Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Iraq PM downplays criticism of Saudi airstrikes on Yemen
• Iraqi PM seeks more security for Reuters bureau in Baghdad
• Iraq's largest refinery not at risk from IS group: US
• Islamic State, security forces clash in Iraq's largest refinery
• General: US focusing airstrikes to protect Beiji refinery
• Iraq signals unease with Iran general's battlefield prominence
• Dempsey: US focusing airstrikes to protect Beiji refinery
• ISLAMIC STATE
• THE DOGS OF WAR ARE HOWLING AGAIN
• Iraq PM vows to end sectarian divisions at end of US visit
• In Iraq, battle to oust Islamic State outstrips needed political reforms
• Assange agrees to be questioned in London: lawyer
• Thousands flee as IS group advances on Iraq's Ramadi
• U.S., allies focus on Iraq in latest air strikes on Islamic State: statement
• How McDonald's Became a Target for Protest
• New Yemen VP says he hopes to avert Saudi invasion
• Saudi-Iran rivalry over Yemen deepens Mideast sectarianism
• Russia blames U.S. for security crises and turmoil in Ukraine
• "Jeb Bush's Elephant In The Room Is Role In Slow-Walking Bush V Gore Recount" Says Des Moines Register Article By National Democratic Strategist Robert Weiner and Policy Analyst Daniel Wallace
• Obama tells wounded vets, soldiers they are not alone
• Gunmen shoot and wound US citizen in southern Pakistan
• Putin says S-300 sale to Iran prompted by progress in nuclear talks
• 'US national' shot, wounded in Pakistan's Karachi
• Russia hopes U.N. Syria talks will lead to united fight with IS
• NBC changes account of reporter's kidnapping in Syria
• Mom Busted For Naked Twister Party, Sex With Her Daughter’s 16-Year-Old Boyfriend
• Morocco arrests French woman, companion for militant links
• Senators Moran and Blumenthal, Representatives Benishek and Honda Introduce New Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015
• Former Czech PM Stanislav Gross dies at age 45
• UN presses Libya peace talks under shadow of drownings
• Air strikes near Tripoli as UN peace talks on Libya resume
• Today in History
• Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials

Iraq PM downplays criticism of Saudi airstrikes on Yemen Posted: 16 Apr 2015 03:55 PM PDT Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi sought Thursday to walk back sharp criticism of the Saudi air campaign against Shiite militias in Yemen and welcomed news that the Saudi embassy in Baghdad will reopen soon. Abadi, a Shiite, told the Center for Strategic and International Studies: "We are on the same boat in the region. "We have suffered so much from wars in Iraq.

Iraqi PM seeks more security for Reuters bureau in Baghdad Posted: 16 Apr 2015 03:53 PM PDT Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said on Thursday he had asked for more protection for the Reuters office in Baghdad after the news agency's bureau chief left the country due to threats. Abadi, who has been in Washington meeting with President Barack Obama to seek support in fighting Islamic State militants, said he was seeking more information after last week's departure from Iraq of Reuters bureau chief Ned Parker. "We want more information so that I can take action," he said at an event organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. After a Reuters report last week that detailed lynching and looting in the city of Tikrit, a post on a Facebook page linked to armed Shiite groups demanded Parker be expelled.

Iraq's largest refinery not at risk from IS group: US Posted: 16 Apr 2015 03:49 PM PDT Iraq's largest refinery in Baiji is not "at risk" despite an offensive by the Islamic State group that has breached parts of the facility, the US military's top general said Thursday. The IS militants have "penetrated the outer perimeter" of the vast oil refinery and the US-coalition was concentrating bombing raids and surveillance flights over the area, General Martin Dempsey told reporters. "The refinery itself is at no risk right now, but ... we're focusing a lot of our ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) and air support there," the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Islamic State, security forces clash in Iraq's largest refinery Posted: 16 Apr 2015 02:47 PM PDT Islamic State militants clashed with security forces inside Iraq's largest refinery on Thursday and held on to recent gains in the west of the country, as Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the extremist group remained "very, very dangerous". The insurgents suffered a major defeat this month when Iraqi troops and Shi'ite paramilitaries routed them from the city of Tikrit, but are now striking back at Baiji refinery and in the western province of Anbar. The top U.S. military officer, General Martin Dempsey, told reporters "the refinery itself is at no risk right now." But he expressed concern that the militants had penetrated the refinery's outer perimeter and were now inside. Islamic State sympathizers circulated photographs on social media late on Thursday appearing to show the militants inside the refinery with the caption: "the soldiers of the (Islamic) State advance to cleanse what is left of Baiji refinery".

