Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Top Asian News at 1:00 a.m. GMT
• New Zealand vows to stop citizens joining Islamic State
• New Zealand won't send troops to fight IS in Iraq
• Obama, post-midterm vote, must re-energize presidency
• Gunmen kill 5 in attack in eastern Saudi Arabia
• Oil prices tumble on Saudi discount move
• Canada fighter jets strike IS heavy vehicles in Iraq
• Leader of Syria Qaeda wing threatens strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon
• UK's Prince Charles warns of persecution of Christians
• France urges anti-IS coalition to help Aleppo rebels
• Report: IS group abused captive Kurdish children
• Hagel trip to Vietnam, Myanmar postponed: Pentagon
• This Map Shows How Fast the World Is Depleting Irreplaceable Groundwater Reserves
• Gulf energy subsidies worth $160 bn a year: World Bank
• Catchiest campaign ads of 2014: nine pitches that made an impression
• Shiites mark holy day in defiance of jihadists
• Why Hezbollah leader chose Shiites' Ashura to reach out to Lebanese Sunnis
• Factbox: Republicans poised to expand control of U.S. House of Representatives
• Recent Events Test Pacific Command Agenda
• Four killed as Saudi Arabia hunts gunmen who attacked Shi'ites
• Exclusive: Canada's far east refinery swaps Iraqi crude for U.S. shale
• Britain's Prince Charles calls on different faiths to respect each other
• Social networks 'in denial' on extremist use: GCHQ chief
• Iraq Shi'ite Ashoura ritual escapes major attacks
• Egyptian militant group denies pledging loyalty to Islamic State: Twitter
• Careless spending on Islamic State campaign harms Iraq: finance minister
• Hezbollah chief says ultra hardline Sunni militants will be defeated
• In small town America, voters want change
• Kurds help Islamic militants in battle for Kobani
• AP PHOTOS: Shiites mark slaying of revered figure
• A lower key as Iran marks US embassy takeover
• Baghdad attacks targeting Shiites kill at least 16
• Peshmerga fighters 'heavily shelling' IS jihadists in Kobane
• Syria's better-offs seek fun as war grinds on
• Saudi forces kill suspect in attack on Shi'ites marking Ashoura
• With kin under Islamic State attack, German Kurds get political
• British spy chief demands more access to Twitter, Facebook to thwart attacks
• U.S. News Releases 2015 Best Arab Region Universities Rankings
• Top UK spy: Twitter, Facebook are jihadi 'command and control networks'

Top Asian News at 1:00 a.m. GMT Posted: 04 Nov 2014 05:03 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday the U.S. and China must work together to stave off a global catastrophe from climate change. He appealed for greater cooperation between the two world powers despite strains between them over cyber theft and maritime security. Kerry heads to Beijing this week, to set the stage for a visit by President Barack Obama for a regional summit and talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. That will be first leg of a three-nation swing through Asia, intended to underscore the president's commitment to the region despite the necessity of American attention on security crises in the Mideast and eastern Europe.

New Zealand vows to stop citizens joining Islamic State Posted: 04 Nov 2014 04:46 PM PST WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand will beef up steps to monitor and prevent its citizens from joining Islamic State (IS) fighting in Iraq and Syria, but has ruled out any military involvement in the conflict, Prime Minister John Key said on Wednesday. Key said the country had to acknowledge that the risks it faced from the rise of IS have increased, with New Zealand citizens involved directly in the fighting, raising funds, or promoting the militants. ...

New Zealand won't send troops to fight IS in Iraq Posted: 04 Nov 2014 04:41 PM PST WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand said Wednesday it would not send combat troops to Iraq to directly fight the Islamic State group but it could send military personnel to help train Iraqi forces behind the front lines.

Obama, post-midterm vote, must re-energize presidency Posted: 04 Nov 2014 03:55 PM PST Six years after sweeping into the White House on the slogan "Yes We Can," Barack Obama, whose Democratic party is on the brink of losing control of the Senate, must now find a new can-do spirit. Floundering in the polls and shunned by his own party's candidates, as Obama moves into the final two years of his term his presidency seems a world away from the promise of his 2008 campaign. Meanwhile, he does not hide his frustration at roadblocks in Congress and his distaste for the political games he would need to play to make progress in Washington. Obama is far from the only president to find himself stuck after a midterm vote with a Congress in the hands of the other party.

