Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• UN envoy says 'deep divisions' blocking Yemen talks
• U.S. crude climbs further on Iran support for oil output cap
• Arizona House panel OKs bill allowing refusal of refugees
• Court upholds dismissal of veteran's suit over 'Hurt Locker'
• Parent's plight when child joins Islamic State shown in Berlin film
• Exclusive: Radioactive material stolen in Iraq raises security concerns
• Oil up 7 percent as Iran welcomes output freeze without word on cuts
• Nikki Haley Dumps Trump in Favor of Rubio in South Carolina Primary
• Helicopter downed in Iraq; Islamic State claims responsibility
• Equity rally continues as crude prices rise on deal hope
• IAEA says Iraq informed it of theft of radiography device
• U.S. believes mustard gas used by Islamic State in Syria, Iraq
• Car bomb attack on military in Turkish capital kills 28
• Oklahoma gun range refuses Muslim man: right of refusal or discrimination?
• Russian air strikes in Syria intensifying: U.S. military
• Rapper's comments at Sanders rally sparks controversy
• Weatherford says not responsible for radioactive material stolen in Iraq
• Four in 10 German economists see migrants as drag on economy: poll
• Hundreds of millions of Islamic State funds destroyed in air strikes: U.S.
• Erdogan vows no let-up in strikes on Syrian Kurdish fighters
• Hundreds of millions of dollars destroyed in anti-IS strikes: US
• IS shoots down Iraqi army helicopter killing one
• Iran snubs Doha proposal, won't freeze oil output
• Iran offers no action in support of global oil pact
• US: Airstrikes hit "hundreds millions" in Islamic State cash
• Oil downturn has further to go despite talks on output freeze: Natixis
• Kurds call Baghdad's oil-for-salaries offer 'cheap political bartering'
• Oil market shows deep doubt over output freeze
• Syrian terrorist list produces 163 names and no agreement
• Kurds' advance in Syria divides U.S. and Turkey as Russia bombs
• Turkey vows to stop Kurdish militia gaining border foothold
• Syria aid deliveries due in 'test' for warring sides
• Islamic State: Why ethnic reconciliation is a tough sell in northern Iraq
• United States wants NATO to step up fight against Islamic State
• U.S., allies target Islamic State with 21 strikes: U.S. military
• Iraq Kurds say will accept PM's oil for salaries deal
• Appeals Court: 'The Hurt Locker' Is Protected By the First Amendment
• Factbox: EU battered by storm of crises
• Syria conflict takes Kurds towards autonomy

UN envoy says 'deep divisions' blocking Yemen talks Posted: 17 Feb 2016 04:14 PM PST Yemen's warring parties are unable to agree on terms for a new round of peace talks, two months after holding their first face-to-face meeting, the UN envoy said Wednesday. Yemen's Saudi-backed government sat down with Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies in December to begin talks on ending a war that has brought the impoverished Arab country to its knees. More than 6,000 people have been killed in Yemen since a Saudi-led coalition began an air war in March last year to push back an offensive by the Huthi rebels who control the capital Sanaa.

U.S. crude climbs further on Iran support for oil output cap Posted: 17 Feb 2016 04:10 PM PST By Keith Wallis SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose as much as 3 percent in early Asian trade on Thursday after Iran backed plans by Russia and Saudi Arabia to cap crude oil production at January levels, extending steep gains in the previous session. U.S. crude jumped $1.06 shortly after Asian markets opened, and was trading up 77 cents at $31.43 a barrel as of 6.46 p.m. ET, up 2.5 percent. "The price rebound looks like an overreaction as the probability of Iran not increasing production is still low in our view," ANZ said in a note on Thursday.

Arizona House panel OKs bill allowing refusal of refugees Posted: 17 Feb 2016 02:58 PM PST PHOENIX (AP) — Tempers flared Wednesday as an Arizona House panel passed a measure prompted by the Paris terror attacks that would allow the state to refuse to help resettle refugees if it can't ensure they have been properly screened and vetted for risks.

