Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• UN approves Aleppo monitors as evacuations from city proceed
• Thousands evacuated from Aleppo after deal over besieged villages
• Fight for a Mosul district shows Iraqis' slow, painful slog
• Vincent Viola: Billionaire businessman, hockey team owner
• Canada, UK tourists hid in Jordan castle during gun fight
• U.N. Security Council calls for Aleppo evacuation monitoring
• Factbox: Trump fills top jobs for his administration
• Countries Hosting the Highest Proportion of Syrian Refugees
• Turkey's purge cuts military by a third: Council of Europe
• Iraqis create market in mud of displaced camp
• Kurd-led forces press Islamic State near Syria's Raqqa
• Holy Land's top Catholic cleric decries Mideast destruction
• McCain sees Russia hacking as threat, at odds with Trump
• Aleppo evacuations resume after stand-off over villages
• 57 journalists killed worldwide in 2016: rights group
• Middle Eastern Christians facing 'tragedy': church

UN approves Aleppo monitors as evacuations from city proceed Posted: 19 Dec 2016 02:49 PM PST BEIRUT (AP) — The leaders of Russia and Iran, military allies of Syria's president, talked Monday about joining forces to reach a quick political settlement in Syria, as the country's largest city, Aleppo, was poised to return to full government control.

Thousands evacuated from Aleppo after deal over besieged villages Posted: 19 Dec 2016 11:49 AM PST By Angus McDowall and Ellen Francis BEIRUT (Reuters) - Thousands of people were evacuated from the last rebel-held enclave of Aleppo on Monday in return for insurgents allowing people to leave two besieged pro-government villages in nearby Idlib province. In bitter winter weather, convoys of buses from eastern Aleppo reached rebel-held areas to the west of the city. More buses left the Shi'ite Muslim villages of al-Foua and Kefraya for government lines, according to a U.N. official and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group.

Fight for a Mosul district shows Iraqis' slow, painful slog Posted: 19 Dec 2016 11:00 AM PST MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — The Iraqi troops holding the front in eastern Mosul are perched inside bedrooms and kitchens of homes, on rooftops and in hallways. They haven't pushed forward in days. The water bottles and Styrofoam food containers they've used up pile around them, spilling into the houses' gardens.

Vincent Viola: Billionaire businessman, hockey team owner Posted: 19 Dec 2016 10:56 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Billionaire Florida hockey team owner Vincent Viola is known more for his business success and sports deals than his military acumen. But the 1977 West Point graduate, President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Army secretary, has maintained his service ties since leaving active duty.

Canada, UK tourists hid in Jordan castle during gun fight Posted: 19 Dec 2016 10:55 AM PST AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Tourists from Canada, Britain and Malaysia were hiding inside a Crusader castle during armed clashes between Jordan troops and gunmen at the site, Jordan's interior minister said Monday, denying initial report that foreigners had been held hostage.

U.N. Security Council calls for Aleppo evacuation monitoring Posted: 19 Dec 2016 10:38 AM PST By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council on Monday unanimously called for U.N. officials and others to observe the evacuation of people from the last rebel-held enclave in Aleppo and monitor the safety of civilians who remain in the Syrian city. The 15-member council overcame long-held divisions - that have pitted Syrian ally Russia and China against Western powers over the Syrian conflict - to adopt a French-drafted resolution calling for U.N. officials and others "to carry out adequate, neutral monitoring and direct observation on evacuations." The recapture of Aleppo - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's biggest victory in the nearly six-year-old war - has left thousands of people stuck in the last rebel bastion in the city's east amid accusations by the United Nations and Western powers of atrocities against civilians by pro-government forces.

Factbox: Trump fills top jobs for his administration Posted: 19 Dec 2016 09:51 AM PST (Reuters) - President-elect Donald Trump will nominate high-frequency trading expert Vincent Viola to be secretary of the Army, a senior transition official said on Monday. Below is a list of Republican Trump's selections for top jobs in his administration. Senate confirmation is required for all the posts except national security adviser, White House chief of staff, White House director of the National Economic Council and White House strategist.

