Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Trump: 'Very impressed' with Petraeus as he weighs top diplomat job
• Residents of Iraq's Mosul fight, jostle over food
• Under U.S. plan, Afghans may get Black Hawks to replace Russian aircraft
• In drawn-out battle of Mosul, limits of Iraqi military show
• European stocks catch Italian cold, US stocks retreat
• Iranian vessel points weapon at U.S. helicopter: officials
• Uncertainty ahead of crucial OPEC meeting
• Putin, Iran's Rouhani back OPEC bid to stabilise oil prices
• Trump meets Petraeus in fraught quest for top diplomat
• Iraq could split if Shi'ite militias enter Mosul: Sunni politician
• Islamic State sniper hits Iraqi unit as army inches forward in Mosul
• Islamic State arrests shopkeepers for hiking prices in nearly besieged Mosul
• Iraqi special forces screen Mosul men in hunt for suicide bombers
• Oil up, trade choppy as OPEC makes last-ditch bid to save deal
• Rebels' hold on eastern Aleppo collapses as troops move in
• AP EXPLAINS: Why Aleppo is Syria's fiercest battleground
• The Latest: Amnesty fears Syria detaining men in Aleppo
• Body of 1st US Service Member Killed in Syria Returned Home
• Syria denounces Qatar for saying it will continue to back rebels
• On the road to Mosul, Kurds — with an eye toward Trump — protect Christian minorities
• Shell considering selling its Iraq oil assets: sources
• Syria calls chemical arms accusations 'campaign of lies'
• OPEC experts make some progress on output deal: delegates
• Factbox: OPEC oil cut, if it comes, more face-saver than meaningful - analysts
• Factbox: Contenders, picks for key jobs in Trump's administration
• Kazakhstan jails nine Islamists, two activists over attack, unrest
• Kuwait plans to buy 28 Boeing F-18 jets: official
• Their town now liberated, Iraqi Christians talk of life under ISIS
• Countries That Love Americans During All Political Seasons
• Kuwait to buy 28 F-18 warplanes: official
• US vets vs. a New England college that stopped flying the American flag
• OPEC and Italian unease weighing on global stocks
• Iraqi forces try to weed out IS from those fleeing Mosul
• Bombs, artillery rain on rebels as Philippines siege rages
• Germany's 'Mr Flirt' teaches refugees how to pick up women
• Asian stocks mixed ahead of OPEC meeting
• Today in History

Trump: 'Very impressed' with Petraeus as he weighs top diplomat job Posted: 28 Nov 2016 05:14 PM PST Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence have met with about 70 people so far as they look to shape their White House and Cabinet team before taking office on Jan. 20. Pence told reporters there would be "a number of very important announcements" on Tuesday. Republican U.S. Representative Tom Price of Georgia, an orthopedic surgeon, could be named health and human services secretary as early as Tuesday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, citing a dozen unnamed Republican sources.

Residents of Iraq's Mosul fight, jostle over food Posted: 28 Nov 2016 03:59 PM PST MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Residents of the Iraqi city of Mosul fought each other around trucks delivering humanitarian aid as they jostled for scant supplies on Monday, while government troops fighting to retake the city from Islamic State militants inched closer toward the city center.

Under U.S. plan, Afghans may get Black Hawks to replace Russian aircraft Posted: 28 Nov 2016 03:36 PM PST By Josh Smith KABUL (Reuters) - The U.S. military wants to replace Afghanistan's well-worn fleet of Russian helicopters with American-made aircraft, according to a new budget proposal, a decision aimed at reducing the Afghan air force's decades-long reliance on Russian equipment. The Afghan air force, trained and assisted by NATO advisers, has slowly gained strength, but remains too small to meet the needs of security forces struggling to combat a stubborn Taliban insurgency. Now the U.S. Defence Department is requesting funding to refurbish and update 53 older-model U.S. military UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for the Afghans, enough to replace the current fleet of Russian-designed Mi-17 helicopters.