Court upholds dismissal of veteran's suit over 'Hurt Locker' Posted: 17 Feb 2016 02:25 PM PST LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that an Iraq War veteran cannot sue the makers of the "The Hurt Locker" because he believes the Oscar-winning film portrayed him in a bad light.

Parent's plight when child joins Islamic State shown in Berlin film Posted: 17 Feb 2016 02:10 PM PST By Sarah Mills BERLIN (Reuters) - Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb hopes his new film "Road to Istanbul" will help raise awareness of what it's like for parents whose children leave to join Islamic State insurgents in Syria. "I was very moved by the parents in Europe, the mothers, the fathers, who all of a sudden realized that their children have gone on journeys, whether toward Syria or Iraq," Bouchareb told Reuters in an interview on Monday. "And that interested me, that human dimension of a father or a mother who is going to discover something that they could never have imagined." Belgian actress Astrid Whettnall plays Elisabeth, a single mother living in the Belgian countryside with her 18-year-old daughter Elodie (Pauline Burlet).

Exclusive: Radioactive material stolen in Iraq raises security concerns Posted: 17 Feb 2016 01:53 PM PST By Ahmed Rasheed, Aref Mohammed and Stephen Kalin BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq is searching for "highly dangerous" radioactive material whose theft last year has raised fears among Iraqi officials that it could be used as a weapon if acquired by Islamic State. The material, stored in a protective case the size of a laptop computer, went missing from a storage facility near the southern city of Basra belonging to U.S. oilfield services company Weatherford , an environment ministry document seen by Reuters showed and security, environmental and provincial officials confirmed. A spokesman for Iraq's environment ministry said he could not discuss the issue, citing national security concerns.

Oil up 7 percent as Iran welcomes output freeze without word on cuts Posted: 17 Feb 2016 01:47 PM PST NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose 7 percent on Wednesday after Iran voiced support for a Russia-Saudi-led move to freeze production to deal with the market glut that had pressured crude prices to their lowest in a dozen years. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh met counterparts from Venezuela, Iraq and Qatar in Tehran for over two hours on Wednesday, saying the proposed production "ceiling" should be the first step toward stabilizing the market. Zanganeh, quoted by Tehran's Shana news agency, did not say explicitly say that Iran will keep its own output at January's levels, in line with the proposal that major producers including Russia and Saudi Arabia restrict output.

Nikki Haley Dumps Trump in Favor of Rubio in South Carolina Primary Posted: 17 Feb 2016 01:43 PM PST South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley made it clear during her GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union address in January that Donald Trump was not her cup of tea. Trump fumed after the Palmetto State Republican star – who won national acclaim for her compassionate response to the mass shootings at an historic black church in Charleston last year and for engineering the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the state capitol grounds – indirectly took the blustery billionaire to task for his hateful anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim stances. "During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices," said Haley, the first woman and the first Indian-American to be elected governor of South Carolina.

Helicopter downed in Iraq; Islamic State claims responsibility Posted: 17 Feb 2016 01:39 PM PST An Iraqi army helicopter crashed on Wednesday due to "hostile fire" west of Baghdad where security forces were fighting Islamic State militants, who claimed responsibility for downing it. Islamic State said in a message circulated by its supporters on Twitter that it had downed the aircraft. One member of the armed forces died and two crew members were seriously wounded, according to the officer and a source at Amiriyat Fallujah hospital.

Equity rally continues as crude prices rise on deal hope Posted: 17 Feb 2016 01:29 PM PST By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global equity markets rallied on Wednesday, as oil prices jumped on optimism that top crude producers could finalize a deal to freeze production, while the Mexican peso strengthened after the country's central bank hiked its benchmark interest rate. In Europe, banks and resource stocks helped fuel a rally, led by French bank Credit Agricole and UK-listed miner Glencore .