Gunmen kill 5 in attack in eastern Saudi Arabia Posted: 04 Nov 2014 03:40 PM PST RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi authorities arrested 15 people on Tuesday in connection with a shooting in the east of the kingdom the previous night that left five people dead and was apparently aimed at the country's Shiite minority.

Oil prices tumble on Saudi discount move Posted: 04 Nov 2014 03:30 PM PST Oil prices slumped to multi-year lows on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia cut the price of oil sold to the U.S., a move that is shaking an already volatile market but will likely give the world economy an unexpected ...

Canada fighter jets strike IS heavy vehicles in Iraq Posted: 04 Nov 2014 03:06 PM PST Canada's first airstrikes against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq destroyed heavy engineering equipment used to build up group's defenses and divert water from the Euphrates River, an official said Tuesday. Lieutenant-General Jonathan Vance told a press conference two CF-18 Hornet fighter jets dropped several 500-pound laser-guided bombs on four targets near a dam near Fallujah. IS, he said, had been using the equipment to "divert water from the Euphrates river to create flooding and displace the population in Anbar province, and denying water to other populations downstream." Canada conducted its first airstrikes in the anti-IS fight following two days of reconnaissance after joining the coalition last Thursday.

Leader of Syria Qaeda wing threatens strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon Posted: 04 Nov 2014 02:27 PM PST By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leader of Syria's al Qaeda rebel wing threatened attacks against the Shi'ite Muslim militant movement Hezbollah in Lebanon in coming days that he said would make it regret fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Lebanon hosts around a million refugees from Syria's civil war and has seen violence spill over the border, with bombings in Beirut, fighting in the northern city of Tripoli, and rocket attacks on Bekaa Valley towns close to the frontier. ...

UK's Prince Charles warns of persecution of Christians Posted: 04 Nov 2014 02:21 PM PST Britain's Prince Charles warned of a threat to Christians in the Middle East and urged the need for compassion between different faiths on Tuesday. "It is an indescribable tragedy that Christianity is now under such threat in the Middle East," Charles said in a video message posted on the website of The Telegraph newspaper. "An area where Christians have lived for 2,000 years, and across which Islam spread in 700AD, with people of different faiths living together peaceably for centuries." Filmed in a domestic setting, seated in front of a fireplace, the son of Queen Elizabeth II and heir to the throne spoke of his concern that religious freedom was not respected around the world.

France urges anti-IS coalition to help Aleppo rebels Posted: 04 Nov 2014 01:33 PM PST French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called Tuesday for the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group to help rebels in Syria's second city Aleppo hold out against the Damascus regime. Fabius said the coalition should not battle IS to the exclusion of supporting rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad's regime, which he said had deliberately fuelled the jihadists' rise. "After Kobane, we must save Aleppo," Fabius said, referring to a Syrian border town where Washington has carried out dozens of air strikes with the support of Arab allies to help Kurdish forces ward off a weeks-long IS assault. France is involved in strikes against IS militants in Iraq but has so far kept out of the air campaign in neighbouring Syria, where it has hoped to support moderate rebels without resorting to military action that could help the Assad regime.

Report: IS group abused captive Kurdish children Posted: 04 Nov 2014 01:27 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Islamic State militants tortured and abused Kurdish children captured earlier this year near the northern Syrian town of Kobani, beating them with hoses and electric cables, an international rights group said Tuesday.

Hagel trip to Vietnam, Myanmar postponed: Pentagon Posted: 04 Nov 2014 01:22 PM PST Washington (AFP) - Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel is pulling out of a long-planned trip to Vietnam and Myanmar this month because of a demanding schedule at home, defense officials said Tuesday.

This Map Shows How Fast the World Is Depleting Irreplaceable Groundwater Reserves Posted: 04 Nov 2014 01:21 PM PST Is Jay Famiglietti the Al Gore of the global groundwater crisis?

