2014年11月26日星期三

Yahoo! News: Iraq

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yahoo! News: Iraq


UN aid official Valerie Amos to step down

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 02:12 PM PST

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, during a press conference at UN offices in Geneva on September 16, 2014United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The top UN official for humanitarian aid, Valerie Amos, who oversaw international relief efforts in Syria and other trouble spots, announced Wednesday she is stepping down.


US lawmaker: Fight with IS needs 'Arab face'

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 01:12 PM PST

FILE - This April 14, 2011, file photo shows Rep. Robert Wittman, R-Va., speaking during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Wittman said the U.S. WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican lawmaker says the battle against the Islamic State group needs to have "an Arab face," even as the U.S. leads airstrikes to help defeat the militant group.


Lawmaker: Fight with militants needs 'Arab face'

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 01:01 PM PST

FILE - This April 14, 2011, file photo shows Rep. Robert Wittman, R-Va., speaking during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Wittman said the U.S. WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican lawmaker says the battle against the Islamic State group needs to have "an Arab face," even as the U.S. leads airstrikes to help defeat the militant group.


Ministers from coalition against Islamic State to meet December 3

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 12:43 PM PST

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Foreign ministers from up to 60 countries forming the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State militants will hold their first meeting next week in Brussels, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. The Dec. 3 meeting, chaired by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, is expected to review progress in the fight against Islamic State and to discuss how coalition members will coordinate politically in future. The meeting will be held at NATO headquarters but diplomats said NATO was only providing the building and the United States was organizing and chairing the meeting. ...

OPEC heading for no output cut despite oil price plunge

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 12:18 PM PST

File photo of Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister al-Naimi talking to journalists before a meeting of OPEC oil ministers in ViennaVIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC Gulf oil producers will not propose an output cut on Thursday, reducing the likelihood of joint action by OPEC to prop up prices that have sunk by a third since June.


Russia vows support for Syria's Assad to combat 'terrorism'

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 10:50 AM PST

By Denis Dyomkin and Gabriela Baczynska SOCHI, Russia/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday it would support President Bashar al-Assad to combat "terrorism" in the Middle East, indicating there was no new room for compromise on one of the key contentious issues in the Syrian conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with Assad's foreign minister, Walid al-Moualem, on the Black Sea as part of Moscow's renewed diplomatic push to restart peace talks on Syria. ...

Kerry returns to Europe next week

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 10:33 AM PST

US Secretary of State John Kerry disembarks the airplane upon his arrival in Vienna on November 20, 2014Washington (AFP) - US Secretary of State John Kerry, just back from a European tour centered on nuclear negotiations with Iran, will recross the Atlantic next week for a NATO meeting, the State Department said Wednesday.


Syrian FM: Russia to boost relations with Assad

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 09:56 AM PST

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin wants closer ties with Syria's beleaguered president and tighter cooperation between Moscow and Damascus, Syria's foreign minister said Wednesday after meeting the Russian leader.

Egypt plans blanket anti-terrorism law against 'disrupting order'

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 09:37 AM PST

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi delivers a statement at the Elysee Palace in ParisCAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's cabinet approved on Wednesday a draft anti-terrorism law that would give the government blanket power to ban groups on charges ranging from harming national unity to disrupting public order. Authorities have cracked down hard on Islamist, secular and liberal opposition alike since the army toppled elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi last year after mass unrest against his rule, dashing hopes for a more robust democracy stirred by the fall of longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011. ...


British brothers jailed for attending militant training camp in Syria

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 09:32 AM PST

Mohommod Hassin Nawaz is seen in this undated police custody image made available by the Metropolitan Police in LondonLONDON (Reuters) - Two brothers from London on Wednesday became the first Britons to be convicted for attending a militant training camp in Syria as Western governments increasingly warn of the threat posed by fighters returning from conflicts in the Middle East. Finding them guilty of conspiracy to attend a terrorist training camp, the judge at London's Old Bailey sentenced Mohommod Hassin Nawaz, 31, and his 23-year-old brother Hamza Nawaz, to four and three-and-a-half years in jail respectively. ...


Bulgaria charges radical imam, six others with supporting Islamic State

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 09:09 AM PST

Ahmed Mussa sits inside a court as 12 Bulgarian men, most of them Muslim prayer leaders, and one woman are charged for preaching radical Islam, in PazardzhikBy Angel Krasimirov SOFIA (Reuters) - A Bulgarian imam and six others detained during a special operation by security forces earlier this week have been charged with supporting the ultra-radical militant group Islamic State, Bulgarian prosecutors said on Wednesday. Charges against Muslim prayer leader Ahmed Mussa, five men and one woman include propagating an anti-democratic ideology and incitement to war, both verbally and with videos and images, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Borislav Sarafov said. ...


How Saudi Arabia Could Spoil Christmas

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 09:05 AM PST

On Thanksgiving morning, when millions of Americans rise bright and early to start preparing their turkey dinners and draw up their post-meal shopping strategies, Saudi Arabia, the de-facto leader of the ...

