Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Documents show different medal count for 'American Sniper'
• GOP senators attack top Democrat for defense bill delay
• AJC Global Forum, Celebrating 110 Years of Jewish Advocacy, Convenes June 5-7 in Washington
• United We Stand to Terminate ISIS
• Belgian police arrest four, find 'traces' of terror attack plot
• Why soldiers and a wounded warrier just climbed Everest
• Leaked IS documents to be used in French jihadist trial
• Syria's Raqa: IS bastion along the Euphrates
• Turkish official: Kurdish rebel car bombing kills 3
• Why Are the Feds Investigating a Senior GOP Senator?
• Ukraine's Savchenko gets hero's welcome after prisoner swap with Russia
• Top Shi'ite cleric urges restraint in assault on Iraq's Falluja
• Why Oil and Gas Prices Won’t Go Much Higher
• 'Living in Germany': a testing time for Merkel's migrants
• Savchenko: Ukraine's 'symbol of defiance' to Russia
• Official: Greek efforts to handle refugee crisis significant
• Ukrainian pilot returns home as unrivalled national hero
• Kenya police arrest two for planning Islamic State-linked attack
• Trump advisers push him to target OPEC, regulations in big energy speech
• In Iraq battle, IS prevents Fallujah residents from fleeing
• U.S. leads 17 strikes against Islamic State: statement
• U.S.-backed Syrian militias not preparing assault on Islamic State capital: spokesman
• Newseum to Host Annual Journalists Memorial Rededication June 6
• Swedish court upholds Assange arrest warrant
• The Pentagon ‘Slush Fund’ That Could Threaten National Security
• Iraq forces push towards Fallujah from south
• Military spouses struggle to find jobs
• Islamic State 'falsely claiming' attacks in Bangladesh
• Today in History
• U.N. urges Falluja combatants to let civilians escape fighting
• In final drive, Obama seeks better relations with US foes
• Buses and Bulldozers: Refugees are removed from Greek camp

Documents show different medal count for 'American Sniper' Posted: 25 May 2016 02:52 PM PDT HOUSTON (AP) — Documents show the number of medals slain Navy Seal and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle received for his military service is different from what he indicated in his best-selling memoir about his four tours of duty in Iraq.

GOP senators attack top Democrat for defense bill delay Posted: 25 May 2016 01:19 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican senator angrily denounced the Senate's top Democrat Wednesday for delaying debate on defense policy legislation, calling Minority Leader Harry Reid's leadership "cancerous" and accusing him of holding up the $602 billion bill to preserve his "sad, sorry legacy."

AJC Global Forum, Celebrating 110 Years of Jewish Advocacy, Convenes June 5-7 in Washington Posted: 25 May 2016 12:57 PM PDT NEW YORK, May 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice, European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini, and Mexican Foreign Secretary Claudia Ruiz Massieu will headline the World Leaders Plenary at the AJC Global Forum 2016. The AJC Global Forum is the advocacy organization's signature annual event, currently bringing together more than 2,600 participants from across the United States and 70 countries around the world. This year's Global Forum marks 110 years since AJC's founding, and the attendance is the highest in the agency's history.

United We Stand to Terminate ISIS Posted: 25 May 2016 12:57 PM PDT WASHINGTON, May 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Global Alliance for Terminating ISIS / Al-Qaeda is sponsoring a meeting to establish a common ground for unity among nations and governments around the world to terminate these evil terrorist organizations.  The meeting will take place on the 2nd of June from 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. The event will be held at the Press Club 529 14th St. NW in the Murrow Room, Washington D.C.   Our guest speakers include:  Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban: Syrian politician and currently political and media adviser to the President of Syria. ...

Belgian police arrest four, find 'traces' of terror attack plot Posted: 25 May 2016 12:14 PM PDT Police found "traces" of a plot to launch a new attack in Belgium when they arrested four people suspected of recruiting jihadists for Syria and Libya, prosecutors said Wednesday. The four were charged with "participating in the activities of a terrorist group" following their arrests in the northern port of Antwerp and other Flemish-speaking cities, the federal prosecutor's office said. "The four were more involved in the part of recruiting," Eric Van der Sypt, a spokesman for Belgium's federal prosecutors, told AFP.

