AM PDT ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A lawyer for the estate of "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle asked a jury Tuesday to reject a defamation lawsuit brought by former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura.

Turkish PM says he, Obama no longer talk directly Posted: 22 Jul 2014 09:38 AM PDT ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he no longer holds "direct" telephone conversations with U.S. President Barak Obama, suggesting a rift between the leaders who were once close.

Polio still threatens Middle East after Syria, Iraq cases: U.N. Posted: 22 Jul 2014 08:34 AM PDT By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - Thirty-six children in Syria and two in Iraq have been paralyzed by polio since October, and the risk of the virus spreading further in the Middle East remains high, U.N. aid agencies said on Tuesday. A crippling and incurable disease, polio erupted in October in the northeast province of Deir al-Zor, marking Syria's first outbreak since 1999. The two cases recorded in Iraq this year were in Iraqi children living in the Baghdad area. A polio vaccination campaign reached a record 25 million children in seven countries of the Middle East between December and June, but aid agencies need to go back to them again for follow-up shots in a second phase planned from August, the World Health Organisation and U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.

Iraq Christians flee Mosul after militant threats Posted: 22 Jul 2014 08:32 AM PDT IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi Christians who fled the northern city of Mosul under threat from Islamic extremists described on Tuesday leaving behind all their possessions, as signs emerged that the crackdown on the minority was causing tensions between the radicals and Sunni allies in the insurgency.

Iraq says Jordan's hosting of Sunni critics 'unacceptable' Posted: 22 Jul 2014 08:25 AM PDT Baghdad on Tuesday said Jordan's hosting of a meeting of Sunni Iraqis opposed to the Shiite-led government was "unacceptable". On Friday Iraq recalled its envoy to Amman without giving a reason, but the move came days after a meeting of some 300 Sunni clerics, tribal leaders, insurgent commanders and businessmen in the Jordanian capital. Delegates described a Sunni Islamist insurgency that has taken hold of swathes of Iraq in recent weeks as a "popular revolt". The Iraqi government described those attending the meeting as "enemies of the political system and social fabric of Iraq".

US consumer prices up 0.3 percent in June Posted: 22 Jul 2014 07:48 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices rose in June at a slightly slower pace than in May with two-thirds of the June advance driven by the largest jump in gasoline prices in a year.

Syria war causes $21.4 bn losses to oil industry Posted: 22 Jul 2014 07:32 AM PDT Syria's oil and gas industries have suffered total losses of $21.4 billion since the outbreak of the country's war three years ago, Oil Minister Suleiman Abbas said Tuesday. "The circumstances the country is going through have caused considerable losses to the oil and gas sectors," said Abbas in a statement. Abbas said the war had caused a $3.5 billion direct loss, in terms of stolen and wasted oil and gas, and damage or theft of infrastructure, pipelines and vehicles. He added that indirect losses, or lost profits, accounted for $17.9 billion.

Israeli soldier missing as Gaza fighting rages on Posted: 22 Jul 2014 07:29 AM PDT JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli soldier is missing following a deadly battle in the Gaza Strip, a defense official said Tuesday, as Israeli airstrikes pummeled a wide range of locations along the coastal area and diplomatic efforts intensified to end the two week war that has killed more than 600 Palestinians and 29 Israelis.

Airlines body says governments should lead review of airspace risks Posted: 22 Jul 2014 05:20 AM PDT By Victoria Bryan BERLIN (Reuters) - Governments should take the lead in reviewing how risk assessments for airspace are made, the head of the International Air Transport Association said, sidestepping calls for a conference of global airlines on the matter. The issue of flying over conflict zones is in focus after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine on Thursday. The head of Emirates [EMIRA.UL], one of the world's largest airlines, called on Sunday for an international meeting of airlines to discuss the industry's response to the downing and suggested IATA could call a conference. "No effort should be spared in ensuring that this outrage is not repeated," IATA Director General Tony Tyler said in a statement.

