Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Spy agencies in 'technology arms race', says British chief
• Grisly testimony at Boston bombing trial as prosecutors rest
• Tidal: Long Live Millionaire Musicians
• Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT
• Why White House cannot afford to ignore Yemen civil war
• Pentagon chief considers easing of enlistment standards
• Azerbaijan starts trial of 6 alleged Islamic State militants
• Putin Barely Beats Obama as a More Imminent Threat to Americans in New Poll
• Jerusalem Palestinian charged with trying to join IS
• Downton Abbey , Casualty of a Changing World
• Wartime land mines kill 5 Iranian border guards, shepherd
• Duckworth makes video announcement for 2016 Senate bid
• Erdogan says Iran visit still on despite 'domination' row
• Air raid kills scores at Yemen displaced camp
• Afghanistan's Ghani walks tightrope over US, Pakistan ties
• Iran says US drone kills 2 advisers in Iraq; US denies claim
• Shaken by Yemen, Lebanon works to keep its balance
• UN chief Ban calls for more aid for Iraq displaced
• AP Sources: Duckworth to challenge Kirk for Illinois Senate
• AP PHOTOS: Iraqi forces struggle to take back Tikrit
• US drone 'killed two Iranian troops in Iraq'
• Ancient Petra sees few visitors as Jordan tourism declines
• Nuclear deal would reward Iran for Yemen 'aggression': Israel
• Syria's Assad: Islamic State has strengthened despite airstrikes
• Malaysia proposes anti-terror laws to curb Islamic militants
• Iranian Guard says US drone killed 2 of its advisers in Iraq; US says it only struck militants
• Obama’s Middle East Mess and How to Clean It Up
• Iraq: Twin car bombings in Baghdad kill at least 11
• With Lee's passing, Mahathir is last of SE Asia's old guards
• Syrian president says IS is expanding despite airstrikes
• Morocco confronts abortion taboo with proposed reform
• Pentagon chief mulls easing military enlistment standards

Spy agencies in 'technology arms race', says British chief Posted: 30 Mar 2015 04:50 PM PDT Spy agencies are caught in a "technology arms race" with terrorists and criminals, the new head of Britain's MI6 said on Monday in his first public comments since becoming chief. Alex Younger defended the use of data by the Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, after the release of documents by former CIA contractor Edward Snowden sparked criticism of sweeping mass surveillance by intelligence agencies. "The bad news is the same technology in opposition hands, an opposition often unconstrained by consideration of ethics and law, allows them to see what we are doing and to put our people and agents at risk," he said.

Grisly testimony at Boston bombing trial as prosecutors rest Posted: 30 Mar 2015 04:49 PM PDT US prosecutors rested their case Monday in the trial of Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after gruesome testimony about the death of the youngest victim left some jurors in tears. Defense attorneys then began calling witnesses, trying to minimize the role of the 21-year-old Tsarnaev -- who could face the death penalty if convicted -- in the planning of the April 15, 2013 attack. Their final witness was chief medical examiner Henry Nields, who recounted in graphic detail the injuries suffered by the youngest victim, eight-year-old Martin Richard, who was torn apart by one of the pressure-cooker bombs.

Tidal: Long Live Millionaire Musicians Posted: 30 Mar 2015 04:46 PM PDT Additionally known as cyan, aqua, electric cyan, and waterspout, the hue in the past 24 hours took over the Twitter avatars of some ultra-famous musicians—Jay Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, Kanye West, Arcade Fire, Coldplay, Nicki Minaj, Alicia Keys, Jason Aldean, Madonna—and then, at those musicians' request, replaced the profile-pics of their fans. Jay Z edited a Bob Dylan protest title to "The Tides They Are-A Changing." Then, in a broadcast on Monday afternoon, an incredibly high-profile array of musicians (the ones previously mentioned, plus Jack White, Calvin Harris, Daft Punk, Deadmau5, J. Cole, and Usher) signed a "declaration" of co-ownership.