General: US focusing airstrikes to protect Beiji refinery Posted: 16 Apr 2015 02:12 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Losing the capital of Iraq's western Anbar province to advancing Islamic State forces would be a tragic but not crippling blow to Iraq's counteroffensive, the top U.S. military officer said Thursday.

Iraq signals unease with Iran general's battlefield prominence Posted: 16 Apr 2015 02:08 PM PDT By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iraq's prime minister said on Thursday that he welcomed Iranian assistance in Iraq's battle against Islamic State but suggested unease with the prominence of a top Iranian general, who has been widely seen in photos from Iraq's battlefields. Major General Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's al-Quds brigade of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was almost an invisible man until Islamic State's Sunni jihadists overran cities in northern and central Iraq last year.

Dempsey: US focusing airstrikes to protect Beiji refinery Posted: 16 Apr 2015 02:07 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Losing the capital of Iraq's western Anbar province to advancing Islamic State forces would be a tragic but not crippling blow to Iraq's counteroffensive, the top U.S. military officer said Thursday.

ISLAMIC STATE Posted: 16 Apr 2015 02:00 PM PDT Map shows location of fighting across Iraq.; 2c x 5 inches; 96.3 mm x 127 mm;

THE DOGS OF WAR ARE HOWLING AGAIN Posted: 16 Apr 2015 02:00 PM PDT For one brief, shining moment, it seemed as though Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, now seeking the Republican nomination for president, might be a strong voice in the GOP for military restraint. Alas, that Rand Paul is quickly disappearing. Having formalized his presidential ambitions, he and his surrogates have been running to get in line with the armchair warriors who dominate foreign policy circles in his party. That leaves all hope for a sense of humility about American intervention with the Democratic Party -- or, more to the point, with Hillary Rodham Clinton, the expected nominee.

Iraq PM vows to end sectarian divisions at end of US visit Posted: 16 Apr 2015 01:46 PM PDT Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi wrapped up his inaugural visit to the US on Thursday, winning pledges that long-delayed F-16 fighter jets will soon be delivered and vowing to calm the sectarian tensions dividing his country. The new prime minister, who took office in September and replaced the divisive Nuri al-Maliki, denied he had come to Washington with a shopping list of weapons for Iraqi forces. Vice President Joe Biden congratulated Abadi on "a very successful visit," adding that the Iraq-US partnership would "grow long after" the Islamic State group is defeated. During talks with US administration officials, Abadi said he had been assured that 36 F-16s ordered by Iraq as far back as 2011 would be delivered soon.

In Iraq, battle to oust Islamic State outstrips needed political reforms Posted: 16 Apr 2015 01:45 PM PDT When the Pentagon announced this week that Islamic State fighters have been pushed out of more than a quarter of the Iraqi territory they invaded and laid claim to last year, the missing element of that cautiously upbeat assessment was Iraq's political environment. US officials, beginning with President Obama, have said since last summer that the Sunni Islamist extremists would not be uprooted and defeated unless the Iraqi government took vigorous steps to address the Sunni Arab community's political estrangement. Yet despite some small rays of progress since Haider al-Abadi became prime minister last September, the Shiite Muslim majority has relinquished little in the way of political power and the government has accomplished few meaningful steps to heal Iraq's deep sectarian divides, some Iraq experts say. "There still have been no real overtures or even grand gestures to the Sunni community to erase their doubts that they won't just be second-class citizens in Iraq, and that's taking a toll," says Wayne White, a former State Department specialist on Iraq who is now a scholar with the Middle East Institute in Washington.