IAEA says Iraq informed it of theft of radiography device Posted: 17 Feb 2016 01:18 PM PST BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Wednesday that Iraq informed it of the theft of an industrial radiography device in the southern city of al-Zubair in November 2015. The U.N. nuclear watchdog described the device as an Ir-192 radioactive source in a shielding container, which is classified as a Category 2 radioactive substance, meaning that if not managed properly it could be fatal to someone exposed for a period of hours to days. The IAEA told Reuters in a statement it had offered assistance to Iraqi authorities but none had been requested so far. ...

U.S. believes mustard gas used by Islamic State in Syria, Iraq Posted: 17 Feb 2016 01:03 PM PST Islamic State militants are believed to be responsible for sulfur mustard gas attacks in Syria and Iraq last year, the United States said on Wednesday. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Islamic State insurgents were responsible for a mustard gas attack in the town of Marea on Aug. 21 "largely based on photographic evidence as well as Syrian opposition description of the event." A confidential Oct. 29 report by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or OPCW, concluded that at least two people were exposed to sulfur mustard in Marea, north of Aleppo, in August.

Car bomb attack on military in Turkish capital kills 28 Posted: 17 Feb 2016 12:50 PM PST By Gulsen Solaker and Umit Bektas ANKARA (Reuters) - Twenty-eight people were killed and dozens wounded in Turkey's capital Ankara on Wednesday when a car laden with explosives detonated next to military buses near the armed forces' headquarters, parliament and other government buildings. The Turkish military condemned what it described as a terrorist attack on the buses as they waited at traffic lights in the administrative heart of the NATO member's capital. The attack, the latest in a series of bombings in the past year mostly blamed on Islamic State, comes as Turkey gets dragged ever deeper into the war in neighboring Syria and tries to contain some of the fiercest violence in decades in its predominantly Kurdish southeast.

Oklahoma gun range refuses Muslim man: right of refusal or discrimination? Posted: 17 Feb 2016 12:40 PM PST The gun range's attorney, Robert Muise, has said the owner of Save Yourself Survival and Tactical Gun Range turned away Raja'ee Fatihah, a US army reservist from Tulsa, because of his belligerent attitude and not his faith. The gun range had a sign declaring it to be a "Muslim-free zone," as do several others in Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky, and New York, so the case could become a significant legal challenge toward what the owners are characterizing as a counter-cultural stand against political correctness, and what Mr. Fatihah has describes as rising Islamophobia. The gun range has been in business for less than two years but attracted controversy in August when the sign appeared on the door, Ashton Edwards reported for Fox News 13.

Russian air strikes in Syria intensifying: U.S. military Posted: 17 Feb 2016 12:33 PM PST Russian air strikes in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have intensified, a U.S. military spokesman said on Wednesday, despite Western calls for Russia to stop the air campaign. Major powers agreed last week to a limited cessation of hostilities in Syria, in a deal that takes effect at the end of this week but was not signed by any warring parties - the Damascus government and numerous rebel factions fighting it. Russia says the "cessation" does not apply to its air strikes, which have shifted the balance of power towards Assad.

Rapper's comments at Sanders rally sparks controversy Posted: 17 Feb 2016 12:23 PM PST ATLANTA (AP) — When rapper Killer Mike spoke before Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders at an Atlanta rally on Tuesday night, he sparked controversy by telling supporters that "a uterus doesn't qualify you to be president of the United States."

Weatherford says not responsible for radioactive material stolen in Iraq Posted: 17 Feb 2016 11:53 AM PST U.S. oilfield services company Weatherford said on Wednesday it was not responsible or liable for "highly dangerous" radioactive material stolen last year from a storage facility in southern Iraq. "Weatherford has no responsibility or liability in relation to this matter because we do not own, operate or control sources or the bunker where the sources are stored," the company said in a statement to Reuters. "SGS is the owner and operator of the bunker and sources and solely responsible for addressing this matter," it added, referring to SGS Turkey, an Istanbul-based inspection and verification company which Iraqi officials have said owns the material.

