Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT
• Republican Rubio hits Clinton on trade, 'negligent' foreign policy
• Jeb Bush, in apparent slip, says 'I'm running for president'
• Obama plays down rift with Gulf royals
• Prince Charles letters show concern for badgers and fish
• Boston bombing jury begins death penalty deliberations
• Jeb Bush Suggests Asking 'Hypothetical' Questions About Iraq ‘Does a Disservice’ to Dead American Soldiers
• UN Security Council to meet Thursday on Burundi
• Rubio promoting a strong military as part of foreign policy
• Iraq ministry says an Islamic State leader killed; U.S. denies any attack
• Bush chides Clinton's 'scripted' run, but won't revisit Iraq
• Rubio: Wouldn't have invaded Iraq based on what is now known
• Pentagon recommends new Navy, Army chiefs
• Ash Carter announces nominees for new army, navy chiefs
• Obama picks new chiefs for US Army, Navy
• Ex-diplomat Bolton to announce decision on presidential bid
• Oil dips as US refineries slowdown stirs demand worries
• European Union forges ahead with quota plan for migrants
• U.S. says coalition didn't bomb mosque despite Iraq's claims
• US bomber a 'terrorist' who deserves to die: prosecution
• US military denies bombing mosque in Iraq
• Iraq says top IS leaders targeted in coalition strike
• Wrist Slap for CEO Who Defrauded USAID out of Hundreds of Millions
• Badgers, beef, fish: Letters show Prince Charles' passions
• Kill badgers, save the fish: Prince Charles' secret letters
• Iraq says airstrike targeted senior Islamic State commander
• US man sentenced to 20 years after IS support guilty plea
• 48 dead as IS fights army in Syria's Homs
• Gunmen kill 45 Shiite Muslims riding on a bus in Pakistan
• Charles' letters show concern for troops and toothfish
• Arab Media Forum debates Middle East coverage in digital age
• UK Charles' letters show concern for troops and toothfish
• History a casualty in Yemen's war as bombs smash ancient sites
• Unclear if Islamic State runaways can return to Britain: minister
• Yemen war risk could strangle strategic sea trade routes
• Experts Give Global Leaders A 'C' for Managing Crises
• Bombs kill seven in Egypt's Sinai
• UN, Arab officials seek to counter jihadist threat to monuments
• Gunmen kill 43 in bus attack in Pakistan's Karachi
• Kerry fills in NATO allies on Putin meeting

Top Asian News at 12:00 a.m. GMT Posted: 13 May 2015 05:02 PM PDT KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Gunmen stormed a guesthouse in the Afghan capital as it hosted a party for foreigners, and authorities said five people, including an American, were killed during an hourslong siege that ended early Thursday morning. Six people were wounded and 54 hostages rescued. Kabul Chief of Police Abdul Rahman said the attack began at 8:30 p.m. local time Wednesday, when gunmen opened fire at the restaurant of the Park Palace Hotel. He had no breakdown on the nationalities of the victims, but a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said an American was among the dead.

Republican Rubio hits Clinton on trade, 'negligent' foreign policy Posted: 13 May 2015 04:36 PM PDT By Alistair Bell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio on Wednesday accused Democrat Hillary Clinton of failing to fight for free trade and overseeing a disastrous tenure as secretary of state. In his first major foreign policy speech as candidate, Rubio laid out a vision of a robust United States that would protect threats to global commerce from China and Iran and stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Islamic State. He said Clinton, the front-runner to be the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016, had made major mistakes like trying to reset relations with Moscow during her four years as America's top diplomat.

Jeb Bush, in apparent slip, says 'I'm running for president' Posted: 13 May 2015 03:29 PM PDT Republican Jeb Bush appears to have unintentionally announced his candidacy for president in 2016 in a conversation with reporters on Wednesday that was caught on video. "I'm running for president in 2016, and the focus is going to be about how we, if I run, how do you create high sustained economic growth," Jeb Bush said. A transcript of the exchange was provided by a Bush aide.

Obama plays down rift with Gulf royals Posted: 13 May 2015 03:24 PM PDT US President Barack Obama hailed America's "extraordinary friendship" with Saudi Arabia Wednesday, as he hosted skeptical Gulf leaders for a summit beset by disagreements and royal no-shows. Describing "an extraordinary friendship and relationship that dates back to Franklin Roosevelt and King Faisal," in the 1940s, Obama heaped praise on two powerful Saudi princes in the Oval Office. "We are continuing to build that relationship during a very challenging time," Obama said, a nod to conflagrations in Yemen, Syria and Iraq that have reverberated across the Middle East. Obama praised guests Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for their work on counterterrorism, which the US president described as "absolutely critical" to the United States.

