Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Is watching Fox News the ultimate conservative calling card?
• Trump's cabinet picks -- a quick guide
• What defines victory for Iraq in Mosul
• These Are the Countries Donald Trump Tweets About Most Often
• In bipartisan nod, GOP-led Mississippi Senate commends Obama
• Mideast expects big changes under Trump
• Osama bin Laden worried that Iran put tracking chip in sons
• US bombers strike 2 Islamic State camps in Libya
• Iran's Revolutionary Guards reaps economic rewards in Syria
• U.S. strikes in Libya kill more than 80 Islamic State fighters
• US stealth bombers kill more than 80 IS fighters in Libya
• B-2 Bombers Strike ISIS Camps in Libya
• Albanian teacher arrested for pro-IS propaganda
• Report: IS lost a quarter of its territory in 2016
• Fund manager who correctly predicted 2014 drop in oil now sees prices in the $30s
• Seven Kosovo men jailed for helping Islamic State
• Why Trump's presidency may not be a boon to French populist Le Pen
• Iraq forces clear east Mosul ahead of push for west bank
• Key Elections in 2017
• Jordan boosts border forces amid IS threat from Iraq, Syria
• Most Islamic State commanders in Mosul already killed, Iraqi general says
• US envoy to anti-IS coalition to stay on
• Reproductive Assistance for Wounded Veterans Now Available Through VA
• Factbox: Trump finishes filling top jobs for his administration
• Shelling kills 2 in Aleppo as Assad supporters celebrate
• Islamic State using online 'headhunters' to recruit young Germans
• Lawmakers reject EU laundering blacklist, want tax havens included
• Trump retains 50 key Obama aides (for now)
• After Iran's nuclear pact, state firms win most foreign deals
• Kosovo sentences 7 for ties to terror groups in Syria
• Trump's America: Caution in evenly split Nebraska county
• Iraq counts on U.S. advisers, mostly out of sight, in war on Islamic State
• EU lawmakers reject too limited money laundering blacklist
• Sculpture of destroyed Iraqi antiquity makes Trafalgar Square plinth shortlist
• Iraqi sheep, locals, environment suffer Islamic State oil fires
• OPEC oil output to come down in January: IEA
• 10 Things to Know for Today
• British ex-war correspondent on trial in Bali for hashish
• President Trump and the end of the American Century
• Carter tells AP more US troops will not fix Iraq or Syria

Is watching Fox News the ultimate conservative calling card? Posted: 19 Jan 2017 02:30 PM PST Republicans as a whole identify themselves by supporting conservative social and fiscal causes, but for some, a major sign of loyalty to the party could involve supporting Fox News. Its conservative perspective has pushed it to become the most watched 24-hour cable news network, with media commentators dubbing its influence "The Fox Effect." But some observers warn that American democracy is weakened when voters rely on partisan sources as viewers and readers end up in "media bubbles" that given them information – some times accurate and sometimes not – reinforcing their own opinions or biases while disregarding information put forth on the other side. While other politically slanted channels and pundits have loyal followings, Fox News stands out as chief among partisan sources, maintaining a consistently loyal viewership of conservatives during its two decades on the air.

Trump's cabinet picks -- a quick guide Posted: 19 Jan 2017 02:22 PM PST US President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday nominated former Georgia governor Sonny Perdue to be his agriculture secretary, rounding out his cabinet picks. For the first time since Ronald Reagan's presidency in the 1980s, the cabinet will feature no Hispanics, if all of Trump's nominees are confirmed. The following is a list of key cabinet and other nominations made by Trump, who takes office on Friday.

What defines victory for Iraq in Mosul Posted: 19 Jan 2017 01:54 PM PST Some of the most welcome images coming out of the war against Islamic State (IS) have been pictures of Sunni civilians, especially children, flashing V signs at Iraqi Army soldiers during the ongoing liberation of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. The soldiers are mainly Shiites yet they have acted with patriotic discipline as they steadily defeat the terrorist group, aid the city's Sunni residents, and reunite Iraq. Iraq will need more examples of Shiite-Sunni reconciliation as it prepares for the fall of IS, which took Mosul in 2014.

These Are the Countries Donald Trump Tweets About Most Often Posted: 19 Jan 2017 01:02 PM PST When he's not tweeting about the failing, biased media or encouraging people to buy boots and flannel, Donald Trump dabbles in discussing the affairs of other countries.

