Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• EU foreign ministers to meet after latest migrant tragedy
• The Latest: Captain and crew member arrested
• New York Times wins Pulitzers for West Africa Ebola coverage
• New York Times wins three Pulitzers
• Ethiopia in mourning after IS kills Christians
• Obama, Abu Dhabi crown prince discuss need for military equipment
• U.S. Defense Industry Outperforms S&P by 100 Percent
• U.S. says might talk to Iran about regional stability, cites Syria
• Mortar fire kills two children in Egypt's Sinai
• Spy agency sees sharp increase in Canadians joining Islamic State
• Russia says Islamist rebel leader Kebekov 'neutralised'
• Ohio cop's refusal to shoot: A model of police restraint?
• Syria's Assad cites 'contacts' with French intelligence
• Assad says no Iran troops in Syria, denies fresh chemical attacks
• The 2015 Pulitzers, finalists in journalism and the arts
• How Volcker Would Overhaul Wall Street Watchdogs
• Paramilitaries hand suspected Saddam VP body to Iraq govt
• Coalition carries out 26 strikes against IS in Iraq
• Saudi Arabia: 1 border guard killed by fire from Yemen
• Peabody Awards: 'Serial,' Vice, NBC's Richard Engel Among News, Radio Winners
• Turkish police detain British family thought to be headed for Syria
• Rand Paul Exploits Explosive New Book on the Clintons
• AP Interview: End economic migration, EU border chief says
• Internet companies oppose Florida proposals to regulate web
• Where US sees terror prevention, some Muslims see profiling
• Italy mulling 'targeted interventions' against Libya people smugglers
• Halliburton sees pricing pressure in North America
• Top court frees leading Kuwait opposition figure on bail
• A look at the Mediterranean migrant influx
• Islamic State murders 30 African migrants in Libya, while up to 700 died off coast
• Shi'ite militia hands over suspected body of former top Saddam aide
• Russia says kills head of North Caucasus Islamist insurgency
• U.S., allies stage 36 air strikes against Islamic State: military
• US anger over IS 'atrocity' against Christians in Libya
• Ramadi exodus compounds Iraq humanitarian crisis
• Broad Coalition Urges President Obama "Fill Vacant Special Envoy Post!"
• BP says taking more oil from Iraq as payment
• French, Syrian intelligence agents in contact: Assad on French TV
• Suspect arrested in bombing near US consulate in Iraq
• Coptic Solidarity Condemns ISIS Murder of Ethiopian Christians and Continued International Torpor

EU foreign ministers to meet after latest migrant tragedy Posted: 20 Apr 2015 05:00 PM PDT MILAN (AP) — Rescue crews searched Monday for survivors and bodies from what could be the Mediterranean's deadliest migrant tragedy ever as hundreds more migrants took to the sea undeterred and European Union leaders said they would hold an emergency summit Thursday to address the crisis.

The Latest: Captain and crew member arrested Posted: 20 Apr 2015 04:50 PM PDT 01:41 a.m. (2341 GMT, 7:41 p.m. EDT)

New York Times wins Pulitzers for West Africa Ebola coverage Posted: 20 Apr 2015 04:14 PM PDT By Ellen Wulfhorst NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Times won two prestigious Pulitzer prizes on Monday for coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, described by the Pulitzer board as courageous and vivid journalism that engaged the public and held authorities accountable. The Pulitzer for Public Service, announced at Columbia University, went to Charleston, South Carolina's Post and Courier for its series on domestic violence. "Till Death Do Us Part" by the Post and Courier probed why South Carolina is among the deadliest states in the country for women. Doug Pardue, one of a four-person team that produced the series, said it pushed the state legislature to pursue greater protection for abused women.

New York Times wins three Pulitzers Posted: 20 Apr 2015 03:34 PM PDT The New York Times on Monday won three prestigious Pulitzer Prizes and a St Louis newspaper took the breaking news photography award for its coverage of the racial unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina won the coveted award for public service journalism for an investigative series on why South Carolina is among the deadliest states for women in the country. The New York Times staff shared the prize for international reporting for its coverage of the deadly Ebola epidemic in West Africa, announced the Pulitzer committee at Columbia University in New York.