Prince Charles letters show concern for badgers and fish Posted: 13 May 2015 03:15 PM PDT Letters by British heir to the throne Prince Charles dubbed the "black spider" memos were released on Wednesday following a 10-year press freedom battle amid concerns over royal neutrality. The 27 letters between Charles and government figures illustrated his views on topics ranging from dairy farming and the culling of badgers, to inadequate army equipment and the welfare of the "Patagonian Toothfish". Charles, 66, has been nicknamed the "meddlesome prince" due to his outspokenness on topics dear to him, and the letters were at the centre of concerns that he could continue to lobby once king, shunning the convention of a politically neutral royal family. In one letter, Charles expressed concern to then-prime minister Tony Blair that British troops in Iraq were operating "without the necessary resources".

Boston bombing jury begins death penalty deliberations Posted: 13 May 2015 03:02 PM PDT A US jury began deliberations Wednesday on whether to sentence convicted Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death or life in prison for carrying out one of the bloodiest attacks in America since 9/11. The jury heard closing statements from prosecutors that portrayed Tsarnaev as a remorseless terrorist who deserves to die, and from the defense that he was a "lost kid" manipulated by his radicalized older brother. They were given lengthy instructions by federal Judge George O'Toole and given less than an hour to deliberate before being dismissed for the day and instructed to return Thursday.

Jeb Bush Suggests Asking 'Hypothetical' Questions About Iraq ‘Does a Disservice’ to Dead American Soldiers Posted: 13 May 2015 02:20 PM PDT At a town hall meeting in Nevada today likely presidential candidate Jeb Bush attempted once again to refine his answer to a question that has dogged him ever since Fox News' Megyn Kelly asked him recently, "knowing what we know now, would you have authorized the invasion" of Iraq in 2003. After telling Kelly in the interview, which aired on Monday, that he "would have" and then clarifying to Sean Hannity yesterday that he "interpreted the question wrong" and didn't know "what that decision would have been," today he unveiled a fresh explanation. "If we're going to get into hypotheticals I think it does a disservice for a lot of people that sacrificed a lot," Bush said after explaining that as governor of Florida he called the family members of service men and women who lost their lives in the war. But several of his potential rivals for the Republican presidential nomination have been less reticent to engage in hypotheticals this week.

UN Security Council to meet Thursday on Burundi Posted: 13 May 2015 02:12 PM PDT The UN Security Council on Thursday will hold urgent consultations on Burundi after a top general announced that the president was removed from power. Burundi was thrown into turmoil when General Godefroid Niyombare, a powerful former intelligence chief, announced by radio that President Pierre Nkurunziza had been overthrown.

Rubio promoting a strong military as part of foreign policy Posted: 13 May 2015 02:04 PM PDT NEW YORK (AP) — Defending the use of American military power, Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio on Wednesday called for increasing military spending and for the U.S. to aggressively confront Russia, China and others that he says threaten the nation's economic interests.

Iraq ministry says an Islamic State leader killed; U.S. denies any attack Posted: 13 May 2015 02:00 PM PDT Iraq's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday the deputy commander of the Islamic State group had been killed in an air strike in the north of the country, but the U.S. military denied coalition air forces had conducted such an attack. The ministry said Abu Alaa al-Afarion was kill in a coalition attack on a mosque where he was meeting with other militants. More than 60 countries led by the United States launched a campaign last summer to "degrade and destroy" the ultra-radical Sunni Isla mist group, which seized large areas of Iraq and Syria. The coalition has been conducting air strikes against Islamic State in both countries.

Bush chides Clinton's 'scripted' run, but won't revisit Iraq Posted: 13 May 2015 01:53 PM PDT RENO, Nev. (AP) — Jeb Bush is criticizing Hillary Rodham Clinton for running what he calls a scripted presidential campaign.

Rubio: Wouldn't have invaded Iraq based on what is now known Posted: 13 May 2015 01:42 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio says he wouldn't have invaded Iraq in 2003 based on what is now known about flaws in intelligence reports.

Pentagon recommends new Navy, Army chiefs Posted: 13 May 2015 01:21 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Ash Carter nominated two top military officers Wednesday to take charge of the Army and Navy, selecting men who have faced public scrutiny over the past year for their key leadership roles in high-profile cases.

