2014年11月21日星期五

Yahoo! News: Iraq

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Iraq


Assange welcome in Ecuador embassy 'as long as necessary'

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 03:32 PM PST

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks during a press conference inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, August 18, 2014Quito (AFP) - Ecuador Friday guaranteed political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for "as long as necessary," one day after he lost an appeal against a Swedish warrant for his arrest.


Indiana man beheaded in Syria remembered in Muslim prayer service

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 02:53 PM PST

Paula and Ed Kassig attend a prayer service in memory of their son Abdul-Rahman Kassig, whose name was Peter before his conversion to Islam, in FishersBy Susan Guyett FISHERS Ind. (Reuters) - Muslims in Indiana held a funeral service on Friday for Abdul- Rahman Kassig, formerly known as Peter, who was beheaded by Islamic State militants in Syria after being held captive for a year. Kassig adopted Islam while he was a hostage. His family said he made a sincere conversion in a process that began before he was captured by Islamic State, which has seized parts of Iraq and Syria and is the target of U.S. bombings. ...


Canadian vets plan to join Kurdish fight against Islamic State

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 02:39 PM PST

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Several former Canadian soldiers plan to join Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State militants in coming weeks, with at least one already in Iraq, Canadian media reported on Friday, bolstering the ranks of foreigners fighting alongside the Kurds. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation said a half-dozen former armed forces personnel were enlisting, citing unnamed sources. Meanwhile, the National Post newspaper said veterans had formed a group called the First North American Expeditionary Force to help link would-be fighters with Peshmerga units and to provide financial help. ...

5 Countries With the Biggest Terror Targets on Their Backs

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 12:45 PM PST

5 Countries With the Biggest Terror Targets on Their BacksAmid mounting concerns about ISIS, Boko Haram and other Islamic jihadists, a new report shows the global war on terrorism is not going well at all. Over the past 14 years, there's been a five-fold increase ...


Biden visits Turkey pushing for help in anti-IS campaign

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 12:32 PM PST

US Vice President Joe Biden (L) and Turkish President Ahmet Davutoglu meet on November 21, 2014, in IstanbulUS Vice President Joe Biden on Friday arrived in Turkey for a three day visit aimed at persuading Turkish leaders to play a bigger role in the coalition against Islamic State (IS) militants. Biden is expected to seek to soothe tensions that have emerged between the two NATO members, traditionally strong allies, over Turkey's reluctance to play a major role in the fight against the jihadists who have captured swathes of Iraq and Syria. The US number two on Friday evening landed at Istanbul airport and immediately went into dinner talks with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. On Saturday he will address a conference before a key meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.


Turkey, U.S. play down differences on fight against Islamic State

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 12:24 PM PST

U.S. Vice President Biden shakes hands with Turkey's Prime Minister Davutoglu during their meeting in IstanbulBy Dasha Afanasieva and Humeyra Pamuk ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey and the United States played down differences in the fight against Islamic State on Friday, but Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made clear Ankara would keep pressing for a no-fly zone in Syria and President Bashar al-Assad's removal. Turkey has been a reluctant partner in the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) insurgents. ...


US, Turkey still not in sync on Syria

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 12:03 PM PST

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden smiles for the cameras during a visit in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 21, 2014. Biden is also visiting Turkey and is the latest in a stream of U.S. officials who have traveled to Turkey to urge Ankara to step up its role in fighting Islamic State militants in neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)ISTANBUL (AP) — U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Friday became the latest in a parade of U.S. officials trying to push Turkey to step up its role in the international coalition's fight against Islamic State extremists.


Islamic State group's drive for Kobani is blunted

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 11:55 AM PST

FILE - This undated file photo posted on Monday, Nov. 4, 2014 by the Raqqa Media Office of the Islamic State group, a militant extremist group, shows an Islamic state group fighter in Kobani, Syria. For a force that has built its reputation on projecting an aura of momentum and invincibility, the prolonged stalemate in Kobani is a setback for Islamic State militants with potential implications in terms of recruitment and support. Nearly two months after it launched its lightning assault on the small Kurdish town, the group is bogged down with an increasingly entrenched and costly battle in which hundreds of its fighters have been killed and a good deal of its military apparatus destroyed. More than two months into its assault on Kobani, the Islamic State group still pours fighters and resources into trying to take the besieged Kurdish town, but the drive has been blunted. Aided by 270 U.S. airstrikes, the town's determined Kurdish defenders appear to be gaining momentum, a potentially bruising reversal for the militants who only few weeks ago seemed unstoppable in their march to victory. (AP Photo/Raqqa Media Office, File)BEIRUT (AP) — More than two months into its assault on Kobani, the Islamic State group is still pouring fighters and resources into trying to capture the besieged Syrian Kurdish town, but the drive has been blunted.


