2016年2月25日星期四

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Yahoo! News: Iraq


Obama says there's reason for skepticism on Syria ceasefire

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 04:42 PM PST

President Barack Obama is reflected in the conference table before a meeting of his National Security Council (NSC) at the State Department in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. The meeting is to focus on the global campaign to degrade and destroy ISIL as well as Syria and other regional issues. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)WASHINGTON (AP) — With a proposed cease-fire in Syria quickly approaching, President Barack Obama said Thursday it's a certainty that there will continue to be fighting but that the agreement has the potential to reduce the violence, get food and aid to Syrians who are suffering and lead to negotiations to end the civil war.


Obama says US to pursue campaign against IS 'on all fronts'

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 04:11 PM PST

President Barack Obama is reflected in the conference table before a meeting of his National Security Council (NSC) at the State Department in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. The meeting is to focus on the global campaign to degrade and destroy ISIL as well as Syria and other regional issues. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama directed his national security team Thursday to press the U.S.-led international campaign to destroy the Islamic State group "on all fronts." He also expressed hope that a proposed cease-fire in Syria will lead to a political settlement to end the civil war and allow a more intense focus on IS.


Obama: No illusions about Syria ceasefire, will work to make it succeed

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 04:08 PM PST

U.S. President Barack Obama attends a meeting with the National Security Council at the State Department WashingtonU.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday the United States would do everything it could to make a ceasefire in Syria succeed despite significant question marks over whether the agreement will hold. The United States, Russia and other parties have agreed to a "cessation of hostilities" in Syria that is set to begin Saturday from midnight. After a meeting with his national security team at the State Department, Obama expressed U.S. resolve to try to make the deal work but cautioned there were reasons for skepticism.


Greece pulls Austria envoy as migrant crisis nears breaking point

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 02:43 PM PST

A child holds a bag with bread on February 25, 2016 at the relocation center for migrants and refugees in Schisto, near AthensGreece furiously recalled its ambassador from Austria and Brussels warned the bloc's migration system could collapse within 10 days as Europe's refugee crisis neared breaking point on Thursday. Further chaos loomed as a French court approved the partial evacuation of the "Jungle" migrant camp near the port of Calais on the coast, a move that Belgium fears will send Britain-bound migrants coming its way. Attempts by EU interior ministers meeting in Brussels to agree a unified response to the biggest migration crisis in the bloc's history frayed over the fact that many states are increasingly taking matters into their own hands.


19 retired U.S. generals, admirals back Clinton's stance on Guantanamo

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 02:09 PM PST

Clinton holds a town hall meeting for supporters at Cumberland United Methodist Church in Florence, South Carolina(Reuters) - A group of 19 retired U.S. generals and admirals on Thursday backed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's position on the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo and torture and called for an end to the "dangerous rhetoric" from her Republican opponents. "The Republican candidates have turned this into a game to see who can seem toughest. Republican candidates have opposed an Obama administration plan to close the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba.


Libyan forces battle Islamic State in Sabratha, three killed

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:40 PM PST

Libyan Army Special Forces Commander Wanis Bukhamada delivers a statement in BenghaziBy Ahmed Elumami TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan forces battled to clear Islamic State insurgents from the western city of Sabratha on Thursday, in fighting that killed at least three Libyans and one of the militants, officials said. Islamic State has gained ground rapidly in Libya in the last year, controlling the city of Sirte and attacking oil ports, as it takes advantage of the conflict between the country's two rival governments and their armed factions. U.S. warplanes hit Islamic State in Sabratha last week, a sign of growing Western engagement against the militant group in Libya as it expands beyond its original territory in Iraq and Syria.


Canada moves to repeal law that revokes citizenship in terror cases

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:28 PM PST

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to repeal sections of the Citizenship ActCanada's Liberal government on Thursday introduced a bill to stop stripping citizenship from dual nationals convicted of terrorism and other serious crimes, moving to scuttle a measure introduced by the previous Tory administration. "This law created two classes of Canadians," Immigration Minister John McCallum told a press conference. The proposed policy change in Ottawa comes as French lawmakers decide on a measure that would strip citizenship from dual nationals convicted of terrorism, while British law allows the government to take away the citizenship of terrorism suspects even if it leaves them stateless.