Countries Hosting the Highest Proportion of Syrian Refugees Posted: 19 Dec 2016 06:36 AM PST The plight of Syrians displaced by civil war grew worse in 2016 as the fighting in that country continued with no significant hope on the horizon for peace. As the year is drawing to a close, the stop and restart of the evacuation of civilians from the city of Aleppo this past weekend has best reflected the international community's inability to end the fighting.

Turkey's purge cuts military by a third: Council of Europe Posted: 19 Dec 2016 06:21 AM PST By Robin Emmott BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Turkey's purge of its military since a botched coup in July has cut its armed forces by a third, the Council of Europe said on Monday, after NATO raised concerns that Turkey's response to the failed coup has worryingly thinned its forces. The council, Europe's leading human rights organization with 47 member states including Turkey, said that over 125,000 people across Turkish society had been dismissed from jobs, as of Dec. 9, and almost 40,000 people had been arrested. The data, which counts all military dismissals from July to October, indicated that almost half of all Turkey's generals have been fired while the number of new, low-ranking privates contracted had jumped by a fifth.

Iraqis create market in mud of displaced camp Posted: 19 Dec 2016 02:29 AM PST Mobile phones, cartons of cigarettes and fresh mutton are all on sale inside a camp for Iraqi civilians displaced in the battle to recapture Mosul -- if they have the money. The former labourer escaped his home town of Gogjali on the outskirts of Mosul in northern Iraq in November as fighting raged there between Iraqi forces and IS fighters. Selling phones for up to around 130,000 Iraqi dinars ($100) each allows him to buy warm winter clothes and shoes for his daughter and son, says the father-of-two.

Kurd-led forces press Islamic State near Syria's Raqqa Posted: 19 Dec 2016 02:28 AM PST Several villages held by Islamic State have been captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of militias backed by the United States that includes a strong Kurdish contingent, an organisation that monitors the war said on Monday. The advance is part of a military campaign backed by an international coalition led by the United States to drive Islamic State from its Syrian capital of Raqqa. It follows SDF gains against the jihadist group across the north of the country.

Holy Land's top Catholic cleric decries Mideast destruction Posted: 19 Dec 2016 12:45 AM PST JERUSALEM (AP) — In his first pre-Christmas address, the new top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land has decried the destruction in Syria and Iraq.

McCain sees Russia hacking as threat, at odds with Trump Posted: 19 Dec 2016 12:39 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is the business titan who has spoken appreciatively of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Republican Sen. John McCain is the tough-talking national security hawk who warns that Russian interference in the U.S. election threatens to "destroy democracy."

Aleppo evacuations resume after stand-off over villages Posted: 19 Dec 2016 12:37 AM PST Dozens of buses carrying thousands of people from Aleppo's tiny rebel zone reached insurgent areas of countryside to the west of the city, according to a United Nations official and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group. At the same time, 10 buses left the Shi'ite Muslim villages of al-Foua and Kefraya, north of Idlib, for government lines in Aleppo, the sources said. The evacuation of civilians, including wounded people, from the two villages which have been besieged by rebels for years, was a condition for the Syrian army and its allies to allow thousands of fighters and civilians trapped in Aleppo to depart.

57 journalists killed worldwide in 2016: rights group Posted: 18 Dec 2016 11:09 PM PST At least 57 journalists have been killed around the world in 2016 while doing their job, Reporters Without Borders said on Monday. The press freedom group said 19 were killed in Syria alone, followed by 10 in Afghanistan, nine in Mexico and five in Iraq. Almost all of those killed were locally-based journalists.

Middle Eastern Christians facing 'tragedy': church Posted: 18 Dec 2016 04:20 PM PST A leading church figure in the Middle East said Monday Christians across the region were facing a "tragedy," and accused the international community of failing to act. "The situation of Christians, especially in Syria and Iraq, is a tragedy," said Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, in a press conference ahead of the Christmas holidays. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem heads the Roman Catholic Church in the Holy Land.

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