Ash Carter announces nominees for new army, navy chiefs Posted: 13 May 2015 01:17 PM PDT Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced two new nominees for the military's joint chiefs of staff on Wednesday, saying General Mark Milley was President Barack Obama's choice to lead the Army and Admiral John Richardson was his pick for Navy chief. The announcement came just a week after Obama nominated Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, the Marine commandant, to be the new chairman of the joint chiefs, and Air Force General Paul Selva to be the vice chairman.

Obama picks new chiefs for US Army, Navy Posted: 13 May 2015 01:12 PM PDT President Barack Obama has chosen a submarine officer to serve as the next head of the US Navy and an infantry officer who commanded troops in Afghanistan for army chief, officials said Wednesday. Admiral John Richardson, currently the head of naval reactors, has been nominated to lead the navy, and General Mark Milley, who also served in Iraq, was picked to lead the army. In announcing the nominations, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter praised Milley as "a warrior and a statesman" who had the intellect and battlefield experience to take the helm of the US Army.

Ex-diplomat Bolton to announce decision on presidential bid Posted: 13 May 2015 01:04 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Former United Nations ambassador John Bolton is soon expected to announce his presidential intentions.

Oil dips as US refineries slowdown stirs demand worries Posted: 13 May 2015 12:48 PM PDT Global oil prices dipped Wednesday despite a much bigger-than-expected decline in US crude inventories, as a slowdown at refineries raised concerns about the strength of demand. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in June dipped 25 cents to finish at $60.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

European Union forges ahead with quota plan for migrants Posted: 13 May 2015 12:33 PM PDT BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union forged ahead Wednesday with a plan to ease pressure on nations dealing with an influx of Mediterranean migrants by requiring other countries to share the burden, despite some strong opposition.

U.S. says coalition didn't bomb mosque despite Iraq's claims Posted: 13 May 2015 12:09 PM PDT The U.S. military on Wednesday strongly denied claims by Iraq's government that a coalition air strike hit a mosque where the deputy commander of Islamic State insurgents had been meeting other insurgents in the north of the country. The U.S. military's Central Command, in a statement, also said it had no information to corroborate reporting about Iraqi claims that the militant leader, Abu Alaa al-Afari, had been killed in such a strike.

US bomber a 'terrorist' who deserves to die: prosecution Posted: 13 May 2015 12:03 PM PDT Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is a remorseless terrorist who deserves to die for killing innocent Americans, prosecutors told jurors Wednesday as they prepared to deliberate whether or not he should be sentenced to death.

US military denies bombing mosque in Iraq Posted: 13 May 2015 11:58 AM PDT The US military on Wednesday denied that coalition aircraft bombed a mosque in Iraq after Baghdad officials said American-led warplanes had targeted Islamic State jihadists meeting at the mosque in Tal Afar. The statement came after Iraq's ministry of defense said the US-led coalition had gone after several senior leaders of the IS group, including the outfit's second-in-commmand, in a strike on a gathering in the Martyrs' Mosque in Tal Afar's Al-Ayadiya district.

Iraq says top IS leaders targeted in coalition strike Posted: 13 May 2015 11:56 AM PDT Iraq said Wednesday that a strike by the US-led coalition targeted top Islamic State leaders, including a man presented as the second-in-command, but the US military cast doubt on the claim. "Based on accurate intelligence, an air strike was carried out by the international coalition targeting the number two in the Daesh terrorist organisation Abu Alaa al-Afari," the ministry of defence said in a statement. Daesh is an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State jihadist organisation, which took over swathes of Iraq last year.

Wrist Slap for CEO Who Defrauded USAID out of Hundreds of Millions Posted: 13 May 2015 11:50 AM PDT Former CEO Derish Wolff of Louis Berger Group, one of the country's largest engineer contracting firms will be confined to his home for a year and have to pay a $4.5 million fine for helping to defraud the federal government out of hundreds of millions of dollars over 20 years. Federal prosecutors said the company, tasked with building roads and bridges in Afghanistan and Iraq, charged the government 140 percent of the actual cost for every project it did.

Badgers, beef, fish: Letters show Prince Charles' passions Posted: 13 May 2015 11:45 AM PDT LONDON (AP) — Britain's government on Wednesday published a series of letters between Prince Charles and senior officials, written about a decade ago, that have been kept private until now.