Report: How 51 Companies Are Legally Supplying ISIS With Bomb-Making Material

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:25 PM PST

Report: How 51 Companies Are Legally Supplying ISIS With Bomb-Making MaterialMore than 50 companies worldwide are legally supplying the Islamic State with bomb-making material, either willingly or because they and the countries in which they operate are failing to monitor the sales, according to a Conflict Armament Research report released today. While there is no evidence in the report released today to prove direct transfer between the countries and firms involved, and IS, it shows that companies are extensively supplying local markets with material such as chemical precursors, detonating cords, detonators, cables, wires and other electronic components, and that the Islamic State has the reach to acquire them. The way it works is that large manufacturers are selling material and components to regional distributors, who then sell to local distributors, CAR's Executive Director James Bevan told ABC News, adding: "it gets fuzzy at the local level.


IS claims suicide bombings in Iraqi capital that kills 15

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:12 PM PST

BAGHDAD (AP) — Suicide bombers hit a Shiite religious building and a military checkpoint in a Shiite-majority neighborhood of Baghdad Thursday, killing 15 people, an Iraqi security official said.

Migrants stranded on Greece's highways as borders close

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:11 PM PST

Refugees warm up themselves next to a makeshift fire as they wait to be allowed to cross the Greek-Macedonian border near the northern Greek village of Idomeni, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. About 2,800 people are stranded in Idomeni as Macedonian authorities only allowed about 100 people to enter on Thursday. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)IDOMENI, Greece (AP) — Groups of frustrated migrants, including families with small children, walked along north-bound Greek highways Thursday hoping to reach Macedonia after authorities stopped their buses to ease a bottleneck on the practically blocked border.


Two suicide bombers kill 15 at Shi'ite mosque in Baghdad

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:00 PM PST

Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a Shi'ite mosque in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 15 people in an attack claimed by Islamic State militants. The first bomber detonated his vest inside the mosque and the second blew himself up when security forces gathered at the site of the initial blast. Four of the victims were members of the security forces, the sources said.

Saudi piles pressure on Lebanon for siding with Iran

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:44 AM PST

In this Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 photo, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Assiri, center, receives Sunni clerics during their visit to express their solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at the Saudi Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. Lebanon is getting hammered by punishments from a furious Saudi Arabia, which has cut off billions in aid and told its citizens not to visit the country, in an escalating diplomatic crisis that was prompted by Beirut's siding with Iran against the kingdom and that now threatens to wreck Lebanon's fragile economy. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)BEIRUT (AP) — Saudi Arabia has lashed out at Lebanon, cutting off billions of dollars of aid and telling its citizens to leave the country, after Beirut sided with Iran in the fallout over the execution of a Saudi Shiite cleric, in a diplomatic dispute that threatens Lebanon's struggling economy.


Russia, Syrian army pound rebels ahead of fighting halt

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:13 AM PST

Russian warplanes fly in the sky over the Mediterranean coastal city of LatakiaBy Tom Perry BEIRUT (Reuters) - Russian warplanes bombed Syrian rebel-held areas in northwestern Syria and government forces pounded a suburb of the capital on Thursday, ahead of a planned halt to fighting which rebels predicted Damascus and Moscow would ignore. The "cessation of hostilities" agreed by the United States and Russia is due to take hold on Saturday morning from midnight. Damascus has agreed to the deal, as has the main opposition alliance, though it is only ready to commit for two weeks given its deep reservations.


French court upholds radical mosque's closure outside Paris

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 11:01 AM PST

PARIS (AP) — A French high court has upheld the closure of a mosque outside of Paris because of evidence the Muslim place of worship had been infiltrated by radical Islamists.

Africa, Asia reaffirm FIFA backing for Sheikh Salman

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 10:51 AM PST

FIFA presidential contender Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa is surrounded by journalists on February 25, 2016 in ZurichThe African and Asian football confederations on Thursday kept up their campaign for Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa to become the next FIFA president. Sheikh Salman vowed not to "mortgage" the crisis-torn world football body's future to win votes in his battle with four rivals led by Gianni Infantino, the UEFA general secretary. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) leadership reaffirmed their support for the Bahrain royal at meetings in Zurich ahead of Friday's vote.