In bipartisan nod, GOP-led Mississippi Senate commends Obama Posted: 19 Jan 2017 12:36 PM PST JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Republican-led Mississippi Legislature has resisted much of President Barack Obama's agenda, but in an apparent bipartisan gesture of goodwill, the state Senate adopted a resolution Thursday calling the Democrat "one of the most consequential presidents in recent history."

Mideast expects big changes under Trump Posted: 19 Jan 2017 11:48 AM PST CAIRO (AP) — Donald Trump's all-but-dismissal of human rights as a foreign policy principle could hit like an earthquake across a Middle East landscape beset by warring factions and beleaguered governments, with some players eyeing the prospect of once unimaginable new alliances.

Osama bin Laden worried that Iran put tracking chip in sons Posted: 19 Jan 2017 11:39 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Secluded in his hideaway in Pakistan, Osama bin Laden suspected Iranian officials might implant tracking devices in his sons, according to a document released Thursday in a batch of materials seized in a 2011 raid that killed the al-Qaida leader.

US bombers strike 2 Islamic State camps in Libya Posted: 19 Jan 2017 10:58 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers attacked a pair of Islamic State military camps in Libya, killing more than 80 fighters in an unusual mission that may have marked the final demonstration of military force of President Barack Obama's global counterterrorism campaign.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards reaps economic rewards in Syria Posted: 19 Jan 2017 10:49 AM PST By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Ellen Francis DUBAI/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iran's government and entities close to the elite Revolutionary Guards have signed major economic contracts with Syria, reaping what appear to be lucrative rewards for helping President Bashar al-Assad regain control of parts of his country from rebels. An opposition group condemned the telecommunications and mining deals signed with Iran, Damascus's main regional ally, as "looting" of the Syrian people and the country's wealth by the "Iranian extremist militias". Syria's economy is shrinking fast as industrial and agricultural output falls after six years of civil war, and almost two-thirds of the population lives in extreme poverty.

U.S. strikes in Libya kill more than 80 Islamic State fighters Posted: 19 Jan 2017 10:47 AM PST By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 80 Islamic State militants, some of whom were believed to be plotting attacks in Europe, died in U.S. air strikes on camps outside the group's former North African stronghold of Sirte in Libya, the United States said on Thursday. "These strikes were directed against some of ISIL's external plotters," U.S Defense Secretary Ash Carter told a Pentagon briefing, using an acronym for Islamic State, the Syria- and Iraq-based militant group.

US stealth bombers kill more than 80 IS fighters in Libya Posted: 19 Jan 2017 10:39 AM PST More than 80 Islamic State jihadists were killed in a US aerial blitz on training camps in Libya, including fighters involved in plotting attacks in Europe, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Thursday. The Pentagon made the highly unusual decision to conduct the air strikes with a pair of B-2 stealth bombers that flew to North Africa on a 34-hour mission from their base in Missouri in America's Midwest. The last time the distinctive, bat-shaped planes were used in Libya was in 2011 during the mission that led to the ouster of longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi.

B-2 Bombers Strike ISIS Camps in Libya Posted: 19 Jan 2017 10:32 AM PST U.S. officials confirm that two Air Force stealth B-2 bombers struck two ISIS camps in Libya 28 miles south of Sirte on Wednesday night. One official called the airstrikes "a huge success," with more than 80 ISIS fighters killed. The airstrikes targeted 80 to 100 ISIS fighters in multiple camps south of the coastal city of Sirte, which was once an ISIS stronghold, an official told ABC News.

Albanian teacher arrested for pro-IS propaganda Posted: 19 Jan 2017 10:27 AM PST TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian police said Thursday they had arrested a theology teacher for making statements supportive of the Islamic State extremist group.

Report: IS lost a quarter of its territory in 2016 Posted: 19 Jan 2017 10:13 AM PST IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Researchers say the Islamic State group lost nearly a quarter of its territory last year, as an array of forces pressured it on multiple fronts in Syria and Iraq.

Fund manager who correctly predicted 2014 drop in oil now sees prices in the $30s Posted: 19 Jan 2017 09:57 AM PST T. Rowe Price's Shawn Driscoll says an oversupply combined with greater efficiency means crude prices are headed lower.

Seven Kosovo men jailed for helping Islamic State Posted: 19 Jan 2017 09:52 AM PST A court in Kosovo sentenced seven men to jail for fighting for Islamic State and recruiting on behalf of the militant group, the court said on Thursday. Police say around 300 Kosovars have joined Islamic State and more than 50 have been killed. More than 200 people in Kosovo have been arrested, jailed or are under investigation for recruiting on behalf of Islamic State or fighting in Syria and Iraq.