Kill badgers, save the fish: Prince Charles' secret letters Posted: 13 May 2015 11:20 AM PDT LONDON (AP) — The Patagonian Toothfish has a friend in the future king of England — that's one lesson from the British government's release Wednesday of previously secret letters written by Prince Charles to government officials.

Iraq says airstrike targeted senior Islamic State commander Posted: 13 May 2015 11:20 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's Defense Ministry said Wednesday an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition killed a senior Islamic State commander and others near the extremist-held city of Mosul, though the country's Interior Ministry later said it wasn't clear if he even was wounded.

US man sentenced to 20 years after IS support guilty plea Posted: 13 May 2015 10:59 AM PDT Donald Ray Morgan was arrested last year and charged over supporting and attempting to join the radical group. Morgan traveled to Lebanon but was unable to cross the border into Syria, prosecutors said. Morgan's guilty plea for possessing and selling an assault rifle in 2012 following a felony conviction was factored into his 20-year sentence.

48 dead as IS fights army in Syria's Homs Posted: 13 May 2015 10:26 AM PDT The Islamic State jihadist group has seized large parts of a strategically located town in central Syria's Homs province in clashes that killed 48 soldiers and militants, a monitor said Wednesday. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS militants had captured areas of Al-Sukhnah town and its surroundings in Homs province in fighting since Tuesday night. "The Islamic State managed to advance in Al-Sukhnah and take control of large parts of the town and the surrounding areas," the Britain-based Observatory said, adding that clashes were continuing Wednesday. Control of Homs province is divided.

Gunmen kill 45 Shiite Muslims riding on a bus in Pakistan Posted: 13 May 2015 10:12 AM PDT KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen stormed a bus carrying Shiite Muslims in southern Pakistan and ordered them to bow their heads before being shot, killing at least 45 people Wednesday in the latest attack targeting the religious minority.

Charles' letters show concern for troops and toothfish Posted: 13 May 2015 10:10 AM PDT By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Prince Charles wrote to ministers on issues ranging from resources for British troops in Iraq to the fate of the Patagonian Toothfish, according to private letters published on Wednesday against government wishes. The 27 letters to and from the 66-year-old heir to the throne were released after the government lost a decade-long legal battle to stop their publication on the grounds they might cast doubt over the future king's political neutrality. In one letter to former Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2004, he queries delays in the procurement of military helicopters.

Arab Media Forum debates Middle East coverage in digital age Posted: 13 May 2015 10:09 AM PDT Difficulties in covering the Middle East in the age of social networks dominated debates as the Arab Media Forum, the largest annual media gathering in the Arab world, ended Wednesday in Dubai. Discussions also focused on the language used by media, including how to refer to the Islamic State jihadist group that has seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq. Participating in a debate with New York Times columnist Roger Cohen, AFP global news director Michele Leridon explained the agency's policy of referring to IS as a "group" or "organisation" and not simply as "the Islamic State".

UK Charles' letters show concern for troops and toothfish Posted: 13 May 2015 10:07 AM PDT By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Prince Charles wrote to ministers on issues ranging from resources for British troops in Iraq to the fate of the Patagonian Toothfish, according to private letters published on Wednesday against government wishes. The 27 letters to and from the 66-year-old heir to the throne were released after the government lost a decade-long legal battle to stop their publication on the grounds they might cast doubt over the future king's political neutrality. In one letter to former Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2004, he queries delays in the procurement of military helicopters.

History a casualty in Yemen's war as bombs smash ancient sites Posted: 13 May 2015 10:05 AM PDT By Noah Browning and Mohammed Ghobari DUBAI/CAIRO (Reuters) - Folklore calls Yemen the cradle of the Arabs but its ancient heritage is being destroyed as the Arab world's most powerful states bomb Houthi rebels in the impoverished country. Air strikes this week on the Shi'ite Muslim militia's northern stronghold of Saada by a Saudi-led Sunni Muslim alliance partly razed the city's 1,200-year old Hadi Mosque, the oldest seat of Shi'ite learning in the Arabian Peninsula. Ancient stucco buildings in the medieval coffee-trading port of Zabid on the Red Sea lie in ruins, while pro-Saudi tribesmen and the Iran-allied Houthis clash in central Yemen beside a shrine said to have been built by the Biblical Queen of Sheba. The pre-Islamic walled city of Barakish in Yemen's north, capital of a trade empire which sent Arabian incense to perfume the temples of ancient Greece and Rome, has also been bombed as the alliance tries in vain to reverse Houthi gains.