Assange agrees to be questioned in London: lawyer Posted: 16 Apr 2015 12:25 PM PDT WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has agreed to be questioned by Swedish prosecutors in London over rape allegations, his Swedish lawyer Thomas Olsson said on Thursday. "We sent a confirmation earlier today to the prosecutors that Julian Assange agrees to be questioned in London," Olsson told AFP. He said Assange made no specific demands about the questioning. Swedish prosecutors offered in March to question Assange in London, dropping their previous demand that he come to Sweden to answer to the 2010 allegations, making a significant U-turn in the case that has been deadlocked for nearly five years.

Thousands flee as IS group advances on Iraq's Ramadi Posted: 16 Apr 2015 12:16 PM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — More than 2,000 families have fled the Iraqi city of Ramadi with little more than the clothes on their backs, officials said Thursday, as the Islamic State group closed in on the capital of western Anbar province, clashing with Iraqi troops and turning it into a ghost town.

U.S., allies focus on Iraq in latest air strikes on Islamic State: statement Posted: 16 Apr 2015 11:20 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies staged 20 air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq in a period from Wednesday to Thursday morning, the Combined Joint Task Force said in a statement. Nineteen of the strikes occurred near eight Iraqi cities and hit tactical units, fighting positions, vehicles, weapons and buildings, the statement said. Another attack near al Hasakah, Syria, destroyed to fighting positions and hit a tactical unit. (Writing by Bill Trott; Editing by Sandra Maler)

How McDonald's Became a Target for Protest Posted: 16 Apr 2015 10:54 AM PDT On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that 130 McDonald's locations in Japan would be closed due to lagging sales amid food scandals. In Hawaii, for example, franchises offered 60-cent burgers and gave away birthday cake. Elsewhere in the country, the Fight for 15 minimum wage protests raged, forcing shut McDonald's franchises in places like Denver and Chicago and hosting a die-in outside a McDonald's in Manhattan. There is something about McDonald's that makes it the target of continual protest—more than other fast-food franchises and more than other powerful global moneymaking entities with less-than-sterling reputations for fair pay.

New Yemen VP says he hopes to avert Saudi invasion Posted: 16 Apr 2015 10:30 AM PDT By Angus McDowall and Mohamed Mukashaf RIYADH/ADEN (Reuters) - Yemen's newly-appointed Vice President Khaled Bahah, a widely respected figure named this week to shore up the legitimacy of the exiled Saudi-backed government, said on Thursday he hoped to avert a Saudi-led invasion to restore unity to the country. Arab military exercises planned for Saudi Arabia have raised speculation that Riyadh is considering land operations in Yemen, after three weeks of air strikes that failed to halt advances by Shi'ite fighters now in control of most of the country. President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi named Bahah, a former prime minister and diplomat, as his deputy this week in an attempt to widen support for his government, now exiled to Saudi Arabia since the Iran-backed fighters, known as Houthis, seized the capital and launched a lightning advance on the south. Bahah is one of the few figures in Yemen whose popularity crosses regional and sectarian lines.

Saudi-Iran rivalry over Yemen deepens Mideast sectarianism Posted: 16 Apr 2015 10:25 AM PDT RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia's government insists it is not at war with Iran despite its three-week air campaign against Tehran-backed rebels in Yemen, but the kingdom's powerful clerics, and its regional rival's theocratic government, are increasingly presenting the conflict as part of a region-wide battle for the soul of Islam.

Russia blames U.S. for security crises and turmoil in Ukraine Posted: 16 Apr 2015 10:18 AM PDT By Gabriela Baczynska MOSCOW (Reuters) - Top Russian officials accused the United States on Thursday of seeking political and military dominance and sought to put blame on the West for international security crises, including the conflict in east Ukraine. Evoking Cold War-style rhetoric, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said a drive by the United States and its allies to bring Kiev closer to the West was a threat to Moscow and had forced it to react. "The United States and its allies have crossed all possible lines in their drive to bring Kiev into their orbit.