In drawn-out battle of Mosul, limits of Iraqi military show Posted: 28 Nov 2016 02:46 PM PST BAGHDAD (AP) — When Iraq's top generals finalized the plan to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group, they gave themselves six months to finish the job.

European stocks catch Italian cold, US stocks retreat Posted: 28 Nov 2016 02:22 PM PST Italian bank shares slumped Monday as risks linked to a crucial weekend referendum cast a shadow over markets across Europe, while US stocks pulled back from record levels.

Iranian vessel points weapon at U.S. helicopter: officials Posted: 28 Nov 2016 02:16 PM PST By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A small Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard vessel pointed its weapon at a U.S. military helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday, an action they described as "unsafe and unprofessional." The incident is the latest in a series of similar actions by Iranian vessels this year, but the first reported since Republican Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8. During his campaign, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessel that harassed the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be "shot out of the water," if he was elected. Trump is due to take office on Jan. 20.

Uncertainty ahead of crucial OPEC meeting Posted: 28 Nov 2016 01:59 PM PST Mixed signals from OPEC ministers caused fresh volatility on oil markets Monday ahead of a meeting in Vienna meant to nail down a deal reducing the cartel's output by up to a million barrels per day. Saudi Arabia's energy minister appeared to suggest on Sunday that Riyadh could live with OPEC failing to agree its first cut in output in eight years, saying recovering demand would "stabilise" prices next year anyway. "We don't have a single path which is to cut production at the OPEC meeting, we can also depend on recovery in consumption, especially from the US," Saudi media quoted Khaled al-Falih as saying.

Putin, Iran's Rouhani back OPEC bid to stabilise oil prices Posted: 28 Nov 2016 01:41 PM PST Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Monday expressed support for OPEC's plans to limit the cartel's output ahead of a crucial meeting this week. In a telephone conversation, the two leaders said the cartel's efforts were "an essential element" for returning stability to global oil prices, a Kremlin statement said. "The importance of steps taken by OPEC to limit the production of commodities was emphasised as an essential element for stabilising world oil markets," it said.

Trump meets Petraeus in fraught quest for top diplomat Posted: 28 Nov 2016 01:28 PM PST Donald Trump held talks Monday with David Petraeus, one of America's most celebrated generals who subsequently resigned from the CIA in disgrace, as the president-elect narrowed his contentious search for a secretary of state. The retired general, who served as commander in Iraq and Afghanistan before a stunning fall from grace for leaking classified material to his mistress, told reporters that the meeting lasted around an hour. "We'll see where it goes from here," he told reporters at Trump Tower.

Iraq could split if Shi'ite militias enter Mosul: Sunni politician Posted: 28 Nov 2016 12:57 PM PST By Suleiman Al-Khalidi AMMAN (Reuters) - Iraq is at risk of partition and the worst sectarian bloodletting since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion if Shi'ite paramilitary units get involved in the fight against Islamic State for Mosul, a senior Sunni Iraqi politician said on Monday. Iran-backed, Shi'ite-led Popular Mobilization forces, or Hashid Shaabi in Arabic, who are supported by the Shi'ite-led Baghdad government want to play a bigger role in the offensive to regain Islamic State's last major city stronghold in Iraq. "Everyone is looking for salvation from Daesh...but after Daesh is defeated a new dangerous phase will begin if the United States and the government do not address Sunni grievances.

Islamic State sniper hits Iraqi unit as army inches forward in Mosul Posted: 28 Nov 2016 12:57 PM PST By John Davison MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - The Islamic State sniper was a good shot. The challenge the men faced on Sunday - of dealing with a sole sharpshooter in an area the army entered weeks ago - shows how difficult the battle to recapture Mosul is becoming, with Islamic State deploying snipers and suicide car bombs, and using civilians as human shields to bog down Iraqi forces. The unit from Iraq's 9th Armoured Division had occupied the home in eastern Mosul's Intisar neighborhood just two or three days ago as they make incremental advances against Islamic State as part a U.S.-backed campaign to recapture the city.