Why soldiers and a wounded warrier just climbed Everest Posted: 25 May 2016 12:00 PM PDT While domestic services for returning veterans are facing struggles, former and active Army personnel were on top of the world this week to support veterans' mental health. US Expeditions and Explorations (USX) is a nonprofit empowering active duty service members and veterans to further research and exploration. USX's latest initiative sent current and former soldiers on one of the world's most treacherous expeditions to raise awareness for mental health issues in the military.

Leaked IS documents to be used in French jihadist trial Posted: 25 May 2016 11:51 AM PDT French prosecutors will use leaked Islamic State documents to help identify seven suspected jihadists going on trial next week, including the brother of a Paris attacker, sources close to the investigation said Wednesday. The seven men from Strasbourg in eastern France, aged between 24 and 26, are accused of travelling to join the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria in late 2013 and returning several months later. Among the men, who were arrested in May 2014, is Karim Mohamed-Aggad, brother of Foued Mohamed-Aggad who was part of the three-man group that attacked the Bataclan concert hall on the night of the Paris attacks in November.

Syria's Raqa: IS bastion along the Euphrates Posted: 25 May 2016 11:35 AM PDT Here are key points regarding Raqa, the northern city that serves as the Islamic State group's de facto capital in Syria. IS now faces a major assault by Kurdish-Arab forces in the surrounding province of Raqa, part of a two-pronged offensive that includes an operation by Iraqi forces to retake the jihadist-held city of Fallujah. This city on the banks of the Euphrates River was under IS control for just five months before the group declared its self-styled Islamic "caliphate" in June 2014.

Turkish official: Kurdish rebel car bombing kills 3 Posted: 25 May 2016 11:24 AM PDT ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish official says a car bombing by Kurdish rebels against a gendarmerie station near the Syrian border has killed three people.

Why Are the Feds Investigating a Senior GOP Senator? Posted: 25 May 2016 10:52 AM PDT The FBI and the Securities Exchange Commission are putting the personal finances of one of the Senate's leading Republican voices on foreign policy under the microscope. Politico reports that the feds are looking into whether Sen. Bob Corker (TN) broke any rules when he failed to report millions in income and assets, including stock transactions, in his annual financial disclosures. The Wall Street Journal reported on the omissions last fall, and Corker, who entered the Senate in 2007 after serving as the mayor of Chattanooga, revised years' worth of disclosure reports.

Ukraine's Savchenko gets hero's welcome after prisoner swap with Russia Posted: 25 May 2016 10:42 AM PDT Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko returned home to a hero's welcome Wednesday after nearly two years in a Russian jail following a prisoner swap with Moscow that drew a line under a major diplomatic spat. The 35-year-old army helicopter pilot flew home as part of a carefully choreographed exchange with Moscow, with two alleged Russian soldiers leaving Ukraine earlier in the day. "I'm ready to once again give my life for Ukraine on the battlefield," a defiant Savchenko declared after she touched down on home soil, barefoot and wearing a white T-shirt bearing the Ukrainian trident, a national symbol.

Top Shi'ite cleric urges restraint in assault on Iraq's Falluja Posted: 25 May 2016 10:34 AM PDT By Maher Chmaytelli BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's top Shi'ite Muslim cleric urged government and allied Shi'ite militia forces fighting to retake Falluja from Islamic State militants to spare trapped civilians amid reports of a budding humanitarian crisis in the city. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's appeal reflected concerns that a large civilian death toll in the battle for the mainly Sunni Muslim city could kindle increased sectarian strife in Iraq. The Baghdad government has been led by Shi'ites since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein, a member of the Sunni minority.

Why Oil and Gas Prices Won’t Go Much Higher Posted: 25 May 2016 10:21 AM PDT Stocks can't decide if Federal Reserve interest rate hikes are a positive or a negative. Right now, all that seems to matter in this muddled market is the ongoing strength in energy prices that has pushed wholesale gasoline prices up more than 83 percent from their February low, easing fears of energy-sector bond defaults, bank losses and oil-sector equity price declines. The problem is that the rise in energy prices has been predicated on temporary supply-side constraints such as the wildfire near Canada's oil sands infrastructure, political unrest in Libya and rebel attacks in Nigeria.