Afghan child gets a Lionel Messi jersey: How sports build bridges

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 10:26 AM PST

The lives of an international soccer star and a 5-year-old from a rural village in Afghanistan may not appear much alike, but the two are connected by passion for the sport. International soccer fans were impressed with a photo of a young Afghan boy that went viral on social media in January. The boy, 5-year-old Murtaza Ahmadi, wore a Lionel Messi Barcelona soccer jersey made from a plastic bag, Chris Borg reported for CNN.

EU lawmakers call for Saudi arms embargo despite lobbying

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 09:52 AM PST

People gather at the site of a house destroyed by a Saudi-led airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers called on Thursday for an EU arms embargo against Saudi Arabia over airstrikes and a naval blockade in Yemen, despite lobbying by the kingdom.


The Two ISIS Battles That Could Change the Face of the Middle East

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 09:45 AM PST

The Two ISIS Battles That Could Change the Face of the Middle EastIn 2014, when he was prime minister, Erdogan was accused of high treason for supplying weapons to al-Qaeda and ISIS that included 1,000 mortar shells, 1,000 rifled artillery shells, 50,000 machine gun rounds and 30,000 rifle bullets. It's no surprise, then, that Turkey is currently playing a dangerous game of poker with Russia, the United States, and its neighbors in the region. Aleppo, Syria's largest city, and Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, are both at risk.


Kerry: Iran has withdrawn Guards from Syria

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 09:41 AM PST

US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks on February 21, 2016Iran has withdrawn a "significant number" of its Revolutionary Guards troops from the Syrian battlefield, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday. Iran is an ally of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and has sent members of the elite force to act as "advisers" to his forces and to organize militia units with volunteers from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. Tehran also arms and supports Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, which has itself dispatched forces to shore up the Syrian regime against local rebel forces.


Man behind Iran's mass barring of candidates contests assembly vote

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 09:23 AM PST

(Reuters) - Powerful anti-Western cleric Ahmad Jannati will almost certainly be re-elected to Iran's Assembly of Experts on Friday, putting him in position to play a key role in its selection of the next supreme leader if and when Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dies. Elections for parliament are also scheduled for Friday, but it is the outcome of the assembly vote that is likely to have a much greater long-term impact, given that it has exclusive power to select, monitor and dismiss Iran's most powerful authority. In remarks echoed by Khamenei, Jannati this week accused the United States and Britain of trying to influence Friday's votes.

Political future of heavyweight Rafsanjani may rest on Iran poll

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 09:23 AM PST

(Reuters) - Elections on Friday for the body that selects Iran's supreme leader could be the last hurrah for Iran's best known political grandee, former president Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who has loomed large in the history of the Islamic Republic. If Rafsanjani is unable to muster the votes to secure his seat on the Assembly of Experts, it could signal the beginning of his exit from political life in Iran. Few have wielded such influence in modern Iran as the 81-year-old, but since 2009 he and his family have faced criticism from hardliners over their support for the opposition movement which lost that year's disputed election to former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Greece recalls Vienna ambassador in row over worsening migrant logjam

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 09:06 AM PST

By Lefteris Papadimas and George Georgiopoulos ATHENS (Reuters) - Struggling with a growing logjam of refugees, Greece recalled its ambassador to Vienna on Thursday in protest at moves by Austria and Balkan states to make it harder for migrants to head north across Europe. The unusual step reflected Greek fury at being excluded from a meeting of Balkan states in Vienna on Wednesday to coordinate border restrictions across the region to limit the flow. "Greece will not become a Lebanon or a warehouse of souls," said migration minister Yannis Mouzalas.

The Latest: Dead pig found at German mosque building site

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 08:58 AM PST

Refugees sleep on benches and on the floor, in a tent at the transit center for refugees near northern Macedonian village of Tabanovce, while waiting for permission to cross the border into Serbia, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. Hundreds of migrants from Afghanistan and other nations remain stranded on borders of Macedonia with Serbia, unable to cross, and some of them forced backward toward Greece. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)BERLIN (AP) — The Latest on the migrant crisis in Europe (all times local):


US: Rebel forces to move against IS headquarters in Syria

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 08:46 AM PST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top U.S. defense officials say Syrian rebel forces are preparing to go after the Islamic State group's de facto headquarters of Raqqa after retaking the key eastern town of Shaddadeh.