AP Interview: Jordan prince calls for tolerance

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 08:31 AM PST

Prince Feisal al-Hussein, a brother of Jordan's King Abdullah II, speaks in an interview with The Associated Press in Amman, Jordan, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014. Moderate Muslims must take a stand against religious extremists who violate the core values of Islam, Feisal said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh)AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Moderate Muslims must take a stand against religious extremists who violate the core values of Islam, a brother of Jordan's king said Wednesday.


Britain unveils tough anti-terror bill despite concerns

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 08:19 AM PST

Worshippers at the East London Mosque, which is billed as having Britain's largest Muslim congregationLondon (AFP) - Britain on Wednesday unveiled draft legislation to ban extremist preachers from universities, increase surveillance on suspected radicals and stem the flow of jihadists joining the Islamic State group.


Algeria: Army killed one of Frenchman's kidnappers

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 08:06 AM PST

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria's justice minister says the army killed one of the militants responsible for the beheading of a French hiker in September.

Iran nuclear talks: How Khamenei got Iranians to read from same page

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 08:01 AM PST

Just hours after nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers missed a Monday deadline, yielding instead a seven-month extension of negotiations, one sign indicated a combative return to business as usual.

British Muslims raise concern over new anti-terror law

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 08:01 AM PST

Muslims protest in London, 2006, against a police anti-terror raid in East London in which a man was shot, but the two men arrested were later released without chargeLondon (AFP) - British Muslim rights groups and ordinary faithful said they felt singled out by a tough new anti-terror law unveiled on Wednesday, labelling the planned legislation divisive and rushed.


2 bombings kill 10 people in Iraq

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 07:55 AM PST

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi authorities say two bombings at a market and a commercial street have killed 10 people in Baghdad.

OPEC's Vienna Meeting: The Views So Far

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 07:41 AM PST

With less than 24 hours to go until the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets to discuss whether to take action to stabilize the steep slide in oil prices, market watchers are still guessing what the group will actually do.

Islamic State targeted in 17 air strikes by U.S., allies

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 07:32 AM PST

A view shows debris at a school following what activists said were U.S.-led air strikes against the Islamic State, in RaqqaWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States led 17 air strikes on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria since Monday, the U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday. The strikes, part of Operation Inherent Resolve against the militant Islamic force, included 10 attacks near Kobani, Syria. They destroyed four staging areas and six fighting positions, and also hit Islamic State units, according to Central Command. In Iraq, U.S. and allied forces destroyed vehicles, buildings and a fighting position near Mosul and also hit a large Islamic State unit in two air strikes. ...


Activists raise Raqqa strikes' death toll to 95

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 07:27 AM PST

This photo provided on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014, by an anti-Islamic State group and anti-Bashar Assad activist group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, showa burned cars and damaged buildings on a street after Syrian government forces airstrikes struck a popular market near a museum and an industrial neighborhood in Raqqa city, north Syria. The death toll from a series of Syrian government airstrikes on the Islamic State group's stronghold in northeastern Syria has risen to at least 95, making it one of the deadliest attacks on the city of Raqqa in the past three years. (AP Photo/Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently)BEIRUT (AP) — The death toll from a series of Syrian government airstrikes on the Islamic State group's stronghold in northeastern Syria has risen to at least 95, making it one of the deadliest attacks on the city of Raqqa in the past three years, activists said Wednesday.


Obama to hold talks with Jordan's King Abdullah

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 06:31 AM PST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will hold talks at the White House next week with Jordan's King Abdullah, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East.

Algeria says killed militant involved in French tourist beheading

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 06:29 AM PST

A portrait of mountain guide of Frenchman Gourdel hangs outside the town hall in Saint-Martin-VesubieALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria's military has killed a militant involved in the abduction and beheading of French tourist Herve Gourdel in September, Justice Minister Tayeb Louh said on Wednesday. The Caliphate Soldiers, a splinter group which has allied itself to Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility for Gourdel's killing, saying it was in retaliation for France's intervention in Iraq. "It emerges from the investigation on the assassination of French national Herve Gourdel that one of those who committed this murder, ... ...


Qatar runs covert desert training camp for Syrian rebels

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 06:19 AM PST

Rebel fighters prepare to fire a machine gun towards forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the Jabal al-Akrad area in Syria's northwestern Latakia provinceBy Amena Bakr DOHA (Reuters) - At a desert base, Gulf state Qatar is covertly training moderate Syrian rebels with U.S. help to fight both President Bashar al-Assad and Islamic State and may include more overtly Islamist insurgent groups, sources close to the matter say. The camp, south of the capital between Saudi Arabia's border and Al Udeid, the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East, is being used to train the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and other moderate rebels, the sources said. ...


UK terrorism watchdog criticises new security proposals

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 05:08 AM PST

An armed police officer stands outside the Houses of Parliament, central LondonLONDON (Reuters) - Britain's terrorism watchdog has criticised the government's proposed new security laws, describing some of the measures as an "announcement waiting for a policy". A bill introduced by Home Secretary Theresa May on Wednesday is designed to crack down on Britons wanting to travel to Syria and Iraq to fight, and to prevent veterans of those conflicts from returning unless they agree to comply with the authorities under Temporary Exclusion Orders. ...