Gulf energy subsidies worth $160 bn a year: World Bank Posted: 04 Nov 2014 12:45 PM PST Arab states in the Gulf, which pump a fifth of the world's crude oil, spend more than $160 billion on energy subsidies annually, a top World Bank official said Tuesday. "Gulf states spend around 10 percent of their gross domestic product every year on energy subsidies including fuel and electricity. The six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates -- had a combined GDP of $1.64 trillion at the end of 2013, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Catchiest campaign ads of 2014: nine pitches that made an impression Posted: 04 Nov 2014 12:34 PM PST What do Barry Manilow, skeet shooting, and driving a car in reverse have to do with the 2014 elections? Well, this campaign season had no shortage of interesting TV ads – including ones with the motifs just mentioned. To be fair, though, it's important to say upfront that a connection between the 1970s pop singer and the Kentucky Senate race happened without formal planning.

Shiites mark holy day in defiance of jihadists Posted: 04 Nov 2014 12:30 PM PST Huge crowds of Shiites gathered in Iraq and Lebanon Tuesday to mark a key holy day in defiance of jihadists from the Islamic State group. Police and troops were out in force as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims massed in the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala to commemorate Ashura. Tens of thousands more rallied in Beirut, where the head of the Shiite militant Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, pledged "victory" against the Sunni extremists of IS. This year's marking of the day has taken on new meaning after IS seized control of large parts of Iraq and Syria.

Why Hezbollah leader chose Shiites' Ashura to reach out to Lebanese Sunnis Posted: 04 Nov 2014 12:28 PM PST With sectarian tensions soaring across the Middle East, Hezbollah's leader has used the emotive Shiite commemoration of Ashura to deliver a message of conciliation to the nation's Sunnis – and a word of caution to his fellow Shiites.

Factbox: Republicans poised to expand control of U.S. House of Representatives Posted: 04 Nov 2014 12:20 PM PST By Sharon Bernstein (Reuters) - With all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives up for election on Tuesday, Republicans are expected to expand their majority amid dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama, whose approval ratings have dipped to 38 percent. Republicans, who currently control 233 out of 435 seats in the House, may pick up ten or more in Tuesday's balloting – not enough to override a presidential veto, but good for bragging rights as the party accumulates what could be its biggest majority since the late 1940s. ...

Recent Events Test Pacific Command Agenda Posted: 04 Nov 2014 12:19 PM PST FAIRFAX, Va., Nov. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Internal and external forces are changing how the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) carries out its missions and are challenging the U.S. strategic rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region. Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, USN, PACOM's commander, says the budgetary uncertainty of the past two years is "a business model that we wouldn't want to continue to repeat." In addition, uncertainty in North Korea and the spread of terrorism are major concerns for the command. ...

Four killed as Saudi Arabia hunts gunmen who attacked Shi'ites Posted: 04 Nov 2014 12:04 PM PST By Angus McDowall and Sami Aboudi RIYADH/DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi security forces on Tuesday shot dead two suspected members of an armed group that killed at least eight people in an overnight attack on Shi'ite Muslims marking an important religious anniversary, the Interior Ministry reported. Two security officers also died and two were wounded in the gunbattle in the town of Buraida, north of the capital Riyadh, in which the two suspected militants were killed, the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing an Interior Ministry statement. ...

Exclusive: Canada's far east refinery swaps Iraqi crude for U.S. shale Posted: 04 Nov 2014 11:48 AM PST By Jarrett Renshaw NEW YORK (Reuters) - Canada's Come by Chance refinery, on the far eastern tip of the country, has swapped out its mainstay Iraqi crude to run almost wholly on U.S. shale oil, industry sources say, the latest sign of how the shale boom is redrawing global oil trade. ...

Britain's Prince Charles calls on different faiths to respect each other Posted: 04 Nov 2014 11:35 AM PST Britain's Prince Charles urged religious leaders to encourage followers to respect those of other faiths, drawing on the current persecution of Christians in the Middle East as an example where that respect is lacking. Charles spoke in a video aired on Tuesday to accompany a report by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. "It is an indescribable tragedy that Christianity is now under such threat in the Middle East," he said. Islamic State fighters drove Christians from Iraq's northern city of Mosul in July, ending a presence stretching back to the early years of Christianity.