Ethiopia in mourning after IS kills Christians Posted: 20 Apr 2015 03:07 PM PDT Ethiopia will on Tuesday begin three days of national mourning for more than 20 Ethiopian Christians killed by Islamic State militants in Libya. Ethiopian Communications Minister Redwan Hussein told AFP on Monday that parliament would launch the official start of the mourning period on Tuesday, while state television said flags would fly at half mast. The murders have horrified Ethiopians and sparked global condemnation, including from Pope Francis who expressed "great distress and sadness" over the "shocking" violence. A 29-minute video released Sunday by the IS group purports to show militants in Libya holding two groups of captives, described in text captions as "followers of the cross from the enemy Ethiopian Church".

Obama, Abu Dhabi crown prince discuss need for military equipment Posted: 20 Apr 2015 02:49 PM PDT President Barack Obama met for more than an hour with Abu Dhabi's crown prince on Monday and discussed the conflicts in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Libya, and the United Arab Emirates' need for military equipment, the White House said. Obama and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan "reaffirmed their mutual commitment to close defense and security cooperation," the White House said in a statement after the meeting.

U.S. Defense Industry Outperforms S&P by 100 Percent Posted: 20 Apr 2015 02:48 PM PDT A story in The New York Times over the weekend raised the possibility of a new arms race in the Middle East, as increased sectarian fighting and proxy wars in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq create new demand for advanced weapons and weapon systems. "Excluding the USA, total military expenditure for the 'rest of the world' has increased continuously since 1998 and was up by 3.1 per cent in 2014," the report concluded.

U.S. says might talk to Iran about regional stability, cites Syria Posted: 20 Apr 2015 02:36 PM PDT By Arshad Mohammed WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department said on Monday it might talk with Iran about promoting regional stability, noting it had been open to including Iran in past efforts to achieve a Syrian peace deal if Tehran had altered its policy. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf made the comments when asked about a call by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif in a New York Times opinion piece for regional dialogue to address the crises in countries such as Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Mortar fire kills two children in Egypt's Sinai Posted: 20 Apr 2015 02:35 PM PDT Mortar fire killed two five-year-old boys Monday in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, officials said, hours after a bomb killed three soldiers in the area where troops are fighting an Islamist insurgency. Mortar rounds struck a residential area south of the town of Sheikh Zuweid in North Sinai late on Monday in which the two boys were killed, medics said. Earlier a roadside bomb struck an armoured military vehicle on the Egyptian side of the divided city of Rafah on the Gaza border, killing an army officer and two soldiers. Jihadists who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, which controls swathes of Iraq and Syria, said they carried out the bomb attack.

Spy agency sees sharp increase in Canadians joining Islamic State Posted: 20 Apr 2015 01:43 PM PDT By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - The number of Canadians leaving to join militant groups in Iraq and Syria such as Islamic State has increased 50 percent in the past few months, a senior security official said on Monday. "The terrorist threat to Canada's national security interests has never been as direct or immediate," Michel Coulombe, head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service spy agency, told a Senate committee. Canada is part of the coalition of countries that has been bombing Islamic State, which controls large parts of Iraq and Syria and wants to redraw the map of the Middle East.

Russia says Islamist rebel leader Kebekov 'neutralised' Posted: 20 Apr 2015 01:28 PM PDT Russia said Monday the leader of the Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus was killed in a special operation, and militants confirmed his death. Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee said that Aliaskhab Kebekov was "neutralised" during a special operation in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan.

Ohio cop's refusal to shoot: A model of police restraint? Posted: 20 Apr 2015 01:19 PM PDT After a spate of controversial shootings by police officers, a new incident is drawing public attention for the opposite reason: An officer is shown on video refraining from the use of his weapon, despite clearly being in a volatile and dangerous situation. The incident involving Jesse Kidder, a rookie cop in Ohio, is drawing national publicity and praise as a model of police restraint. After a car chase Thursday, a murder suspect jumped out of his vehicle and charged at officer Kidder, who got out of his car and had his gun ready – and a body camera running. Suspect Michael Wilcox was thought to be armed, had a hand in one pocket as he came at the officer, and repeatedly said, "Shoot me." Kidder replies, "No man.

Syria's Assad cites 'contacts' with French intelligence Posted: 20 Apr 2015 01:15 PM PDT PARIS (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad says the French and Syrian intelligence services have had "some contacts" over the fight against the Islamic State group but denied that there is any cooperation between them.