Four in 10 German economists see migrants as drag on economy: poll Posted: 17 Feb 2016 11:12 AM PST Four in ten German economists believe the record number of migrants coming to the country are a drag on the economy, while only 23 percent view them as beneficial, a poll to be published on Thursday showed. Some 1.1 million migrants entered Germany last year, straining Chancellor Angela Merkel's right-left coalition government and overwhelming many local authorities. Studies published in late 2015 by Deutsche Bank and the German Institute for Economic Research predicted that, if they were integrated into the job market, the refugees would benefit the economy About 45 percent of the economists polled by Ifo said the government should take new debt to pay for the integration of refugees, while 36 percent advocated raising taxes.

Hundreds of millions of Islamic State funds destroyed in air strikes: U.S. Posted: 17 Feb 2016 11:01 AM PST U.S.-led air strikes on Islamic State cash storage sites have cost the militant group hundreds of millions of dollars, a U.S. military spokesman said on Wednesday. The United States is trying to cut revenue to Islamic State - believed to be one of the best-funded militant groups in the world - through air strikes targeting its oil production as well as cash storage sites. Colonel Steve Warren, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military effort against Islamic State, said the air strikes on cash storage and collection sites have destroyed hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of currency.

Erdogan vows no let-up in strikes on Syrian Kurdish fighters Posted: 17 Feb 2016 10:59 AM PST President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said there was no question of Turkish forces stopping their bombardment of Syrian Kurdish fighters, vowing not allow the creation of a Kurdish stronghold in northern Syria. Turkish Firtina howitzers stationed in Turkey's southern region of Kilis shelled positions of Kurdish fighters in Syria for the fifth day in the row, in response to incoming fire, reports said. "They (the West) tell us to stop shelling" the Kurdish fighters in Syria, Erdogan said in a televised speech.

Hundreds of millions of dollars destroyed in anti-IS strikes: US Posted: 17 Feb 2016 10:47 AM PST Hundreds of millions of dollars are believed to have been destroyed in coalition air strikes targeting cash hoards used to finance the Islamic State group, a US military spokesman said Wednesday. Coalition aircraft struck ten more of the cash collection points over the weekend, said Colonel Steve Warren, the spokesman for the US-led campaign against IS in Iraq and Syria. Coalition aircraft also have been hitting oil infrastructure under IS control as part of the effort.

IS shoots down Iraqi army helicopter killing one Posted: 17 Feb 2016 10:16 AM PST The Islamic State jihadist group shot down an Iraqi military helicopter west of Baghdad on Wednesday, killing at least one person, officials said. The helicopter -- the second lost by Iraq in two days -- went down near Amriyat al-Fallujah, though officials differed on the exact location. An Iraqi army aviation captain said that the Bell helicopter was shot down with a Dushka heavy machine gun, killing one crew member and wounding a second, who was rescued by another helicopter.

Iran snubs Doha proposal, won't freeze oil output Posted: 17 Feb 2016 10:03 AM PST TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran appeared Wednesday to back a plan laid out by four influential oil producers to cap their crude output if others do the same, though it offered no indication that it has any plans to follow suit itself.

Iran offers no action in support of global oil pact Posted: 17 Feb 2016 09:58 AM PST By Parisa Hafezi and Rania El Gamal ANKARA/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran on Wednesday stopped short of offering to restrain oil output as part of a global pact to freeze production to prop up prices, making clear it wants to recapture the market share it lost during years of sanctions. Iran's stance will complicate talks on output levels after a surprise compromise this week between two of the world's top exporters - non-OPEC Russia and the group's leader Saudi Arabia - to freeze output at January levels, near their historic highs. The first mooted global oil pact in 15 years has so far failed to impress the market, which had expected a production cut instead of a freeze that could even turn into an increase if Iran wins special terms from fellow OPEC members.