UK terrorism watchdog criticizes new security proposals

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 05:06 AM PST

An armed police officer stands outside the Houses of Parliament, central LondonLONDON (Reuters) - Britain's terrorism watchdog has criticized the government's proposed new security laws, describing some of the measures as an "announcement waiting for a policy". A bill introduced by Home Secretary Theresa May on Wednesday is designed to crack down on Britons wanting to travel to Syria and Iraq to fight, and to prevent veterans of those conflicts from returning unless they agree to comply with the authorities under Temporary Exclusion Orders. ...


Baghdad red tape puts Iraq Internet under Kurdish control

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 04:36 AM PST

Iraqi Shi'ite youths use computers at an internet cafe in Sadr City in BaghdadBy Matt Smith DUBAI (Reuters) - Iraq's reliance on Kurdistan for Internet connectivity due to Baghdad bureaucracy has put the northern autonomous region in control of three-quarters of Iraqi networks. This runs contrary to what Baghdad had sought from state control of fixed infrastructure within its jurisdiction, and the situation has spooked private investors and neutered Internet development outside Kurdistan, which sets its own rules. Iraq bars private companies from owning fixed networks transiting domestic data and anything they build is usually seized by the government. Just 9. ...


Impoverished Lebanese city is target for IS group

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 04:01 AM PST

In this Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014 photo, Lebanese men reconstruct their shop that was damaged due to clashes between the Lebanese army and Islamic militants in the northern port city of Tripoli, Lebanon. Last month's clashes were considered the most serious because heavily-armed militants led the clashes; some were loyal to the Islamic State group and others to Syria's al-Qaida affiliate, the Nusra Front. Previous bouts were dominated by local Sunni Muslim tough men in the Tripoli slum of Bab Tabbaneh, fighting rivals in the nearby Jabal Mohsen, loyalists of the Syrian President Bashar Assad. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AP) — Jamal Hayak is finally fixing up his restaurant, damaged a month ago in clashes between the army and militants in this northern Lebanese city. But he has little doubt violence will erupt again, and he says he fears next time it will be Islamic State group fighters battling in Tripoli's streets.


Staff backlash over charity's award for Tony Blair

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 03:59 AM PST

Employees at global charity Save the Children condemn decision to give former British PM Tony Blair an awardLondon (AFP) - Almost 200 staff at the global charity Save the Children have signed a letter condemning its decision to give former British prime minister Tony Blair an award for his work on debt relief.


Secular France moves to confront jihadism after slow start

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 03:41 AM PST

Pierre N'Gahane, the French official in charge of deradicalisation nationally, poses during an interview with Reuters in his office in ParisBy Nicholas Vinocur and Chine Labbé SEINE-ST-DENIS, France (Reuters) - When Guillaume, a 22-year-old Frenchman, left jail two months ago vowing to die as a martyr for Islam, community worker Sonia Imloul had a few minutes to convince him he was on the wrong path. Now Guillaume is back home drinking Coca Cola - taboo for many radical Islamists - and spending time with his girlfriend. France has been slow to respond to the spread of jihadist ideology because strict state secularism forbids any incursion into individuals' religious affairs. This has created a breeding ground that has pulled in converts like Guillaume, radicalized while in prison for assaulting a police officer.


New Australian treatment could save wounded soldiers

Posted: 26 Nov 2014 12:21 AM PST

Australian scientists claim to have developed a "breakthrough treatment" to help soldiers severely wounded in battle, with the US to fund further researchResearchers claim it could be the first big advance in treating battlefield casualties since the Vietnam War, with the potential to dramatically reduce deaths in the field. "In the last 10 years, about 5,000 allied soldiers have died on the battlefield (in Iraq and Afghanistan) and 87 percent happen in the first 30 minutes before they can even get to a treatment centre, so that is the key time," Geoffrey Dobson of James Cook University, who developed the treatment, told AFP. Dobson's therapy, developed with research associate Hayley Letson, increases the chances of survival for injured soldiers in remote areas by raising blood pressure in the vital first few minutes after they are wounded.


Russia's new push for Syria dialogue unlikely to be fruitful

Posted: 25 Nov 2014 10:46 PM PST

United Nations Special Envoy for Syria de Mistura nd Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov attend a meeting in MoscowBy Gabriela Baczynska and Sylvia Westall MOSCOW/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Fresh Russian efforts to encourage Syrian peace talks are unlikely to make progress because Moscow rejects opposition and Western calls for the swift departure of President Bashar al-Assad. Moscow has long-supported Assad, including with arms supplies for Syria, but he has become a more important ally for Russia since the Arab Spring protests toppled leaders in the Middle East, some of whom had close ties with Moscow. ...


As OPEC faces tough test, lower oil prices loom

Posted: 25 Nov 2014 02:58 PM PST

As OPEC faces tough test, lower oil prices loomThese are the moments OPEC exists for: A sharp drop in global oil prices has reduced the amount of money OPEC countries take in by nearly $1 billion a day. The 12-member group's purpose is to coordinate ...


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