Assad says no Iran troops in Syria, denies fresh chemical attacks Posted: 20 Apr 2015 12:59 PM PDT Bashar Al-Assad said he had invited Hezbollah militants to fight alongside his regime but he denied the presence of Iranian troops in Syria in an interview with French television broadcast Monday. Iran is Assad's main regional ally, and Tehran has acknowledged sending military advisers to assist his forces in their fight against rebels and jihadist militants. "We invited Hezbollah, but not the Iranians, There are no Iranian troops in Syria and they have not sent any force," Assad told France 2 Television.

The 2015 Pulitzers, finalists in journalism and the arts Posted: 20 Apr 2015 12:35 PM PDT The 2015 Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists, and the judges' comments:

How Volcker Would Overhaul Wall Street Watchdogs Posted: 20 Apr 2015 12:30 PM PDT With Wall Street, the banking community and conservative lawmakers still bitterly complaining about the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul legislation approved in 2010, there appears to be little appetite in Washington for another major round of regulatory reform. Making the financial services industry uncomfortable has never been a problem for former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker, however. On Monday, Volcker called for a complete overhaul of the financial regulatory system. The Dodd-Frank law, named for former Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and former Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), provided the most sweeping revision of the consumer and finance rules since the Great Depression.

Paramilitaries hand suspected Saddam VP body to Iraq govt Posted: 20 Apr 2015 11:25 AM PDT Killing Duri -- who was vice president at the time of the 2003 US-led invasion and has for years been the most senior member of Saddam's regime still at large -- would be a major victory for Baghdad. Ketaeb Hezbollah says the man killed by pro-government forces on Friday was Duri, but he had previously been reported dead only to resurface in audio and video messages. "Today, we handed over the body of the criminal Izzat al-Duri to the Iraqi government" after confirming his identity with "tests and also testimony from those who previously met him", Ketaeb Hezbollah spokesman Jaafar al-Husseini told journalists.

Coalition carries out 26 strikes against IS in Iraq Posted: 20 Apr 2015 11:22 AM PDT US-led coalition aircraft carried out 26 strikes in Iraq over 24 hours targeting the Islamic State jihadist group north and west of Baghdad, it said on Monday. "In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted 26 air strikes" using manned and unmanned aircraft from Sunday to Monday morning, the coalition said in a statement. Thirteen of the strikes were in Anbar province west of Baghdad, where Iraqi security forces are battling to expand their control beyond the pockets of territory they currently hold.

Saudi Arabia: 1 border guard killed by fire from Yemen Posted: 20 Apr 2015 11:13 AM PDT JIZAN, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry said on Monday that one of the kingdom's border guards was killed and two others were wounded from gunfire and mortar shells fired from inside Yemen.

Peabody Awards: 'Serial,' Vice, NBC's Richard Engel Among News, Radio Winners Posted: 20 Apr 2015 11:07 AM PDT The podcast sensation became the first of its kind to win the prestigious media award from the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Turkish police detain British family thought to be headed for Syria Posted: 20 Apr 2015 11:04 AM PDT Turkish police have arrested a British couple and their four young children on suspicion of seeking to travel to a part of Syria controlled by Islamic State militants, officials said on Monday. Asif Malik, his partner Sara, and the four children - who are aged between less than 12 months and 7 years old - were detained at a hotel in an industrial district in the capital Ankara, a Turkish security official said. British police said on Sunday the family had not been seen or heard from for almost two weeks and was thought to be heading to Syria. A British Foreign Office official confirmed that a couple and their children believed to be the missing family had been detained in Ankara and said British authorities were in touch with their Turkish counterparts.

Rand Paul Exploits Explosive New Book on the Clintons Posted: 20 Apr 2015 10:21 AM PDT Kentucky Senator and Republican presidential hopeful Rand Paul is apparently worried that a book due out next month claiming to show that donations to the non-profit foundation former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had run with her husband affected U.S. policy, may have missed some of the juicy details. Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich by conservative writer Peter Schweizer is said to document ties between large cash payments from foreign countries to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation and policy positions taken or supported by Hillary Clinton while she served as Secretary of State.

AP Interview: End economic migration, EU border chief says Posted: 20 Apr 2015 10:20 AM PDT WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Recent tragedies involving migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean show that Europe must do more to stop migration by people seeking to escape poverty, the head of the European Union's border agency said Monday.

Internet companies oppose Florida proposals to regulate web Posted: 20 Apr 2015 09:21 AM PDT Some Florida lawmakers want to impose state-level regulations on the free-wheeling online world, and are drawing opposition from some of the nation's biggest Internet companies including Google, Yahoo, ...