Top Asian News at 11:30 p.m. GMT Posted: 30 Mar 2015 04:32 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Two of Asia's best-known strongmen, Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad, had much in common — a streak of authoritarianism, little tolerance for dissent and vision that changed the face of their countries. But friends they were not, and the two rarely saw eye to eye. In fact one of their only agreements was to move their countries' time — which was 7 ½ hours ahead of GMT — forward by half an hour to be in line with world time zones.

Why White House cannot afford to ignore Yemen civil war Posted: 30 Mar 2015 02:10 PM PDT With another civil war looming in the Middle East in Yemen, President Obama has been served another sharp reminder that reducing the weight of the Middle East in America's national security portfolio is more easily envisioned than accomplished. The Syrian civil war is entering its fifth year, with the US remaining largely on the sidelines. Now fighting in Yemen between a government–on-the-run and Sunni tribesmen supported by Saudi Arabia on one side, and Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels on the other, threatens to turn into a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Two factors underscore why, and help explain why Obama's vision of "rebalancing" US interests and foreign policy toward Asia is likely to fade further with war in Yemen.

Pentagon chief considers easing of enlistment standards Posted: 30 Mar 2015 01:27 PM PDT ABINGTON, Pa. (AP) — Saying the military needs to do more to compete with corporate America for quality recruits, Defense Secretary Ash Carter opened the door Monday to relaxing some enlistment standards — particularly for high-tech or cybersecurity jobs.

Azerbaijan starts trial of 6 alleged Islamic State militants Posted: 30 Mar 2015 01:08 PM PDT BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — A trial of six Azerbaijani citizens accused of fighting alongside the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq has begun in Azerbaijan's capital.

Putin Barely Beats Obama as a More Imminent Threat to Americans in New Poll Posted: 30 Mar 2015 12:22 PM PDT The Reuters/Ipsos poll that asked some 3,000 Americans what they consider to be the most imminent threat facing the country. Russian President Vladimir Putin, unsurprisingly, was ranked as an imminent threat by about 20 percent of Americans.

Jerusalem Palestinian charged with trying to join IS Posted: 30 Mar 2015 12:06 PM PDT Israeli prosecutors Monday charged a Palestinian resident of east Jerusalem with allegedly trying to join the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria, the Shin Bet domestic security agency said. Khalil Adel Khalil, born in 1990 and a resident of A-Tur neighbourhood, had been inspired by IS videos and in August resolved to join it in Syria, a Shin Bet statement said. It said Khalil, who worked as a para-medical assistant at a state-owned psychiatric hospital, used sports facilities at Jerusalem's Hebrew University to physically prepare for combat in the ranks of IS, which holds swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq. He is alleged to have flown from Israel to Greece and then to Turkey where he contacted an IS agent who led him to a safe house near the border with Syria.

Downton Abbey , Casualty of a Changing World Posted: 30 Mar 2015 11:42 AM PDT Downton Abbey has seen its fair share of impromptu exits. "We want constant novelty, but we also want everything to stay the same," Fellowes told The New York Times Magazine in 2011.

Wartime land mines kill 5 Iranian border guards, shepherd Posted: 30 Mar 2015 11:21 AM PDT TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's state TV says two land mines left over from the 1980s Iraq-Iran war have killed five Iranian border guards and a female shepherd near the Iraqi border.

Duckworth makes video announcement for 2016 Senate bid Posted: 30 Mar 2015 10:34 AM PDT CHICAGO (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois announced Monday she's running for U.S. Senate in 2016, setting up a high-profile challenge to Republican Sen. Mark Kirk's re-election bid.

Erdogan says Iran visit still on despite 'domination' row Posted: 30 Mar 2015 10:22 AM PDT President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday insisted he was still planning to visit Iran next week, despite a war-of-words with the Islamic republic triggered by the Yemen crisis and his accusations Tehran was seeking domination of the region. Majority Sunni Muslim Turkey has said it supports the Saudi-led operation against Iran-allied Huthi Shiite rebels in Yemen to restore order in the country. Meanwhile Iran announced Monday it had "invited" the Turkish envoy to the foreign ministry for an explanation after Erdogan said last week that Tehran's bid for domination of the region could no longer be tolerated.