Islamic State arrests shopkeepers for hiking prices in nearly besieged Mosul Posted: 28 Nov 2016 12:57 PM PST By Ulf Laessing MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Islamic State has arrested dozens of Mosul shop owners accused of raising food prices in the nearly besieged city, to tamp down discontent as a U.S.-backed offensive closes in on the group's last major stronghold in Iraq, residents said on Monday. The arrests took place on Sunday morning in Bursa, a commercial district in the western part of the city, said a witness who asked not be identified as Islamic State punishes with death those caught communicating with the outside world. About 30 shop owners in the area were arrested and taken away blindfolded to unknown destinations, he said.

Iraqi special forces screen Mosul men in hunt for suicide bombers Posted: 28 Nov 2016 12:57 PM PST By Michael Georgy MOSUL (Reuters) - One by one, hundreds of Mosul residents raised their shirts to prove they did not have suicide bombs strapped to their bodies, closely watched by Iraqi special forces fearful of the threat posed by Islamic State, even in areas they now control. The men then handed over their identification cards so their names could be checked against a database of wanted Islamic State members, part of the painstaking process of clearing jihadists from each neighborhood of their Mosul stronghold. Every time Iraqi forces capture a section of Mosul in their offensive against Islamic State, it can take up to a week to ensure it is clear of militants.

Oil up, trade choppy as OPEC makes last-ditch bid to save deal Posted: 28 Nov 2016 12:10 PM PST Oil prices gained more than 2 percent on Monday in volatile trading after falling as much as 2 percent, recouping losses as the market reacted to the shaky prospect of major producers being able to agree output cuts at a meeting on Wednesday. In post-settlement trading, oil futures pared gains after Reuters reported that OPEC experts did not agree on the details of a deal to cut output. Market watchers expected prices to remain volatile until OPEC's Wednesday meeting offers the market a definitive answer as to whether OPEC and non-OPEC producers can agree on cuts.

Rebels' hold on eastern Aleppo collapses as troops move in Posted: 28 Nov 2016 12:10 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian government forces captured more than a third of opposition-held eastern Aleppo on Monday, touching off a wave of panic and flight from the besieged enclave as rebel defenses in the country's largest city rapidly collapsed.

AP EXPLAINS: Why Aleppo is Syria's fiercest battleground Posted: 28 Nov 2016 12:08 PM PST Syrian government forces seized a swath of what was once rebel territory in Aleppo Monday, in one of the most dramatic shifts in the 5½-year civil war. The divided northern city has paid dearly as a central theater of the war. In the past two weeks alone, over 250 civilians have been killed by intense bombardment of the city's rebel-held eastern zones. A photo of 5-year-old Omran Daqneesh — confused and covered in dust and blood as he sat in an ambulance after being rescued in August from the rubble of a building — became a haunting image in the unforgiving struggle.

The Latest: Amnesty fears Syria detaining men in Aleppo Posted: 28 Nov 2016 12:08 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — The Latest on the conflict in Syria (all times local):

Body of 1st US Service Member Killed in Syria Returned Home Posted: 28 Nov 2016 10:05 AM PST The first U.S. service member killed in Syria in the fight against ISIS was returned to the United States on Sunday evening in a dignified transfer at Delaware's Dover Air Force Base. Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott C. Dayton, 42, died near the city of Ayn Issa in northern Syria on Thursday after being injured in an improvised explosive device blast, military officials said. When a service member is killed abroad, his or her remains are returned to the U.S at Dover Air Force Base.

Syria denounces Qatar for saying it will continue to back rebels Posted: 28 Nov 2016 09:45 AM PST Syria's Foreign Ministry on Monday denounced comments by Qatar that it will continue to back rebels against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as merely an attempt "to raise the morale of the terrorist groups" in the face of army advances. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Reuters in an interview on Sunday that Doha would continue to arm Syrian rebel groups even if U.S. President-elect Donald Trump were to end Washington's support for them. Sheikh Mohammed's remarks showed "the Qatari regime is one of the sources of extremism, terrorism and takfiri thought," Syrian state news agency SANA reported, citing a Foreign Ministry statement.