How the immigration and executive order debate tests presidential power

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 08:45 AM PST

President Barack Obama's new executive orders about immigration have reignited a long-simmering debate about the constitutional extent of the President's powers to act independently of Congress.

Lebanon PM cancels independence day celebrations

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 08:17 AM PST

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon's prime minister on Friday cancelled official independence day celebrations planned for the following day, a move that likely stemmed from the country's tense security situation and an impasse over electing its next president.

Islamic State targeted in 30 air strikes by U.S., allies

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 07:05 AM PST

A U.S.-led coalition aircraft flying over Kobanii, as seen from near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian borderWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies have staged 30 air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq since Wednesday, the U.S. Central Command said on Friday. The 23 strikes in Iraq included six near Baiji that hit Islamic State buildings, vehicles and tactical units while buildings, vehicles, a guard post and two tactical units were destroyed near Sinjar in four air strikes, Central Command said. Similar targets were destroyed or damaged west of Kirkuk, near Mosul and Ramadi and in Tal Afar. ...


Yazidi families reclaim girls seized by Islamic State – for a price

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 06:29 AM PST

Suzanne twists the heart-shaped pink plastic ring on her finger as she talks about the women and children who beat her for trying to escape the self-described Islamic State.

Al-Qaida in Yemen denounces Islamic State group

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 06:01 AM PST

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen's al-Qaida branch on Friday denounced the Islamic State group for declaring a caliphate on territory it seized in Syria and Iraq and for aggressively seeking to expand its area of influence.

Islamic State attacks Iraq provincial capital: officials

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 05:56 AM PST

Militant Islamist fighters waving flags, travel in vehicles as they take part in a military parade along streets of Syria's northern Raqqa provinceBy Raheem Salman and Dominic Evans BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters attacked a government complex in the heart of an Iraqi provincial capital on Friday, local officials said, in an apparently coordinated effort to seize full control of the city. Gunmen fired from rooftops at buildings in Ramadi housing the Anbar governorate offices and police headquarters, while security forces and tribal fighters tried to prevent the militants from advancing. "Mosques are asking anyone who can carry weapons to confront the attackers," provincial council member Hathal Fahdawi told Reuters. ...


Answers to questions about Biden's visit to Turkey

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 04:35 AM PST

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, center, smiles for the cameras during a visit in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 21, 2014. Biden is also visiting Turkey and is the latest in a stream of U.S. officials who have traveled to Turkey to urge Ankara to step up its role in fighting Islamic State militants in neighboring Syria. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)ISTANBUL (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden, who begins a two-night visit to Turkey on Friday, is the latest in a stream of U.S. officials who have traveled to Turkey to urge Ankara to step up its role in fighting Islamic State militants in neighboring Syria.


Yemen's AQAP says Houthis will pay for push into country

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 04:23 AM PST

DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, reacting to the loss of its strongholds to Shi'ite Houthi fighters, has accused its opponents of acting as a proxy for the United States and threatened renewed violence against them. In an audio message on jihadist websites, al AQAP's military commander Qassim al-Raymi called the Houthis "the new rented gun for the enemies of Islam". "You have to know that the mosques of Muslims that you blew up along with their homes and schools, will not just pass unnoticed and you will pay the price dearly," he said. ...

Jihadi wave tests Tunisia's young democracy

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 03:19 AM PST

Fethi Selmi shows a photo of her son Nidhal, a youth who was killed during fighting in Syria, during an interview with Reuters in SousseBy Patrick Markey and Tarek Amara SOUSSE Tunisia (Reuters) - Tunisians were used to seeing Nidhal Selmi belting around a stadium, proudly sporting his country's red and white colors as a defender on the national football squad. So it was a shock when he appeared in a camouflage jacket with a Khalashnikov rifle across his thigh in a photograph from Syria posted online shortly before he was killed fighting there. ...


Russia's Lukoil to invest in Nigerian project with Chevron

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 02:50 AM PST

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's second-largest oil company, privately controlled Lukoil, said on Friday it planned to invest in Nigeria with U.S. oil major Chevron Corp, part of its push to seek opportunities away from Russia's state-dominated oil sector. "We have decided to enter a joint block with Chevron in a project in Nigeria, which we consider to be promising," Chief Executive Vagit Alekperov told reporters in Moscow. He declined to name the project and provided no detail. ...