Where US sees terror prevention, some Muslims see profiling Posted: 20 Apr 2015 09:15 AM PDT MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (AP) — Sameer Mohiuddin grew more confused by the second as panelists speaking at his Southern California mosque trumpeted a new national initiative to prevent violent extremism.

Italy mulling 'targeted interventions' against Libya people smugglers Posted: 20 Apr 2015 09:15 AM PDT Italy is studying the possibility of mounting "targeted interventions" against Libya-based people smugglers behind a huge surge in the numbers of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Monday. "The hypothesis of military intervention (to stabilise Libya) is not on the table... but what is possible are targeted interventions to destroy a criminal racket," Renzi said at a press conference with his Maltese counterpart Joseph Muscat. "Attacks on death rackets, attacks against slave traders (traffickers) are in our thinking," Renzi said, adding that defence ministry experts were studying all options. The option of some sort of limited military action aiming to take out or apprehend smuggling kingpins was first raised last week by Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who said they could be based on the example of anti-terrorist operations carried out as part of the allied campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Halliburton sees pricing pressure in North America Posted: 20 Apr 2015 08:49 AM PDT The oilfield services company, however, posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by higher revenue and operating income from Latin America, the Middle East and Asia. Halliburton executives spoke to analysts on a conference call on Monday.

Top court frees leading Kuwait opposition figure on bail Posted: 20 Apr 2015 08:43 AM PDT KUWAIT CITY (AP) — Kuwait's top court on Monday ordered leading opposition leader Musallam al-Barrack to be released on bail ahead of a final decision on charges he insulted the country's ruler, the activist's lawyer said.

A look at the Mediterranean migrant influx Posted: 20 Apr 2015 08:30 AM PDT BRUSSELS (AP) — Hundreds of migrants have been reported missing and at least 10,000 more have been rescued in the Mediterranean and brought to Europe in the last week, highlighting the scope of the challenge facing the European Union and further exposing weaknesses in its migration policy. Here's a look at the situation:

Islamic State murders 30 African migrants in Libya, while up to 700 died off coast Posted: 20 Apr 2015 07:58 AM PDT A new video released by the self-declared Islamic State shows the murder of some 30 men, believed to be Ethiopian Christian migrants seeking passage to Europe, by Libyan affiliates of the militant group. The video's release coincides with what may prove the deadliest capsize yet of a boat carrying migrants toward Italy, highlighting that IS is only one danger on an already highly lethal migratory route. The New York Times notes that the video was shot with IS signature production values, suggesting coordination between IS in Syria and Iraq and its affiliates in Libya, which had largely been assumed to be operating independently. Fighters in the three regions of Libya had previously claimed responsibility for various acts of violence carried out in the Islamic State's name, but most analysts presumed that most of those fighters, at least the ones outside Surt, were operating independently and using the name to capitalize on the group's fearsome reputation.

Shi'ite militia hands over suspected body of former top Saddam aide Posted: 20 Apr 2015 07:54 AM PDT The body of a man believed to be Ezzat al-Douri, top aide to Iraq's executed president Saddam Hussein, was handed over to the Iraqi government by a Shi'ite militia on Monday, live video from the scene showed. A casket with transparent panels containing the remains of a man with red hair like Douri's was transferred from a van into a government vehicle in scenes broadcast on state TV, which said the remains would be taken to the Health Ministry. The Shi'ite militia Kataib Hezbollah on Sunday said it was holding the body and had conducted DNA tests that proved it was Douri's. After the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Douri was ranked sixth on the U.S. military's list of 55 most wanted Iraqis and a $10 million reward was offered for his capture.

Russia says kills head of North Caucasus Islamist insurgency Posted: 20 Apr 2015 07:44 AM PDT By Gabriela Baczynska MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian security forces killed the leader of an Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus during a raid on a house in the Dagestan region, the national Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAK) said on Monday. Dagestan, from which convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev emigrated with his family to the United States in 2002, has become a hub of militant Islam in the North Caucasus. Four other suspected militants were also killed with Aliaskhab Kebekov, also known as Ali Abu Mukhammad, after special forces surrounded the house in a suburb of the town of Buynaksk in southern Russia on Sunday, NAK said. Kebekov, born in 1972, became the leader of the Caucasus Emirate group in early 2014 after Russian security forces killed his predecessor, Doku Umarov, who had been Russia's most-wanted man.

