Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Report: Egypt, Nigeria led world in death sentences in 2014
• Cape Verde record historic win over Ronaldo-less Portugal
• OUR NEXT PRESIDENT SHOULD BE A HOMEBODY
• Lawsuit alleges Iran directed killing of US soldiers in Iraq
• Iraq hails Tikrit 'liberation' after month-long battle
• IRAQ TIKRIT
• Nationwide power cut paralyses Turkey
• Libya fears its treasures are now in jihadist sights
• Iraq premier: Troops in center of Islamic State-held Tikrit
• UN refugee agency wants investigation into 2 Iraqi deaths
• Donors pledge $3.8B in Syria aid, far short of what's needed
• Brave K-9 Battle Buddies Honored On Latest Episode Of American Humane Association's Weekly Radio Show
• US-led coalition says IS still holds parts of Iraq's Tikrit
• Americans Support Nuclear Deal with Iran, but Don’t Think It Would Work
• Iraq forces retake government HQ in Tikrit from IS
• Iraq: Suicide blast hits bus with Iranian pilgrims, kills 10
• Chuck Schumer: 15 Things You Didn’t Know
• Experts caution reality check on joint Arab force
• Report: Hawaii supervisor manipulated veterans' benefit data
• Russia, Iran, Syria share same vision: Assad
• Canada votes for air strikes on Islamic State in Syria

Report: Egypt, Nigeria led world in death sentences in 2014 Posted: 31 Mar 2015 05:04 PM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Egypt and Nigeria accounted for well over 1,000 of the death sentences announced last year, more than a third of the world's total, Amnesty International says in its latest annual report on the death penalty.

Cape Verde record historic win over Ronaldo-less Portugal Posted: 31 Mar 2015 03:29 PM PDT Cape Verde upset a weakened Portugal 2-0 in Estoril on Tuesday as seven days of international football friendlies involving African teams ended. Portugal lacked many stars, including the biggest one of all Cristiano Ronaldo, having won 2-1 at home against Serbia just 48 hours earlier in a Euro 2016 qualifier. The Blue Sharks scored twice within six minutes close to half-time at Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota for a rare away victory over European opposition. Former Portuguese colony Cape Verde comprises a string of islands off the coast of Senegal and has just 500,000 inhabitants.

OUR NEXT PRESIDENT SHOULD BE A HOMEBODY Posted: 31 Mar 2015 03:00 PM PDT Up north in Iraq, you need a constantly evolving program to identify the players. The intention is to degrade, destroy and demolish the heinous ISIS or Islamic State of mainly pathological killers from around the world and teenaged boys from the West who haven't found enough excitement at home. Saddam's Iraq -- he ruled roughly from 1973 to 2003 -- was one of the cruelest and most evil states in history, but it also served, in a Middle East that has been the poisoned heart of endless killing among clans, tribes and religions, as a kind of rock in the center of that upheaval, which has kept peoples and governments in the region in relative stasis. But when the U.S., expecting to be welcomed with flowers, invaded Iraq in 2003 to establish a democracy and leave in six months, something else happened.

Lawsuit alleges Iran directed killing of US soldiers in Iraq Posted: 31 Mar 2015 02:51 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The families of three American soldiers killed during a brazen attack in Iraq are suing the Iranian government for allegedly orchestrating the raid.

Iraq hails Tikrit 'liberation' after month-long battle Posted: 31 Mar 2015 02:42 PM PDT Iraq said security and allied forces backed by US-led coalition aircraft "liberated" the city of Tikrit on Tuesday, its biggest victory yet in the fight against Islamic State jihadists. The operation to retake the hometown of former president Saddam Hussein began on March 2 and had looked bogged down before Iraqi forces made rapid advances in the past 48 hours. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi "announces the liberation of Tikrit and congratulates Iraqi security forces and popular volunteers on the historic milestone," his official Twitter account said. He was referring to paramilitary groups which played a major role in the fighting to retake Tikrit, a Sunni Arab city which IS had controlled since it captured swathes of Iraq in June.

IRAQ TIKRIT Posted: 31 Mar 2015 02:20 PM PDT Map shows details of the Tikrit offensive.; 2c x 6 inches; 96.3 mm x 152 mm;

Nationwide power cut paralyses Turkey Posted: 31 Mar 2015 01:51 PM PDT A massive power cut caused chaos and shut down public transport across Turkey on Tuesday, with the government refusing to rule out that the electricity system had been the victim of an attack. The nationwide power cut, the worst in 15 years, began shortly after 10:30 am (0730 GMT) in Istanbul, the state-run Anatolia news agency quoted the Turkey Electricity Transmission Company (TEIAS) as saying. It was confirmed to have hit 49 of the country's 81 provinces, from the Greek border to those in the southeast neighbouring Iran and Iraq, and including Istanbul and the capital Ankara. "Every possibility, including a terrorist attack, is being investigated," said Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu after the magnitude of the outage became clear.

Libya fears its treasures are now in jihadist sights Posted: 31 Mar 2015 11:49 AM PDT Libyan antiquities officials looked on with horror at Internet video footage that showed Islamist extremists wielding sledgehammers and power tools to grind ancient Iraqi treasures into dust. They fear the Islamic State group jihadist movement's growing influence means the fate that befell these priceless Assyrian and Akkadian artefacts now awaits their own rich heritage dating back millennia. Footage of the cultural atrocity showed militants smashing exhibits at the museum in Mosul, Iraq's second city and the main IS stronghold since its capture in a lighting June offensive last year. Libya, another country rich in archaeological heritage, has been in turmoil since the 2011 overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising.

Iraq premier: Troops in center of Islamic State-held Tikrit Posted: 31 Mar 2015 11:48 AM PDT TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi forces battled Islamic State militants holed up in downtown Tikrit, going house to house Tuesday in search of snipers and booby traps, and the prime minister said security forces had reached the heart of the city.