US: Airstrikes hit "hundreds millions" in Islamic State cash Posted: 17 Feb 2016 09:55 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — A series of U.S. airstrikes in recent months have destroyed "hundreds of millions" of dollars in Islamic State cash as part of a broader campaign aimed at squeezing the extremist group's financial power, a U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday.

Oil downturn has further to go despite talks on output freeze: Natixis Posted: 17 Feb 2016 09:44 AM PST Oil prices will fall further in the absence of an aggressive cut in output by both OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers, Natixis said on Wednesday in its 2016 oil outlook. Saudi Arabia and Russia have reached a deal to freeze oil output at January levels in an effort to counter the prolonged fall in oil prices because of global oversupply, but the deal hangs on whether Iran and other OPEC members will take part. Natixis lead oil market analyst Abhishek Deshpande told journalists in Paris that a freeze in production was not enough and is likely to unravel, with only an aggressive cut sufficient to mop up excess crude in the market.

Kurds call Baghdad's oil-for-salaries offer 'cheap political bartering' Posted: 17 Feb 2016 09:10 AM PST The government of Iraqi Kurdistan has challenged Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to deliver on an offer to pay the cash-strapped region's bloated public payroll, suggesting the proposal had not been made in good faith. Abadi said in a televised interview earlier this week that he was prepared to cover the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) payroll as long as it stopped exporting oil independently. A KRG statement described that as "cheap political bartering", and spokesman Safeen Dizayee told Reuters on Wednesday that if Abadi were serious about the offer, he would have raised it at a recent meeting in Baghdad.

Oil market shows deep doubt over output freeze Posted: 17 Feb 2016 09:07 AM PST The oil world has been shaken this week by some of the biggest producers agreeing to freeze their output at January levels to contain a supply glut and prevent a further slide in prices, but markets show investors doubt this tactic will work. Oil ministers of top exporter Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela, together with non-OPEC member Russia, said after meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha on Tuesday they had agreed to keep output unchanged from January, provided other big guns followed suit. The wild card is Iran, returning to the markets after years of sanctions, which has said it will resist any such curbs and stick to its pledge to increase production by 1 million barrels per day in the next 6-12 months.

Syrian terrorist list produces 163 names and no agreement Posted: 17 Feb 2016 09:00 AM PST Everyone involved in the diplomatic process agrees with the United Nations' designation that Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, a group linked to al-Qaeda, are terrorists and therefore barred from the negotiating table. Rival powers are pushing for groups they dislike to go on a draft blacklist - Iran at one point suggested incorporating the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency - and to keep those they support off it. This is more than simply a hitch for the peace process, under which talks began in Geneva last month only to be suspended almost immediately.

Kurds' advance in Syria divides U.S. and Turkey as Russia bombs Posted: 17 Feb 2016 08:31 AM PST By Daren Butler ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The rapid advance of U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, taking advantage of Russian air strikes to seize territory near the Turkish border, has infuriated Ankara and threatened to drive a wedge between NATO allies. Washington has long seen the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its YPG military wing as its best chance in the battle against Islamic State in Syria - to the chagrin of fellow NATO member Turkey, which sees the group as terrorists and fears it will stir up greater unrest among its own Kurdish minority. The Syrian army has come within 25 km (15 miles) of the Turkish border and says it aims to seal it off altogether, closing the main lifeline into rebel territory for years and recapturing Aleppo, Syria's largest city before the war.

Turkey vows to stop Kurdish militia gaining border foothold Posted: 17 Feb 2016 08:31 AM PST By Nick Tattersall and Asli Kandemir ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey will not let Kurdish militia fighters backed by the United States establish a foothold on its border in northern Syria and will not stop shelling if its security is threatened, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. The Kurdish YPG militia, regarded by Ankara as a hostile insurgent group, has taken advantage in recent weeks of a major Syrian army offensive around the city of Aleppo, backed by Russian air strikes, to seize ground from Syrian rebels near the Turkish border.