U.S., allies stage 36 air strikes against Islamic State: military Posted: 20 Apr 2015 07:35 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies launched 36 air strikes targeting Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria since early Sunday, the Combined Joint Task Force leading the operations said on Monday. Ten strikes in Syria hit targets near al Hasaka and Kobani. In Iraq, 26 strikes hit tactical units, vehicles and buildings near Ramadi, Mosul, Falluja and other locations, the joint task force said in a statement. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson)

US anger over IS 'atrocity' against Christians in Libya Posted: 20 Apr 2015 07:09 AM PDT The United States condemned the "brutal mass murder" of 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya following a video released by Islamic State militants purportedly showing their execution. The 29-minute IS video appears to show militants holding two groups of captives, described in text captions as "followers of the cross from the enemy Ethiopian Church". National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan decried the killings and called for stability in Libya, which has been mired in political chaos and unrest since the 2011 uprising that toppled former strongman Moamer Kadhafi. "The United States condemns in the strongest terms the brutal mass murder purportedly of Ethiopian Christians by ISIL-affiliated terrorists in Libya," she said, using another name for IS.

Ramadi exodus compounds Iraq humanitarian crisis Posted: 20 Apr 2015 07:05 AM PDT By Isabel Coles and Saif Hameed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Some pushed wheelbarrows piled high with their belongings across the only bridge to Baghdad. Others balanced battered suitcases on their heads, or held babies aloft so they would not be crushed in the exodus from Iraq's western province of Anbar. More than 90,000 people have fled their homes in Anbar since April 8, when Islamic State militants began gaining ground around the provincial capital Ramadi, about 90 km (55 miles) from Baghdad, the United Nations said on Sunday. The latest migration compounds an intensifying humanitarian crisis in Iraq, where 2.7 million people have been displaced within the country since January 2014.

Broad Coalition Urges President Obama "Fill Vacant Special Envoy Post!" Posted: 20 Apr 2015 06:13 AM PDT WASHINGTON, April 20, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 50 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), scholars, religious leaders, and human rights advocates sent a letter urging President Obama to swiftly fill the vacant post of Special Envoy for Religious Minorities in the Middle East and South Central Asia.  Despite the President signing a law in August 2014 creating this position, he has yet to appoint the Special Envoy. ...

BP says taking more oil from Iraq as payment Posted: 20 Apr 2015 05:58 AM PDT BP has been lifting more crude oil cargoes in the past couple of months as payment for its work in southern Iraq, and is comfortable with that level of shipments, a senior executive of the oil company said on Monday. Low oil prices and the fight against Islamic State have forced Baghdad to delay billions of dollars of cash payments which it owes to international oil companies (IOCs), so they have been allowed to take oil shipments instead. Michael Townshend, BP's president in the Middle East, ‎said current total production from Iraq's giant Rumaila field was about 1.4 million barrels per day and was expected to remain steady in 2015.

French, Syrian intelligence agents in contact: Assad on French TV Posted: 20 Apr 2015 05:12 AM PDT Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told French television the intelligence services of his country are in contact with their counterparts in France, which has severed diplomatic ties with Assad and insists he must leave power. Assad, who added there had been no actual co-operation between the two sides despite the contacts, made the comments to France 2, according to extracts of an interview the public TV channel was due to broadcast in full on Monday. "There are some contacts but there's no co-operation," Assad told the journalists who interviewed him. When asked if there was any exchange of information, he said "no", adding that the contacts had been with French intelligence services staff who had visited Syria.

Suspect arrested in bombing near US consulate in Iraq Posted: 20 Apr 2015 05:04 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi Kurdish officials say a suspect has been arrested in connection with a bombing near the U.S. consulate in the northern city of Irbil.

Coptic Solidarity Condemns ISIS Murder of Ethiopian Christians and Continued International Torpor Posted: 20 Apr 2015 04:00 AM PDT Coptic Solidarity condemns these monstrous murders in the strongest terms and urges the international community to urgently protect Christians and other minorities in the region and to defeat ISIS. The video shows two different Islamic State affiliate groups who have each captured about 15 Ethiopian Christians. Jizya is a tax mandated in Sharia law that non-Muslims must pay in order to be allowed to stay alive, having refused to convert, in an Islamic state. At that point, the video switches back and forth between scenes of the Christians wearing orange jump suits on the beach in Barqa being brutally beheaded with knives, and the other group of Christians in the desert area of Fezzan in southern Libya dressed in dark suits each being shot in the back of the head.

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