Social networks 'in denial' on extremist use: GCHQ chief Posted: 04 Nov 2014 10:40 AM PST Robert Hannigan, the new head of electronic spying agency GCHQ, used a Financial Times article to urge Silicon Valley big names to give security services more help in the fight against Islamic State (IS) jihadists. The rare public comments by a senior intelligence officer will fuel the debate ignited by US leaker Edward Snowden over how much access governments should have to personal online information and what steps social networks should take to regulate content. Classified information released by former intelligence analyst Snowden in 2013 revealed that GCHQ played a key role in covert US surveillance operations worldwide, including monitoring huge volumes of online and phone activity worldwide. While Hannigan did not name firms directly, he highlighted militants' use of Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp and referred to graphic online videos showing the final moments of Western hostages executed by the IS group.

Iraq Shi'ite Ashoura ritual escapes major attacks Posted: 04 Nov 2014 10:20 AM PST By Haider Kadhim KERBALA Iraq (Reuters) - A gathering of millions of Shi'ite Muslims at shrines and mosques across Iraq for the Ashoura religious commemoration passed without any major attacks on Tuesday, under tight security imposed for fear of Islamic State bombers. Crowds of hundreds of thousands of people in the holy city of Kerbala had largely dispersed in safety after nightfall, following a day of worship and prayer to mark the 7th century battle that divided the Muslim world into Sunnis and Shi'ites. ...

Egyptian militant group denies pledging loyalty to Islamic State: Twitter Posted: 04 Nov 2014 09:56 AM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's most active militant group, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, denied in a Twitter message on Tuesday that it had pledged allegiance to Islamic State and it distanced itself from a statement that appeared in its name online. A statement purporting to be from Ansar appeared late on Monday on two jihadist Twitter feeds, saying the group had pledged loyalty to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot which has seized territory in Iraq and Syria and is now facing U.S.-led air strikes. ...

Careless spending on Islamic State campaign harms Iraq: finance minister Posted: 04 Nov 2014 09:56 AM PST By Michael Georgy BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's reckless spending on its battle against Islamic State, including over $1 billion on Shi'ite militias accused of human rights abuses, is undermining efforts to keep the country functioning, the finance minister said. In an interview with Reuters, Hoshiyar Zebari, a Kurd who is mostly seen as a moderate, accused past and present Iraqi leaders of mismanagement, poor planning and failing to reach out to the only people he says can defeat Islamic State -- Sunni tribesmen. ...

Hezbollah chief says ultra hardline Sunni militants will be defeated Posted: 04 Nov 2014 09:56 AM PST By Mariam Karouny BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leader of Hezbollah said on Tuesday his group was determined to battle ultra-hardline Sunni Muslims who seized land in Syria and Iraq and predicted they would be defeated across the region. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also said his Lebanese Shi'ite group remained ready for any future war with Israel despite sending hundreds of fighters to support President Bashar al-Assad's forces in neighboring Syria. ...

In small town America, voters want change Posted: 04 Nov 2014 09:46 AM PST Deep in the postcard-perfect Shenandoah Valley, just over an hour's drive from Washington, the autumn leaves are ablaze with color, and Virginia voters are hankering for change. "And it doesn't seem to be working out too good," added the 49-year-old former Marine and lifelong Republican. Across the United States, Republicans looked poised to profit from President Barack Obama's troubles as the nation elects a new crop of senators and representatives. Virginia's 10th Congressional District -- which includes Berryville, a bucolic town of clapboard Victorian houses and quaint shops -- traditionally leans conservative.

Kurds help Islamic militants in battle for Kobani Posted: 04 Nov 2014 09:45 AM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Ethnic Kurds are helping members of the Islamic State group in the battle for the key Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, sharing their knowledge of the local terrain and language with the extremists, according to Iraqi and Kurdish officials.

AP PHOTOS: Shiites mark slaying of revered figure Posted: 04 Nov 2014 09:18 AM PST NABATIYEH, Lebanon (AP) — Millions of Shiite Muslims from Lebanon to India commemorated on Tuesday the slaying of a revered figure, Imam Hussein, by weeping in mosques, hosting plays, recreating a bloody battle, and for a minority, also flagellating themselves.