'Living in Germany': a testing time for Merkel's migrants Posted: 25 May 2016 10:04 AM PDT By Michelle Martin BERLIN (Reuters) - In an east Berlin classroom, a group of migrants is taking a "Living in Germany" practice test. For many of Germany's new arrivals, numbering more than 1 million last year, a new law will mean that attendance at such classes will determine whether they get full access to the state benefits they hope will launch them on new lives in the country. Germany took in far more migrants than any other EU country.

Savchenko: Ukraine's 'symbol of defiance' to Russia Posted: 25 May 2016 09:20 AM PDT Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, freed by Russia in a prisoner exchange on Wednesday, has been condemned by Moscow as a murderer but was rapturously received as a national hero back home. The 35-year-old army helicopter navigator was sentenced to 22 years in March over the killing of two Russian journalists in the separatist conflict in east Ukraine. After President Vladimir Putin pardoned her, citing the wishes of the journalists' relatives, she was secretly flown in to Kiev on a government plane.

Official: Greek efforts to handle refugee crisis significant Posted: 25 May 2016 09:07 AM PDT ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece has faced major problems in dealing with the refugee crisis but has made a significant effort to handle the issues, a leading European human rights official said Wednesday.

Ukrainian pilot returns home as unrivalled national hero Posted: 25 May 2016 09:03 AM PDT MOSCOW (AP) — When war broke out in eastern Ukraine, pilot Nadezhda Savchenko left her hometown to join the fight against Russia-backed separatists. Nearly two years after she was captured, then tried and convicted in Russia, she returned home to a rapturous welcome in Kiev.

Kenya police arrest two for planning Islamic State-linked attack Posted: 25 May 2016 08:35 AM PDT Kenyan police said on Wednesday they had arrested two people linked to Islamic State who were planning to launch an attack, seizing bomb-making materials. Kenya has faced a series of attacks in the past few years in which hundreds have died, launched by the al Qaeda-aligned Somali Islamist group al Shabaab. This month, however, police said they had arrested an Islamist militant who was plotting attacks and who they said was linked to Islamic State.

Trump advisers push him to target OPEC, regulations in big energy speech Posted: 25 May 2016 07:50 AM PDT By Valerie Volcovici WILLISTON, North Dakota (Reuters) - Two energy advisers to Donald Trump want him to call out members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for driving down world oil prices when he delivers a major energy policy speech this week. The advisers, who said they had been asked by Trump's 2016 presidential campaign to contribute ideas for the speech, told Reuters they had also suggested he mention cuts to regulations and a streamlining of the federal tax code to make U.S. energy companies more competitive. The advisers, U.S. Congressman Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and another who asked not to be identified, said they had urged Trump to criticize the OPEC cartel for contributing to a crash in world oil prices by producing full throttle, a factor that has helped push many U.S. oil companies into bankruptcy.

In Iraq battle, IS prevents Fallujah residents from fleeing Posted: 25 May 2016 06:40 AM PDT BAGHDAD (AP) — The Islamic State group is preventing people from fleeing Fallujah amid a military operation to recapture the city west of Baghdad, a local Iraqi official and aid groups said on Wednesday.

U.S. leads 17 strikes against Islamic State: statement Posted: 25 May 2016 06:17 AM PDT The United States and its allies staged 17 strikes against Islamic State on Tuesday in their latest daily attacks against the militant group in Iraq and Syria, according to the coalition leading the operations. The Falluja strikes hit an Islamic State tactical unit, vehicle and front end loader, the coalition task force said in a statement on Wednesday. Elsewhere in Iraq, the Combined Joint Task Force said the U.S.-led strikes included three near Mosul, another area where U.S. and Iraqi officials are seeking to put in place conditions to retake that city.

U.S.-backed Syrian militias not preparing assault on Islamic State capital: spokesman Posted: 25 May 2016 05:40 AM PDT U.S.-backed Syrian militias are not preparing an assault on Islamic State's de facto Syrian capital of Raqqa at present, a militia spokesman said, indicating the limited scope of a new offensive in nearby areas where fighting raged on Wednesday. Movements by the fighters in the U.S.-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance, and leaflets dropped on Raqqa urging its citizens to leave had given rise to speculation that they were about to attack the city. Driving Islamic State from Raqqa city would be a major achievement in the U.S.-led campaign against the group that controls wide areas of Syria and Iraq.