Air raid kills scores at Yemen displaced camp Posted: 30 Mar 2015 10:19 AM PDT An air strike killed dozens of people at a camp for displaced people in northwest Yemen on Monday, aid workers said, as Arab warplanes bombard rebels around the country. IOM spokesman Joel Millman said 25 of the wounded were in severe condition. "It was an air strike," said Pablo Marco of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which has a presence at the hospital. A Saudi-led Arab coalition has been pounding Shiite rebel positions in Yemen since early Thursday.

Afghanistan's Ghani walks tightrope over US, Pakistan ties Posted: 30 Mar 2015 09:41 AM PDT In pursuing rapprochement with Pakistan and the United States, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is the very antithesis of his fiery predecessor, but his unprecedented diplomatic overtures have prompted rumblings of unease back home. Since coming to power in September, Ghani has sought to jumpstart long-stalled negotiations with the Taliban for a peace agreement 13 years after they were toppled in a US-led invasion. Ghani has courted Washington to slow the drawdown of US troops and longtime nemesis Pakistan, which has historically backed the Taliban, in what observers say is a calculated gambit to pressure the insurgents to the negotiating table. Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai, well known for his anti-US and anti-Pakistan tirades, and others have warned strongly against Afghanistan's tilt towards Islamabad -- often accused of playing a "double game" and covertly nurturing the Taliban.

Iran says US drone kills 2 advisers in Iraq; US denies claim Posted: 30 Mar 2015 09:06 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iran's Revolutionary Guard says a U.S. drone strike killed two of its advisers near the Iraqi city of Tikrit, where a major offensive is underway against the Islamic State group, but the U.S. said Monday its coalition conducted no airstrikes in the area during the time of the incident.

Shaken by Yemen, Lebanon works to keep its balance Posted: 30 Mar 2015 08:39 AM PDT "They are killing Shiites in Yemen," says Hassan Masri, a Shiite supporter of Hezbollah in southern Beirut. The latest crisis in Yemen illustrates the interconnected nature of the conflicts tearing apart the Middle East, as Saudi Arabia and Iran seek influence at each other's expense. Saudi Arabia heads a coalition of 10 Sunni-majority Arab nations ranged against Yemen's Houthi rebels. The Houthis, members of a Shiite sect reportedly supported by Iran, hold Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and are advancing on the southern port city of Aden.

UN chief Ban calls for more aid for Iraq displaced Posted: 30 Mar 2015 08:31 AM PDT United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called in Baghdad Monday for Iraq and the international community to increase assistance for over 2.5 million people displaced by violence in the country. Ban met Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as well as President Fuad Masum, Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi during his visit, and also addressed the Iraqi parliament. Iraqi forces are battling to retake the city of Tikrit, the government's largest military operation yet against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, which led an offensive that overran much of the country's Sunni Arab heartland last year.

AP Sources: Duckworth to challenge Kirk for Illinois Senate Posted: 30 Mar 2015 08:23 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Democratic officials say Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth will announce her candidacy for U.S. Senate against Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois.

AP PHOTOS: Iraqi forces struggle to take back Tikrit Posted: 30 Mar 2015 08:10 AM PDT The Iraqi offensive aimed at driving the Islamic State group out of the northern city of Tikrit has been slowed by booby traps, snipers and suicide bombers, but received a powerful boost last week when a U.S.-led coalition began launching airstrikes in support of the operation.

US drone 'killed two Iranian troops in Iraq' Posted: 30 Mar 2015 08:03 AM PDT Two Iranian Revolutionary Guardsmen were killed by a US drone in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, Iranian state media said Monday, in a report that was denied by the Pentagon. The official IRNA news agency said the two had been posted to Iraq as advisers in the war against Islamic State (IS) group jihadists and that they died in the drone strike on March 23. Pictures of the two men, named as Ali Yazdani and Hadi Jafari, were posted on Iranian news websites after their funerals on home soil. The Fars news agency called Jafari, 29, the third "martyr in defence of the shrines" from the northern Iranian city of Amol.