U.S. sees capture of Syria town key to dismantling Islamic State

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 08:41 AM PST

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Congress on Thursday that the expected capture of the Syrian town of al-Shadadi would represent a key step toward dismantling Islamic State in Syria. Carter pointed to the battle for al-Shadadi as he cited "operationally significant strides" in the campaign against the Sunni militant group, including Iraq's recapture of the city of Ramadi from Islamic State last year. U.S. Marine Corps General Joseph Duford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the campaign against Islamic State now had the momentum in Iraq.

Carter: Syrian forces moving to retake key Syrian towns

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 08:38 AM PST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top U.S. defense officials say Syrian rebel forces are now preparing to go after the Islamic State's de facto headquarters of Raqqa after retaking the key eastern town of Shaddadeh.

Australia warns of possible terror attack in Indonesia

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 06:30 AM PST

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia's government warned on Thursday that terrorists may be in the advanced stages of preparing attacks in Indonesia, and urged travelers to exercise a high level of caution when visiting the Southeast Asian nation, including the popular tourist island of Bali.

Turkey says Syria ceasefire is not binding if it threatens security

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 06:09 AM PST

Kurdish members of the Self-Defense Forces stand near the Syrian-Turkish border in the Syrian city of al-Derbasiyah during a protest against the operations launched in Turkey by government security forces against the KurdsBy Humeyra Pamuk and Daren Butler ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Thursday that Turkey would not be bound by the Syrian ceasefire plan if its security was threatened, and would take "necessary measures" against the Syrian Kurdish YPG and Islamic State if needed. The ceasefire process, initiated by Russia and the United States, could be complicated by NATO member Turkey's deep distrust of the Washington-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, which controls territory in northern Syria near the Turkish border. Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist group and fears it will further stoke unrest among its own Kurdish population.


Kurdish solidarity in Turkey's restive southeast frustrates its Syria policy

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 06:08 AM PST

By Ayla Jean Yackley DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - In a public cemetery next to a military air base in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast, flags of a Syrian Kurdish militia are draped over many of the tombstones. Death notices posted online by the People's Protection Units (YPG), a key U.S. ally in the fight against Islamic State in north Syria, show about half of those killed on its front lines in the last three months alone were Turkish-born. Sertip Celik, a student in the Mediterranean town of Iskenderun, was one of thousands of Turkish Kurds to cross into Syria and join the fight against Islamic State, answering a call to arms by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency against Turkey for three decades.

Bahrain jails four men on terrorism charges: prosecutor

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 05:38 AM PST

A Bahraini court sentenced four people to five years in prison for plotting to receive explosives and weapons training to carry out attacks in the Gulf Arab kingdom, the public prosecutor said in a statement on Thursday. Two of the suspects were convicted of facilitating the travel plans of the other two for the purpose of "carrying out terrorist crimes inside the kingdom of Bahrain", BNA said. Bahrain has reported a growing number of attacks using home-made explosives in the last two years and has accused Iran and its allies in the Shi'ite Lebanese militant group Hezbollah of sponsoring the plots.

Obama says cautious about expectations for Syria deal

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 05:21 AM PST

Obama meets Jordan's King Abdullah in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday said he was cautious about raising expectations regarding the agreement to pause hostilities in Syria. But, if some progress is made in Syria, then that will lead to a political process to end the five-year-old civil war in the country, Obama told reporters after a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah in the Oval Office. Obama said the United States is committed to helping Jordan deal with the refugees who have fled to its borders to escape the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. ...