UN refugee agency wants investigation into 2 Iraqi deaths Posted: 31 Mar 2015 10:30 AM PDT UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations refugee agency wants an investigation into the death of two Iraqis who reportedly were severely beaten by Bulgarian border guards and died of hypothermia while trying to cross from Turkey.

Donors pledge $3.8B in Syria aid, far short of what's needed Posted: 31 Mar 2015 10:30 AM PDT KUWAIT CITY (AP) — International donors committed $3.8 billion in aid for Syrians affected by the grinding civil war at a donors' conference in Kuwait on Tuesday, less than half of what the U.N. requested for this year to cope with the growing humanitarian crisis.

Brave K-9 Battle Buddies Honored On Latest Episode Of American Humane Association's Weekly Radio Show Posted: 31 Mar 2015 10:28 AM PDT WASHINGTON, March 31, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For members of the military, dogs are their best friends. Dogs keep them safe and can provide company in the face of unspeakable hardships. Five of these special K-9 Battle Buddy teams were honored for their bravery and service to the nation at a special luncheon at the Mar-a-Lago Club on March 17 hosted by philanthropist Lois Pope and American Humane Association, and are the subject of the latest episode of "Be Humane with Dr. Robin Ganzert," American Humane Association's weekly radio show on Pet Life Radio. ...

US-led coalition says IS still holds parts of Iraq's Tikrit Posted: 31 Mar 2015 10:23 AM PDT The Islamic State group still controls parts of the Iraqi city of Tikrit, which Baghdad announced had been retaken, the US-led coalition battling the jihadists said Tuesday. "Parts of the city remain under (IS's) control and there is still work to be done," spokesperson Major Kim Michelsen told AFP by email. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had hailed the "liberation of Tikrit" earlier in the day, congratulating the forces that took part in the battle. Troops, police and Popular Mobilisation units -- paramilitary forces dominated by Iranian-backed Shiite militias -- began the battle for Tikrit on March 2.

Americans Support Nuclear Deal with Iran, but Don’t Think It Would Work Posted: 31 Mar 2015 09:00 AM PDT The majority of Americans support negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran to restrict the country from building nuclear weapons in exchange for rolling back several sanctions, but they don't trust Iran to live up to any agreement. The survey said about 59 percent support a deal with Iran, while 31 oppose negotiating with the country. A majority 59 percent were not confident that such an agreement would really prevent Iran from developing nukes, while 37 percent believed it could (only 4 percent were "very confident" that a deal would prevent Iran from developing nukes).

Iraq forces retake government HQ in Tikrit from IS Posted: 31 Mar 2015 07:36 AM PDT Iraqi forces have retaken the Salaheddin provincial government headquarters in Tikrit from the Islamic State jihadist group, a significant advance in the battle to recapture the city, officials said Tuesday. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said security forces and Popular Mobilisation units -- pro-government paramilitary forces dominated by Iran-backed Shiite militias -- took part in the fighting, after some of those groups said they froze offensive operations in response to US-led air strikes. "Iraqi forces cleared the government complex in Tikrit," an army major general said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Iraq: Suicide blast hits bus with Iranian pilgrims, kills 10 Posted: 31 Mar 2015 06:01 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — A suicide bomber targeted a bus carrying Iranian Shiite pilgrims north of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 10 people, including seven Iranians, according to Iraqi officials.

Chuck Schumer: 15 Things You Didn’t Know Posted: 31 Mar 2015 05:15 AM PDT When Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid surprised Washington last week with the announcement he would retire from the Senate in early 2017 and not seek reelection, one of the first people he told was New York Sen. Chuck Schumer. Reid almost immediately endorsed Schumer, 64, to replace him as key Senate Democratic leader. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the number-two Senate Democrat, said he wouldn't stand in the way, and now Sen. Patty Murray, also mentioned as a potential Reid replacement, said she'll support Schumer for the role. "Sen. Chuck Schumer has spent his entire career carrying water for Wall Street interests," Becky Bond, political director for the liberal group CREDO Action, told The Los Angeles Times.

Experts caution reality check on joint Arab force Posted: 30 Mar 2015 11:07 PM PDT Despite an agreement at a weekend Arab summit to establish a joint military force, serious doubts remain that it will become a reality on the ground, experts say. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced the accord on Sunday at the end of the summit he hosted in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, setting a four-month timeframe for the 22-member Arab League to decide on the composition and rules of engagement of the joint force. "The notion of a truly joint Arab military force still remains an aspiration rather than a reality," said Frederic Wehrey, an expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "Despite the statements of unity, there are vast differences between the Arab states and that was evident with the situation in Yemen," he said.

Report: Hawaii supervisor manipulated veterans' benefit data Posted: 30 Mar 2015 08:10 PM PDT HONOLULU (AP) — A supervisor at the Veterans Administration office in Honolulu was manipulating data to make it look like the agency was processing veterans' benefits claims faster it actually was, according to a new report by the VA Office of Inspector General.

Russia, Iran, Syria share same vision: Assad Posted: 30 Mar 2015 07:43 PM PDT Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he shares the same goals as Iran and Russia when it comes to the brutal war tearing apart his country. "Syria and Iran and Russia see eye to eye regarding this conflict," Assad added.

Canada votes for air strikes on Islamic State in Syria Posted: 30 Mar 2015 07:39 PM PDT Canadian lawmakers voted Monday to extend a campaign of airstrikes against the Islamic State group and for the first time strike at them in Syria as well as in Iraq. Canada first joined the US-led airstrikes on the IS group in November. Its expanded air campaign was authorized until March 30, 2016.

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