Turkey's top cleric calls new Islamic 'caliphate' illegitimate Posted: 22 Jul 2014 04:59 AM PDT By Ayla Jean Yackley ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The declaration of a "caliphate" by Islamist militants in Iraq lacks legitimacy and their death threats to Christians are a danger to civilization, Turkey's top cleric, the successor to the last caliph's most senior imam, said. Islamic State, an armed group formerly allied to al Qaeda that has captured swathes of territory across Iraq, last month declared its leader, Ibrahim al-Baghdadi, "caliph" - the historical title last held by the Turkish Ottoman sultan who ruled much of the Muslim world. "Such declarations have no legitimacy whatsoever," Mehmet Gormez, head of the Religious Affairs Directorate, the highest religious authority in Turkey, which, although a majority Muslim country, has been a secular state since the 1920s.

Yemen's al Qaeda wing seeks to set up 'emirate' in east Posted: 22 Jul 2014 04:53 AM PDT By Mohammed Mukhashaf and Yara Bayoumy ADEN/DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen's al Qaeda wing has ordered men and women in the east to obey its strict interpretation of Islamic law, saying it aimed to set up an emirate in the remote area, local media and a resident said. The announcement by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) will stoke concerns about the territorial ambitions of militant groups weeks after al Qaeda offshoot Islamic State declared its own caliphate across parts of Syria and Iraq. AQAP - one of the most active branches of the global militant network - has been shifting its operations to Yemen's eastern Hadramout province after the army, backed by U.S. drones, helped drive it out of southern strongholds this year. Leaflets in AQAP's name have been distributed in shops, streets and villages in rural Hadramout over the past two days, Saleh Barzeeq, a shop owner in Seiyoun, told Reuters, confirming media reports.

Coptic Solidarity Urges Immediate International Action on Iraqi Genocide Posted: 22 Jul 2014 04:00 AM PDT WASHINGTON, July 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Coptic Solidarity is gravely concerned for the future of indigenous religious minorities in the Middle East as the Islamic State continues to cleanse all religious minorities from areas in its control. The world has met such historical calamity with deafening silence and Coptic Solidarity urges immediate and concrete actions. The UN Security Council recently held three meetings on Gaza, but failed to convene an emergency meeting to address the cleansing of ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq. The conspicuous silence by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which includes 55 Muslim countries, appears like a 'Yes' nod.

Islamic State crushes and coerces on march towards Baghdad Posted: 22 Jul 2014 12:31 AM PDT By Maggie Fick and Isra' al-Rubei'i BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Using its own version of "soft" and "hard" power, the Islamic State is crushing resistance across northern Iraq so successfully that its promise to march on Baghdad may no longer be unrealistic bravado. The Islamic State, which in June captured a vast stretch of territory in the north including the largest city Mosul, used this strategy when its fighters met armed resistance from the town of al-Alam for 13 days running. Weeks later, only a few masked gunmen guard checkpoints surrounding al-Alam at night, so comfortable is the Islamic State in its control through fear. "One hundred percent of people are angry that the Islamic State is here but there is nothing we can do," said a scared resident who spoke by telephone on condition of anonymity.

UN Security Council denounces persecution of Iraqi Christians Posted: 21 Jul 2014 11:03 PM PDT The United Nations Security Council has denounced militant persecution of Christians and other minorities in Iraq, warning such actions can be considered crimes against humanity. The Islamic State, which last month declared a "caliphate" straddling large swathes of northern Iraq and Syria, has threatened a Christian presence in the region spanning close to two millennia. Over the weekend, hundreds of families fled Mosul, a once-cosmopolitan city that is the country's second largest. In a unanimous declaration adopted late Monday, the Council's 15 member countries condemned "in the strongest terms the systematic persecution of individuals from minority populations and those who refuse its extremist ideology in Iraq by ISIL and associated armed groups," it said, referring to the group's former name of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

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