Unclear if Islamic State runaways can return to Britain: minister Posted: 13 May 2015 09:36 AM PDT By Kieran Guilbert LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - British interior minister Theresa May declined on Wednesday to say whether three British teenage brides of Islamic State fighters in Iraq who are reported to have escaped the militant group would be allowed back into the country. Asked about the teenagers, May said that attempts by such people to return from Syria or Iraq would be decided on a case-by-case basis. The girls were reported to have escaped the militants by Mosul Eye, a blog that says it reports events in the northern city of Mosul, captured by Islamic State last year. It is believed that those girls have escaped," Mosul Eye posted on its Facebook page on May 2.

Yemen war risk could strangle strategic sea trade routes Posted: 13 May 2015 09:31 AM PDT By Jonathan Saul LONDON (Reuters) - With Middle East giants Saudi Arabia and Iran squaring up on opposing sides in the Yemen war, the dangers to vital oil tanker and goods voyages are growing daily. Millions of barrels of oil pass through the Bab el-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz everyday to Europe, the United States and Asia - waterways which pass along the coasts of Yemen and Iran respectively. Last week Iran released Marshall-Islands container ship Maersk Tigris and its crew which were seized in the Strait of Hormuz.

Experts Give Global Leaders A 'C' for Managing Crises Posted: 13 May 2015 09:30 AM PDT Their latest  survey asked the heads of twenty-six major international policy institutes or think tanks  to evaluate international efforts on ten of the most important issues in 2014: the global economy, nuclear nonproliferation, climate change, development, global health, trade, cyber governance, transnational terrorism, and both conflict both within countries and between countries. "Every era is characterized by a dominant threat to order, and for this era it comes from challenges that are global by nature,"   CFR President Richard N. Haass said in a statement accompanying the document. Global cooperation on eight of the ten key issues received what the Council on Foreign Relations experts deemed "mediocre" grades of between C- and C+, noting that needed multi-national action is "sorely lacking."  But, hey, to an untrained eye, those grades look pretty good, in light of what the Council cites as rampant hunger and poverty, mass forced migration of refugees across borders in the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia, bigotry and the destruction of priceless religious and cultural relics.

Bombs kill seven in Egypt's Sinai Posted: 13 May 2015 09:09 AM PDT Bomb attacks killed four Egyptian soldiers and three civilians on Wednesday in the Sinai Peninsula, where security forces are fighting an Islamist insurgency, police and medics said. Jihadists regularly target security forces in the region in retaliation for a bloody crackdown on supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Wednesday's bombings occurred in and around the town of Rafah in North Sinai, where the military has built a buffer zone to prevent militants from crossing into Egypt from the Palestinian Gaza Strip. The area is a bastion of the jihadist group Sinai Province, formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis.

UN, Arab officials seek to counter jihadist threat to monuments Posted: 13 May 2015 08:59 AM PDT UN and Arab officials Wednesday called for global efforts to combat the "unprecedented" destruction of heritage sites in the Middle East, accusing jihadist groups of selling stolen antiquities to fund their wars. At the start of a two-day conference seeking ways to combat destruction of heritage sites, officials also called for better monitoring of the global trade in antiquities in order to prevent smuggling of stolen artefacts. The Cairo conference follows an international outcry after the jihadist Islamic State group circulated a video last month showing its militants bulldozing the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in northern Iraq. "The looting of archaeological sites has reached an unprecedented scale," Irina Bokova, the head of UN cultural agency UNESCO, said at the opening session of the conference at a Cairo hotel.

Gunmen kill 43 in bus attack in Pakistan's Karachi Posted: 13 May 2015 08:19 AM PDT By Syed Raza Hassan KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Gunmen on motorcycles boarded a bus and opened fire on commuters in Pakistan's volatile southern city of Karachi on Wednesday, killing at least 43, police said, and militants affiliated with Islamic State claimed responsibility. Police Superintendent Najib Khan told Reuters there were six gunmen and that all the passengers were Ismailis, a minority Shi'ite Muslim sect. Pakistan is mostly Sunni. Militant group Jundullah, which has attacked Muslim minorities before, claimed responsibility.

Kerry fills in NATO allies on Putin meeting Posted: 13 May 2015 07:32 AM PDT ANTALYA, Turkey (AP) — A day after lengthy talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was filling in allies during a gathering of NATO foreign ministers in the southern Turkish town of Antalya.

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