French advisers helping Libyan forces fight Islamic State in Benghazi: Libyan commander

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 05:09 AM PST

Libyan soldiers stand at a military outpost in Wadi Bey, west of the Islamic State-held city of SirteBy Ayman Al Warfalli BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - French military advisers have been helping coordinate Libyan forces fighting Islamic State insurgents in the eastern city of Benghazi, where pro-government brigades have been making progress, a senior Libyan military commander said on Thursday. It was the latest sign of U.S. and European engagement in trying to restore some order and security in anarchic Libya, where Western governments are looking to help local forces stop Islamic State expanding beyond its bastions in Iraq and Syria. "The French military group in Benghazi are just military advisers who provide consultations to the Libyan National Army in its battle against terrorism, but they are not fighting with our Libyan forces," special forces commander Wanis Bukhamada told Reuters.


Israel says Sudanese who wounded soldier was Islamic State sympathizer

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 05:02 AM PST

A Sudanese migrant who stabbed and wounded a soldier in Israel two weeks ago was motivated by Islamic State ideology, the Shin Bet internal security service said on Thursday. It was the first such attack by an African migrant during five months when Palestinians have intensified anti-Israeli street attacks including stabbing, shootings and car ramming. The bloodshed has been fueled by factors including a dispute over Jerusalem's a-la's mosque compound and the failure of several rounds of peace talks to secure the Palestinians an independent state in Israeli-occupied territory.

Spain arrests man in North African enclave for promoting Islamist militancy

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 02:41 AM PST

Spanish police arrested a Moroccan man in Spain's north African enclave of Ceuta on Thursday, accusing him of promoting Islamist militancy via social media, the Interior Ministry said. The arrest comes after a joint operation by Moroccan and Spanish police on Tuesday detained four people accused of recruiting people to fight in Syria and Iraq or carry out attacks in Spain or Morocco. Spanish police have detained 13 people with suspected links to Islamic State militants so far this year.

Iran elections: key facts about the Islamic republic

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 02:23 AM PST

Nearly 55 million people are eligible to vote in Iran's parliamentary electionsIran, which holds crucial elections on Friday, is an Islamic republic still rebuilding its international ties after implementing a deal with world powers on its long-controversial nuclear programme. The descendant of the Persian Empire, Iran, with an area of 1,648,195 square kilometres (659,278 square miles), was long a monarchy ruled by a shah and dominated by the Pahlavi dynasty from 1925 to 1979. In January 1979, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was driven out by a popular revolt and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a revolutionary Shiite cleric who had lived in exile for a decade and a half, made a triumphant return on February 1, 1979.


Want To Know Where To Live? These Cities Are Best For Quality Of Life

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:55 AM PST

American cities were shut out of the top 25, with San Francisco coming in at 28.

Australia unveils 'massive' increase in defence spending

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:48 AM PST

Australia said it would spend Aus$195 billion (US$139 billion) over the next decade, including a doubling of its submarine fleet to 24, three additional destroyers, nine new frigates and 12 offshore patrol boatsAustralia unveiled a massive new investment in the nation's defence capabilities on Thursday to address what Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called "high stakes" and "momentous times" in Asia. Citing increased defence spending around the region and potential flashpoints in the South China Sea and the Korean peninsula, he said the government was committed to combating the most challenging strategic environment "we have faced in peacetime".


Nigeria army foils Boko Haram attack: military

Posted: 25 Feb 2016 12:34 AM PST

Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) mostly women and children, wait for food at Dikwa Camp, in Borno State, in north-eastern NigeriaNigeria's troops have a foiled a planned Boko Haram attack on a camp of displaced people in the northeastern town of Dikwa, previously targeted by the insurgents, the military said. "From all indications, the terrorists aimed at causing havoc at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp located at Dikwa," army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman said in a statement late Wednesday. One soldier and a local vigilante assisting the military in the fight against Boko Haram were killed, he said.


Trapped between Iraq frontlines, refugees illustrate Sunni Arab predicament

Posted: 24 Feb 2016 11:03 PM PST

Iraqi refugees returning from Finland wait for their luggage at Baghdad airportFor three months, more than 500 men, women and children have been living in no-man's land in northern Iraq, caught in the crossfire between Kurdish forces and Islamic State. Stranded between frontlines in the Sinjar area, the group of Sunni Arabs wants to leave Islamic State's self-proclaimed caliphate, but is being denied passage by the Kurds, who have staked out their territory in the north and fear infiltration. In telephone interviews with Reuters, three men from the same village, including an elder, explained that if they turned back Islamic State would kill them for trying to escape.


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