Ancient Petra sees few visitors as Jordan tourism declines Posted: 30 Mar 2015 06:58 AM PDT PETRA, Jordan (AP) — It's high season in Petra, an ancient city hewn from rose-colored rock and Jordan's biggest tourist draw. Yet nearby hotels stand virtually empty these days and only a trickle of tourists make their way through a landmark canyon to the Treasury building where scenes of one of the "Indiana Jones" movies were filmed.

Nuclear deal would reward Iran for Yemen 'aggression': Israel Posted: 30 Mar 2015 06:04 AM PDT Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned world powers on Monday that any nuclear deal they strike with Iran would be seen as a reward for Tehran's alleged "aggression" in Yemen. "The agreement being formulated in Lausanne sends a message that there is no price for aggression and on the contrary -- that Iran's aggression is to be rewarded," he said, referring to Iranian support for Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen. "The moderate and responsible countries in the region, especially Israel and also many other countries, will be the first to be hurt by this agreement," said Netanyahu, who has waged a campaign against a nuclear deal with Tehran.

Syria's Assad: Islamic State has strengthened despite airstrikes Posted: 30 Mar 2015 06:02 AM PDT In a newly published interview, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad welcomed the possibility of dialogue with the United States to end the conflict within his war-torn country, while warning that the self-declared Islamic State had only grown stronger since it came under attack from Western-led forces. With the rise of IS militants in the Syrian and Iraqi north, the removal of Mr. Assad's government has dropped in priority for Western policymakers, who are believed to have kept it informed of the operations of the US-led coalition attacking IS. US Secretary of State John Kerry two weeks ago also suggested that Washington would "have to negotiate in the end" with Assad to find a political solution in Syria, a move that Assad welcomed in an interview with US news program 60 Minutes. Assad also discussed the threat that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, poses in his country, dismissing arguments that it is being beaten back by Kurdish and Iraqi forces backed by US-led air support.

Malaysia proposes anti-terror laws to curb Islamic militants Posted: 30 Mar 2015 05:05 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia's government Monday proposed two new laws that would reintroduce indefinite detention without trial and allow the seizure of passports of anyone suspected of supporting terror acts in an attempt to curb militant activities.

Iranian Guard says US drone killed 2 of its advisers in Iraq; US says it only struck militants Posted: 30 Mar 2015 04:02 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iranian Guard says US drone killed 2 of its advisers in Iraq; US says it only struck militants.

Obama’s Middle East Mess and How to Clean It Up Posted: 30 Mar 2015 03:15 AM PDT This has to be a singular moment in the Obama administration's evolving policies in the Middle East. Hold it all up to the light and ask yourself: American foreign policy may be right or wrong in any given case, but is this degree of incoherence more or less unprecedented in Foggy Bottom's annals? In effect we're aligned with Iran, which is Shiite.

Iraq: Twin car bombings in Baghdad kill at least 11 Posted: 30 Mar 2015 02:40 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A pair of car bombings in a Baghdad suburb on Monday killed at least 11 people and wounded dozens, officials said, hours after the arrival of the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, for talks with the Iraqi officials.

With Lee's passing, Mahathir is last of SE Asia's old guards Posted: 30 Mar 2015 02:09 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Two of Asia's best-known strongmen, Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad, had much in common — a streak of authoritarianism, little tolerance for dissent and vision that changed the face of their countries.

Syrian president says IS is expanding despite airstrikes Posted: 30 Mar 2015 01:35 AM PDT BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad says the Islamic State group has been expanding since a U.S.-led coalition began its airstrikes on the group in Iraq and Syria last year.

Morocco confronts abortion taboo with proposed reform Posted: 29 Mar 2015 11:48 PM PDT CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) — It was just 7 a.m. and Hoda was walking alone to a clinic in the Moroccan coastal city of Agadir. She skipped breakfast: the Senegalese doctor had told her that the abortion would be better done on an empty stomach.

Pentagon chief mulls easing military enlistment standards Posted: 29 Mar 2015 09:18 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Ash Carter is considering easing some military enlistment standards as part of a broader set of initiatives to better attract and keep quality service members and civilians across the Defense Department.

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