"Jeb Bush's Elephant In The Room Is Role In Slow-Walking Bush V Gore Recount" Says Des Moines Register Article By National Democratic Strategist Robert Weiner and Policy Analyst Daniel Wallace Posted: 16 Apr 2015 10:14 AM PDT WASHINGTON and DES MOINES, Iowa, April 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Jeb Bush's role in slow-walking the Bush v Gore recount is the "Elephant in the Room" for 2016, say national Democratic strategist and former Clinton White House staffer Robert Weiner, and policy analyst Daniel Wallace, in an article in today's The Des Moines Register.  They contend that 2016 campaign media has ignored questions on Bush's role, documented in the article from phone logs and emails, in slow-walking the 2000 election recount, and suppressing Democratic votes earlier, until the election was stopped by the Supreme Court. "The Florida governor's office in Tallahassee made 95 telephone calls to the George W. Bush presidential campaign, its advisors, lawyers and staffers during the 36-day recount period, records show," Weiner and Wallace point out in an article titled "Jeb Bush's Elephant in the Room: Role in Bush v. Gore Recount" published in the Des Moines Register on April 16.

Obama tells wounded vets, soldiers they are not alone Posted: 16 Apr 2015 09:44 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is assuring wounded soldiers and veterans they are not alone, telling them, "We've got your back."

Gunmen shoot and wound US citizen in southern Pakistan Posted: 16 Apr 2015 09:39 AM PDT KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Police say gunmen have shot and wounded a U.S. citizen in the Pakistani port city of Karachi.

Putin says S-300 sale to Iran prompted by progress in nuclear talks Posted: 16 Apr 2015 08:10 AM PDT By Denis Pinchuk and Gabriela Baczynska MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday Iran's drive to find a solution in talks over its disputed nuclear program had spurred his decision to renew a contract to deliver S-300 missile defense systems to Tehran. Moscow's move to provide the advanced surface-to-air missile system to Tehran, which irked the West and drew protests from Israel, followed an initial agreement with world powers under which Tehran would curb its nuclear program in exchange for lifting of international economic sanctions. A final deal on Tehran's nuclear program is due by end-June but Moscow has moved quickly to try to secure contracts in Iran before sanctions are lifted and has urged engaging Tehran more in attempts to solve regional crises.

'US national' shot, wounded in Pakistan's Karachi Posted: 16 Apr 2015 07:35 AM PDT A woman identified by police as a US national was shot and wounded in Karachi Thursday, officials said, with leaflets found at the scene claiming the attack on behalf of the Islamic State group. The victim, in a stable condition after being shot once in the head and once in the arm, was identified by police as Debra Lobo, a member of faculty at the city's Jinnah Medical and Dental College. "Lobo was on her way to the college when her car came under attack by two armed assailants riding on a motorbike on Shaheed-e-Millat Road in the eastern part of the city," a police official told AFP requesting anonymity. The incident was confirmed by senior police official Pir Mohammad Shah, who said she was a US national.

Russia hopes U.N. Syria talks will lead to united fight with IS Posted: 16 Apr 2015 06:36 AM PDT By Tom Miles GENEVA (Reuters) - Latest U.N. efforts to resolve the Syria crisis could succeed this time and lead to a united front against Islamic State followed by a political transition, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said. Earlier this week, the United Nations said its Syria envoy would launch fresh consultations with Syrian factions and interested countries on a new round of peace talks, a year after the last such initiative collapsed. "The Free Syrian Army was partly defeated, partly joined the extremist forces of Daesh," he said, using an Arabic term for Islamic State.

NBC changes account of reporter's kidnapping in Syria Posted: 16 Apr 2015 06:22 AM PDT US television network NBC News has altered its account of the 2012 kidnapping of its top foreign correspondent, saying the masked men who snatched him and his team in Syria were Sunni militants, not Assad forces. The story was the latest setback for NBC, which is reeling from the suspension of star news anchor Brian Williams after he admitted embellishing an Iraq war story and amid accusations he embellished other stories. The review came after The New York Times contacted NBC about the story, and Engel said he reached the new conclusion after contacting "multiple" US law enforcement and intelligence sources with direct knowledge of the case. The group, known as the North Idlib Falcons Brigade, was led by Azzo Qassab and Shukri Ajouj at the time.