Newseum to Host Annual Journalists Memorial Rededication June 6 Posted: 25 May 2016 05:00 AM PDT WASHINGTON, May 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Monday, June 6, at 10 a.m., the Newseum will rededicate its Journalists Memorial, which recognizes men and women who died or were killed while reporting the news. The names of 20 journalists will be added to the memorial to represent all those who died in pursuit of the news in 2015.Gérard Araud, ambassador of France to the United States, will deliver keynote remarks during the ceremony. The largest single attack on journalists in 2015 took place at the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris. ...

Swedish court upholds Assange arrest warrant Posted: 25 May 2016 03:07 AM PDT A Swedish lower court upheld on Wednesday the arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, saying the stay at Ecuador's London embassy did not equal detention. Assange, 44, is wanted by Swedish authorities for questioning over allegations, which he denies, that he committed rape in 2010. A computer hacker who enraged U.S. authorities by publishing hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables, he has been holed up in the embassy since June 2012 to avoid the rape investigation in Sweden.

The Pentagon ‘Slush Fund’ That Could Threaten National Security Posted: 25 May 2016 02:45 AM PDT The Pentagon's ongoing use of an emergency war fund is undermining U.S. national security, according to a new think-tank study. In an analysis released Tuesday, the Washington-based Stimson Center argues that the Pentagon should phase out the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account, which was originally set up to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Budget experts have long derided OCO as a slush fund of sorts and accused Capitol Hill lawmakers on both sides of the aisle of using the account to pay for things not related to the wars, such as financing pay and benefits and buying equipment for the military branches, including the National Guard.

Iraq forces push towards Fallujah from south Posted: 25 May 2016 02:08 AM PDT Iraqi forces pushed towards Islamic State group bastion Fallujah on Wednesday from areas to the south as part of operations to retake the city from jihadists, a commander said. Forces from Iraq's 8th Division backed by tribal fighters set out from the Amriyat al-Fallujah area south of the city and the Al-Salam intersection to its southwest, said Staff Major General Ismail al-Mahalawi, the head of the Anbar Operations Command. US-led coalition and Iraqi forces are providing air support, Mahalawi said.

Military spouses struggle to find jobs Posted: 25 May 2016 12:21 AM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — Military spouses struggle to find jobs and are more likely to work for less pay or in positions below their education level, spurring unemployment and other costs of as much as $1 billion a year, according to a study.

Islamic State 'falsely claiming' attacks in Bangladesh Posted: 24 May 2016 11:22 PM PDT By Krishna N. Das and Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - Islamic State is trying to ride a wave of religious radicalization by falsely claiming a spate of killings in Bangladesh, a government minister said, adding there was enough evidence implicating domestic militant groups. Analysts say that as Islamic State loses territory in Iraq and Syria and its finances get drained, it may be trying to build affiliates in countries such as Libya, Egypt and Bangladesh for jihadists to launch attacks locally and cheaply. "But what we've agreed with our partnering countries is that we'll not argue over it - that sends a wrong message." His comments came just days after a EU delegation said there was an unprecedented threat to human rights and freedom of expression in Bangladesh and urged Dhaka to tackle the challenge to protect its international reputation.

Today in History Posted: 24 May 2016 09:01 PM PDT Today is Wednesday, May 25, the 146th day of 2016. There are 220 days left in the year.

U.N. urges Falluja combatants to let civilians escape fighting Posted: 24 May 2016 08:24 PM PDT The United Nations on Tuesday pleaded with combatants in Iraq's embattled Falluja to protect civilians escaping the fighting as Iraqi forces shelled Islamic State targets in an attempt to retake the militant stronghold just west of the capital. Earlier the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR said a number of women and children had died while trying to leave the city. "We're calling on all parties to the conflict to take all measures to protect civilians caught in the middle," Farhan Haq told reporters.

In final drive, Obama seeks better relations with US foes Posted: 24 May 2016 05:54 PM PDT WASHINGTON (AP) — In his final stretch as president, Barack Obama is driving the United States toward friendlier relations with longstanding adversaries, working to consign bitter enmities with Vietnam, Iran, Cuba and Myanmar to the history books.

Buses and Bulldozers: Refugees are removed from Greek camp Posted: 24 May 2016 02:16 PM PDT IDOMENI, Greece (AP) — It grew to the size of a small town, becoming a symbol of Europe's closed border policy for migrants and refugees. On Tuesday, Greek authorities began to dismantle it.

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