A lower key as Iran marks US embassy takeover Posted: 04 Nov 2014 08:29 AM PST TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Thousands of Iranians chanted "Down with America" on Tuesday in rallies marking the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of U.S. Embassy in Tehran. But the annual show of America-bashing by Iran's hard-liners seemed to bring little public enthusiasm amid the push by moderate President Hassan Rouhani for a nuclear agreement with Washington.

Baghdad attacks targeting Shiites kill at least 16 Posted: 04 Nov 2014 08:27 AM PST A suicide bombing and shelling targeting Shiites in Baghdad killed at least 16 people ahead of major religious commemorations, Iraqi security and medical officials said on Tuesday. Shelling struck a street in the Tunis area of northern Baghdad where Shiites were distributing refreshments from a tent on Monday, after which a suicide bomber detonated explosives in the same area, a police colonel said. The attacks killed at least 11 people, while shelling in the Shiite-majority Kadhimiyah area, also in north Baghdad, left at least five people dead. The Islamic State jihadist group, which considers Shiites to be heretics and has overrun large areas of Iraq, said in an online statement that a suicide bomber identified as Abu Khattab al-Iraqi carried out the attack in Tunis and a rocket attack in Kadhimiyah.

Peshmerga fighters 'heavily shelling' IS jihadists in Kobane Posted: 04 Nov 2014 08:12 AM PST Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters who joined the battle for the Syrian border town of Kobane have been heavily shelling Islamic State group jihadists, a commander told AFP. Speaking to AFP by telephone from inside Kobane, the commander said the peshmerga were manning artillery in support of local Syrian Kurdish militia fighters, who have been battling the jihadists for nearly seven weeks. "We have been heavily shelling Islamic State positions in Kobane, which has helped the (Syrian Kurdish) People's Protection Units (YPG)," the commander said. The peshmerga crossed the Turkish border into Kobane at the weekend after travelling across Turkey from Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish region.

Syria's better-offs seek fun as war grinds on Posted: 04 Nov 2014 07:54 AM PST A vampire, a medieval knight and a man dressed as an Islamic militant walk into a blue-lit bar in a Damascus hotel, all determined to have fun at the costume party. The music is pounding, a break dancer ...

Saudi forces kill suspect in attack on Shi'ites marking Ashoura Posted: 04 Nov 2014 07:31 AM PST DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi security forces on Tuesday shot dead a member of an armed group that killed five people in an overnight attack on Shi'ite Muslims marking an important religious anniversary, al-Arabiya television reported. The late Monday assault on a Shi'ite gathering in al-Ahsa district is likely to test already strained relations between Sunnis and Shi'ites across the Middle East because it coincided with the annual Ashoura commemoration of Shi'ite Islam. ...

With kin under Islamic State attack, German Kurds get political Posted: 04 Nov 2014 06:58 AM PST The protesters did not mince their words: Once they arrived at the Turkish consulate here, chants of "Turkey, terrorists" could be heard rising from the crowd.

British spy chief demands more access to Twitter, Facebook to thwart attacks Posted: 04 Nov 2014 06:30 AM PST By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) - Twitter and Facebook are so important to militant groups that the technology giants should give security services greater access to their networks to allow governments to foil attacks, the head of Britain's eavesdropping agency said. The new director of Britain's GCHQ, Robert Hannigan, said U.S. tech companies Twitter Inc, Facebook Inc and WhatsApp were in denial about their unintended role as "the command and control networks of choice for terrorists". ...

U.S. News Releases 2015 Best Arab Region Universities Rankings Posted: 04 Nov 2014 06:00 AM PST Universities in the Arab region are undergoing a period of rapid transition, with more than a decade of expansion in enrollment, including more female students. Since 2002, the number of institutions in the region has more than doubled, according to a report by the Brookings Institution, a U.S.-based public policy think tank.

Top UK spy: Twitter, Facebook are jihadi 'command and control networks' Posted: 04 Nov 2014 05:57 AM PST A daily roundup of terrorism and security issues.

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