Mom Busted For Naked Twister Party, Sex With Her Daughter’s 16-Year-Old Boyfriend Posted: 16 Apr 2015 05:16 AM PDT A randy, 35-year-old Georgia mother has lost custody of all five of her children after she hosted a party for her teenage daughter and the girl's teen friends which allegedly included alcohol, drugs, naked Twister and sex between the mother and two male teen partygoers. The mother is Rachel Lynn Lenhardt. It was Lenhardt's Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor who contacted the county sheriff this week about the party, which occurred several weeks ago, police say. The sponsor found out because Lenhardt spilled her guts when the pair met for coffee (to discuss Lehnardt's plans to stop drinking).

Morocco arrests French woman, companion for militant links Posted: 16 Apr 2015 04:56 AM PDT RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Moroccan police have arrested a French woman of Moroccan origin and her male companion in the southern city of Safi for suspected links to the Islamic State extremist group.

Senators Moran and Blumenthal, Representatives Benishek and Honda Introduce New Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015 Posted: 16 Apr 2015 04:15 AM PDT WASHINGTON, April 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "It's bad enough that veterans have had to bear the cross of exposure to toxic agents during our military service," said Vietnam Veterans of America National President John Rowan. "VVA is gratified that this is a bipartisan effort in both houses of Congress," Rowan emphasized.  "We applaud Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Dick Blumenthal (D-CT), and Representatives Dan Benishek (R-MI) and Mike Honda (D-CA) – and their energetic and committed staffs – for introducing S. 901 and H.R. 1769.  We will pull out all the stops to work with them in seeking additional co-sponsors for this very necessary legislation.

Former Czech PM Stanislav Gross dies at age 45 Posted: 16 Apr 2015 02:55 AM PDT PRAGUE (AP) — Stanislav Gross, who became the Czech Republic's youngest prime minister but was forced to resign nine months later, has died at the age of 45.

UN presses Libya peace talks under shadow of drownings Posted: 16 Apr 2015 02:23 AM PDT Delegates from Libya's rival parliaments gathered in Morocco Thursday for what UN mediators demanded be a "final" push for a unity government to stem mounting jihadism and a desperate exodus of asylum-seekers. Rival governments have battled for power in the North African country since last August and just Wednesday an air strike blamed on the internationally recognised administration hit an air base controlled by its opponent. Jihadists loyal to the Islamic State group which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria have exploited the power struggle to launch increasingly grisly attacks including the videotaped beheadings of 21 Christians in February. UN envoy Bernardino Leon, who has been shuttling between the warring sides for months, said that the reported drowning of up to 400 would-be asylum-seekers off the Libyan coast earlier this week should be the spur for an agreement.

Air strikes near Tripoli as UN peace talks on Libya resume Posted: 15 Apr 2015 11:56 PM PDT By Ahmed Elumami and Aziz El Yaakoubi TRIPOLI/RABAT (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Libya's internationally recognised government carried out air strikes on Wednesday near the capital Tripoli, which is controlled by its rivals, officials said, as United Nations-brokered peace talks resumed in Morocco. U.N. Special Envoy Bernardino Leon condemned the air strikes as an attempt to prevent a Tripoli delegation from travelling to Morocco for the new round of talks. "We have seen negative messages (aimed) towards this dialogue but we have never seen air strikes at the moment when one of the delegations is taking off on its way to the talks," Leon said, according to a U.N. statement. Two governments, one based in the east, the other in Tripoli, are fighting for control of Libya and carrying out tit-for-tat air strikes, four years after the ousting of veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Today in History Posted: 15 Apr 2015 09:01 PM PDT Today is Thursday, April 16, the 106th day of 2015. There are 259 days left in the year.

Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorials Posted: 15 Apr 2015 06:00 PM PDT Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

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