On the road to Mosul, Kurds — with an eye toward Trump — protect Christian minorities Posted: 28 Nov 2016 09:40 AM PST Batnay, Iraq — Among the Kurds of northern Iraq, the news of Donald Trump's election win has stirred hope and eager speculation about the role of the Kurdish people and the military, particularly in the fight against the Islamic State.

Shell considering selling its Iraq oil assets: sources Posted: 28 Nov 2016 09:26 AM PST Royal Dutch Shell is considering selling out of its oil fields in Iraq as part of its global $30 billion asset disposal program, industry sources said on Monday. Shell is seeking to slim down its vast oil and gas portfolio following the $54 billion acquisition of BG Group in February, which transformed it into the world's top liquefied natural gas trader. With oil prices having slumped since 2014 the company wants to focus on business areas with the highest returns such as LNG and deepwater oil production in Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico.

Syria calls chemical arms accusations 'campaign of lies' Posted: 28 Nov 2016 09:16 AM PST Syria launched a blistering verbal attack Monday on "Western" countries that have accused it of using chemical weapons in its deadly five-year conflict, dismissing the allegations as "a campaign of lies". "The multitude of accusations, made in some Western circles without any tangible evidence, as to the responsibility of the Syrian government in cases of use of toxic chemicals are but a part of a coordinated and repeated campaign of lies," Syria's deputy foreign minister Faisal Muqdad said. Both the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Islamic State group have been accused of unleashing chemical weapons during the conflict.

OPEC experts make some progress on output deal: delegates Posted: 28 Nov 2016 08:05 AM PST VIENNA (Reuters) - OPEC experts have made some progress in talks on finalizing a preliminary deal to cut oil output but are yet to resolve differences over the production levels of Iran and Iraq, OPEC delegates said on Monday.

Factbox: OPEC oil cut, if it comes, more face-saver than meaningful - analysts Posted: 28 Nov 2016 07:45 AM PST Although doubts existed over whether the organization, including regional foes Saudi Arabia and Iran, could agree on the mechanism of a cut, many market watchers believed last week a deal would be struck if only to save the group's credibility. Analysts' forecasts for oil prices now vary widely. Should OPEC fail to strike a deal, prices may briefly fall to the low $40s but return to current levels, according to the most bullish forecast, or slide downwards to $40, opening the door to $30 a barrel, according to other predictions.

Factbox: Contenders, picks for key jobs in Trump's administration Posted: 28 Nov 2016 07:34 AM PST (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is holding more meetings on Monday as he prepares to make high-level appointments, his transition team said.

Kazakhstan jails nine Islamists, two activists over attack, unrest Posted: 28 Nov 2016 07:21 AM PST Kazakh courts sentenced nine Islamic State supporters and two leading political activists to prison terms in separate trials on Monday after their convictions over the two biggest shocks to veteran President Nursultan Nazarbayev's rule. While unrelated, street unrest in April and May and a deadly Islamist attack in June dealt twin blows to stability in the oil-producing Central Asian state run since 1989 by Nazarbayev, who has brooked no dissent but remained broadly popular thanks to rising general wealth until a recent currency devaluation. Political activists Maks Bokayev and Talgat Ayanov were sentenced to five years in prison each on Monday.

Kuwait plans to buy 28 Boeing F-18 jets: official Posted: 28 Nov 2016 07:01 AM PST Kuwait plans to buy 28 Boeing F-18 Super Hornets, a military official said on Monday, 10 days after the U.S. State Department notified Congress of the possible sale of 40 of the warplanes to the Gulf Arab state. Major General Lafi al-Azmi, chief of the military's Armament and Procurement Authority, also said Kuwait planned to return a number of outdated F-18s in its inventory as part of the purchase deal, the official Kuwait News Agency reported. "Given Kuwait's proximity to turbulent locations, we certainly need effective military equipment," he was quoted as saying, in apparent reference to wars in Iraq and Syria.