Militants shoot at Iraqi government building in Ramadi: officials

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 02:46 AM PST

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Islamic State gunmen fired at an Iraqi government building in central Ramadi on Friday, local officials said, and mosques broadcast appeals for reinforcements to confront the apparent attempt to take full control of the city. Most of Ramadi, about 90 km (55 miles) west of Baghdad, is already held by Islamic State which controls large parts of northern and western Iraq. ...

Retired U.S. general on how to handle IS and why we lost in Iraq, Afghanistan

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 02:32 AM PST

101217-N-5549O-228Lt. Gen. Daniel Bolger, who flat-out states that the U.S. lost in Iraq and Afghanistan, argues we need to learn from past mistakes so we don't make the same ones in the fight against the Islamic State.


Egypt closes schools in Sinai towns as area inches towards open war

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 02:24 AM PST

Smoke rises as a house is blown up during a military operation by Egyptian security forces in the Egyptian city of Rafah, near the border with southern Gaza StripBy Yusri Mohamed ISMAILIA Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt has indefinitely shut schools in two border towns in northern Sinai as the army prepares to intensify a battle with Islamist militants that turned the daily trip to lessons into a "journey of death". Local people say children's education has fallen victim while the military stages air strikes against jihadists, who are targetting soldiers and police, and have started beheading army informers. "We are putting our lives at risk on a daily basis," said Mohamed, a teacher who lives in the town of Sheikh Zuweid. ...


Egypt closes schools in Sinai towns as area inches toward open war

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 02:16 AM PST

Smoke rises as a house is blown up during a military operation by Egyptian security forces in the Egyptian city of Rafah, near the border with southern Gaza StripBy Yusri Mohamed ISMAILIA Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt has indefinitely shut schools in two border towns in northern Sinai as the army prepares to intensify a battle with Islamist militants that turned the daily trip to lessons into a "journey of death". Local people say children's education has fallen victim while the military stages air strikes against jihadists, who are targeting soldiers and police, and have started beheading army informers. "We are putting our lives at risk on a daily basis," said Mohamed, a teacher who lives in the town of Sheikh Zuweid. ...


Militants launch attacks around Iraq's western Ramadi city

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 01:27 AM PST

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Suspected Islamic State militants launched coordinated attacks on Friday around the western Iraqi city of Ramadi, overrunning a village to the east and clashing with tribal fighters to the west, a local official and a tribal leader said. Ramadi, about 90 km (55 miles) west of Baghdad, is located in the Sunni Muslim Anbar province which is a stronghold of the Islamic State forces who have captured much of northern and western Iraq. The city center remains under the control of Iraqi government forces but outlying neighborhoods have been seized by the radical Islamist ...

France tempers Iran nuclear stance in nod to wider diplomatic needs

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 12:33 AM PST

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius escorts US Secretary of State John Kerry after their talks and statement at the Quai d'Orsay Foreign Affairs ministry in ParisBy John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - A year after France scuppered a deal on Iran's nuclear program it is taking a softer stance in current talks, encouraged by a more inclusive U.S. approach and the knowledge that failure this year could have grim repercussions across the broader region. France, a U.N. Security Council veto-holder, has long held out for strict terms trading a loosening of international sanctions on Iran's oil-based economy in return for commitments by Tehran to show its nuclear work is as peaceful as it insists. The discovery last year that the U.S. was holding secret talks with the Iranians was an opportunity for France, by saying 'no' to a deal, to assert itself internationally and rebuke Washington for backing down on bombing Syria as punishment for using chemical arms. It also helped Paris to cement new commercial ties with Gulf Arab states.


Egypt's Sisi calls on West to support Libya to avoid new Syria, Iraq

Posted: 20 Nov 2014 10:48 PM PST

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks during a news conference at the presidential palace in CairoCAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged the United States and Europe on Thursday to help the Libyan army in its fight against Islamist militants now to save the country from requiring intervention on the scale of Iraq and Syria. Sisi said there was a danger to the region from conflict in Libya where two governments vie for legitimacy, one in Tripoli linked to Islamist militias, and an internationally-recognised government in the eastern city of Tobruk. ...


Reporter's toolkit: Investigating sexual assault on your campus

Posted: 20 Nov 2014 09:01 PM PST

How to investigate the ways your school deals with sexual assault allegations.

Old challenges and new horizons for networked activism

Posted: 20 Nov 2014 08:52 PM PST

Old challenges and new horizons for networked activismAlex Howard left the RiseUp conference inspired and concerned about the intersection of activism, media, and tech. Read about projects that could disrupt how social change happens online, and off.


On Immigration, Obama Fulfills His Promise to Progressives

Posted: 20 Nov 2014 06:23 PM PST

On Immigration, Obama Fulfills His Promise to ProgressivesIn his decision to act, by himself, on immigration, President Obama chose between two sides of his political self.


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