Syria aid deliveries due in 'test' for warring sides Posted: 17 Feb 2016 08:11 AM PST The UN announced the planned deliveries late on Tuesday, as its envoy Staffan de Mistura held talks in Damascus aimed at restoring hope for a "cessation of hostilities" world powers want in place by Friday. Prospects for the ceasefire -- announced by top diplomats in Munich last week -- have been fading as violence continues to shake Syria, including strikes on hospitals on Monday and repeated Turkish shelling of Kurdish militia. The Syrian Red Crescent said about 100 trucks carrying flour, other food supplies and medicines were to leave for five besieged areas on Wednesday.

Islamic State: Why ethnic reconciliation is a tough sell in northern Iraq Posted: 17 Feb 2016 07:27 AM PST When Islamic State fighters gathered Yazidi men in the village of Kujo, lined them up and shot them, the killers weren't foreigners, says survivor Kichi Amo Slo. Slo, a former officer in the Iraqi Army, says he cannot imagine reconciliation with anyone in the neighboring Arab villages. "If you saw someone kill your father, kill your brother, and take your children, could you ever live with them?" he asks in Arabic. Recommended: How much do you know about the Islamic State?

United States wants NATO to step up fight against Islamic State Posted: 17 Feb 2016 05:25 AM PST By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States is pressing NATO to play a bigger role against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, putting Washington at odds with Germany and France which fear the strategy would risk confrontation with the alliance's old Cold War foe Russia. All 28 NATO allies are already part of a 66-nation anti-Islamic State coalition, so the United States is looking to NATO as an institution to bring its equipment, training and the expertise it gained leading a coalition in Afghanistan.

U.S., allies target Islamic State with 21 strikes: U.S. military Posted: 17 Feb 2016 04:49 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and its allies staged 21 strikes against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq and Syria on Tuesday in the U.S.-led coalition's latest round of daily strikes, the Combined Joint Task Force leading the operations said. In a statement released on Wednesday, the task force said 13 strikes were conducted near six Iraqi cities, including Mosul and Sinjar. The strikes hit six Islamic State tactical units and destroyed various weapons targets and fighting positions, it said. ...

Iraq Kurds say will accept PM's oil for salaries deal Posted: 17 Feb 2016 03:44 AM PST Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region said Wednesday that it would halt independent oil sales if Baghdad pays its employees, but cast doubt on the federal government's ability to implement the proposal. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said earlier this week that he would pay the salaries of the cash-strapped northern region's employees if it halted the oil sales, which Baghdad considers illegal.

Appeals Court: 'The Hurt Locker' Is Protected By the First Amendment Posted: 16 Feb 2016 09:00 PM PST The 9th Circuit rules that an Iraqi war veteran's lawsuit would violate the U.S. Constitution.

Factbox: EU battered by storm of crises Posted: 16 Feb 2016 08:51 PM PST The European Union is being battered by a perfect storm of crises that threaten to rip apart the peaceful and prosperous 28-nation bloc that rose from the ashes of World War II. It is grappling not only with the threat of a British exit, or "Brexit," but also with an unprecedented migrant influx, continued fallout from the debt crisis and an array of security threats, both domestic and foreign. Prime Minister David Cameron is demanding controversial reforms of his peers in return for persuading Britons to vote to stay in the bloc in a likely June referendum.

Syria conflict takes Kurds towards autonomy Posted: 16 Feb 2016 08:27 PM PST Syria's Kurds, long held in disdain by Damascus, are edging towards autonomy in their heartland along Turkey's border as they capitalise on the tactical goals of both Washington and Moscow. To the dismay of Ankara, Kurdish forces have seized on the collapse of rebels in the northern province of Aleppo in the face of Russian-backed regime gains to advance to within 20 kilometres (12 miles) of the border. From the outset of the Syrian conflict in 2011, the Kurds benefited from the regime's pullback from their regions to establish a local administration spanning from northwest to northeast Syria.

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