Their town now liberated, Iraqi Christians talk of life under ISIS Posted: 28 Nov 2016 06:39 AM PST When Christians fled the small town of Bartalla in August 2014 as Islamic State militants swept toward them, then-14-year-old Ibrahim Matti and his elderly mother stayed behind. Matti and his mother, Jandark Nasi, both Assyrian Christians, spent more than two years living under IS control in and around Mosul.

Countries That Love Americans During All Political Seasons Posted: 28 Nov 2016 06:34 AM PST It was what you could call the " Freedom fry" era -- many Europeans, and the French in particular, were not fond of U.S. military action and not afraid to show it. Global perceptions of America took a beating during the Bush administration and rebounded significantly during the Obama years, according to the Pew Research Center. In nearly half of 15 the nations polled by Pew this spring, the share of the public with confidence in then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump was in single digits.

Kuwait to buy 28 F-18 warplanes: official Posted: 28 Nov 2016 05:50 AM PST Kuwait will buy 28 Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets to replace a fleet of earlier versions of the US fighter jets, a top official said Monday. The value of the deal is not expected to exceed $5 billion, the KUNA state news agency reported the head of armament and procurement at Kuwait's defence ministry as saying. Major General Lafi al-Azemi said the deal stipulates the supplier will re-purchase the old Hornet fighter jets from Kuwait.

US vets vs. a New England college that stopped flying the American flag Posted: 28 Nov 2016 05:43 AM PST Hundreds of veterans and protesters flocked to a Massachusetts college this weekend after the school decided to temporarily remove all flags – including the American flag – from its campus, a move many deemed unpatriotic and offensive. Protests have broken out across the nation following President-elect Donald Trump's unprecedented and unexpected victory. The latest controversy began after students lowered the flag at Hampshire College, a small liberal arts school in western Massachusetts, to half-mast the day after Mr. Trump won the election.

OPEC and Italian unease weighing on global stocks Posted: 28 Nov 2016 05:14 AM PST LONDON (AP) — Uncertainty over whether OPEC countries will back an oil production cut at their meeting this week, as intended, weighed on global stock markets on Monday. Worries over next week's constitutional referendum in Italy also kept investors at bay.

Iraqi forces try to weed out IS from those fleeing Mosul Posted: 28 Nov 2016 05:01 AM PST An Iraqi officer shuffled through identity cards as he sat at a battered desk by the side of the dust-blown highway heading east from the city of Mosul. Six men in dirt-spattered tracksuits huddled nearby, waiting on a concrete slab, part of the latest convoy of civilians to flee fighting as government forces try to oust Islamic State jihadists from the city. "Everyone in Mosul knows who the terrorists are," said Lieutenant Ali of Iraq's special forces, part of a group of officers involved in the screening.

Bombs, artillery rain on rebels as Philippines siege rages Posted: 28 Nov 2016 02:56 AM PST The Philippines military dropped bombs from planes and rained artillery shells on southern rebels on Monday, the third day of a siege of militants sympathetic to Islamic State, during which 35 guerrillas have been killed, the army said. Several U.S.-made OV-10B planes circled in the air before diving and dropping payloads on fortified positions of the Maute rebel group, which has occupied a town hall in Lanao province, said army spokesman Major Filemon Tan. Thousands of residents have fled as hundreds of troops, backed by heavy artillery and armoured vehicles, moved in to flush out the rebels.

Germany's 'Mr Flirt' teaches refugees how to pick up women Posted: 28 Nov 2016 02:45 AM PST DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — The subject was pickup lines, and Germany's "Mr. Flirt" offered a few examples to his class of Syrian and Iraqi refugees. "I really love the scent of your perfume," he suggested. "You have a beautiful voice." He invited his students to take a stab.

Asian stocks mixed ahead of OPEC meeting Posted: 27 Nov 2016 10:13 PM PST BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Monday after oil prices slid on unease about this week's meeting of OPEC member to discuss possible output cuts.

Today in History Posted: 27 Nov 2016 09:01 PM PST Today in History

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