Why Trump's presidency may not be a boon to French populist Le Pen Posted: 19 Jan 2017 09:52 AM PST Donald Trump's inauguration Friday as the next American president is a turning point for the far-right in Europe: they hope it powers the transatlantic tidal wave of populism to both shores. Here in France, the leader of the far-right National Front (FN), Marine Le Pen, was in fact one of the first foreign politicians to congratulate Mr. Trump on election night. Last week she was photographed inside Trump Tower.

Iraq forces clear east Mosul ahead of push for west bank Posted: 19 Jan 2017 09:39 AM PST Iraqi forces battled the last holdout jihadists in east Mosul Thursday after commanders declared victory there and quickly set their sights on the city's west, where more tough fighting awaits. The announcement that the left bank of the Tigris River that divides Mosul had been retaken was a key milestone in an offensive that began three months ago but could yet last several more. Staff General Talib al-Sheghati, who heads the Counter-Terrorism Service spearheading the fighting in Mosul, declared the left bank "liberated" at a big press conference on Wednesday.

Key Elections in 2017 Posted: 19 Jan 2017 09:21 AM PST The far-right Party for Freedom has surged in polls recently, putting Geert Wilders ahead of current Prime Minister Mark Rutte in a tight race in the Netherlands. Wilders has been a "formidable challenger" to leftist parties in the past, says Courtney Hillebrecht, an associate professor of political science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, but increased media attention may help to give him the edge in this year's election. "Wilders is good at saying provocative things that will get him news coverage in the Netherlands and broader Europe," Hillebrecht says.

Jordan boosts border forces amid IS threat from Iraq, Syria Posted: 19 Jan 2017 09:20 AM PST THNEIBEH, Jordan (AP) — Jordan is deploying more forces to face a growing threat to its borders, as Islamic State extremists in neighboring Iraq and Syria are being dislodged from some strongholds, the commander of the kingdom's border guards said Thursday.

Most Islamic State commanders in Mosul already killed, Iraqi general says Posted: 19 Jan 2017 09:01 AM PST By Isabel Coles MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Most Islamic State (IS) commanders in Mosul have been killed in battles with Iraqi government forces that raged over the past three months in the eastern side of the city, an Iraqi general said on Thursday. The fight to take the western side of Mosul, which remains under the jihadists' control, should not be more difficult than the one on the eastern side, Lieutenant-General Abdul Ghani al-Assadi told Reuters before embarking on a tour of areas newly retaken. Assadi's Counter-Terrorism Service announced on Wednesday that almost all of the city's eastern half had been brought under government control.

US envoy to anti-IS coalition to stay on Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:42 AM PST Incoming US president Donald Trump will retain his predecessor's special envoy to the coalition fighting the Islamic State group, Brett McGurk, his spokesman said Thursday. As "Special Presidential Envoy", McGurk coordinates with around 70 allied states and with regional militia on the ground in the battle to destroy the jihadist group in Iraq, Syria and beyond. A veteran diplomat, he was appointed in November 2015, working out of an office in the State Department and reporting to President Barack Obama, and makes regular trips to the region.

Reproductive Assistance for Wounded Veterans Now Available Through VA Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:38 AM PST JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Jan. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) applauds swift action by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to help wounded veterans wishing to start a family. Veterans who lost the ability to conceive because of a service-connected injury will finally have access to fertility treatment under rules adopted by VA today. The move comes just three months after Congress passed a bill allowing VA to offer these services.

Factbox: Trump finishes filling top jobs for his administration Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:29 AM PST (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump formally named former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue as his nominee for secretary of agriculture on Thursday, officially completing the selection of his Cabinet, his transition team said in a statement. Here is a list of Republican Trump's selections for top jobs in his administration. NOTE: Senate confirmation is required for all the posts except national security adviser and White House posts.

Shelling kills 2 in Aleppo as Assad supporters celebrate Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:28 AM PST ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — Rebel shells slammed into the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Thursday, killing two people as thousands of government supporters gathered in a main square nearby to celebrate last month's capture of the city's eastern neighborhoods.

Islamic State using online 'headhunters' to recruit young Germans Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:06 AM PST By Andrea Shalal BERLIN (Reuters) - Islamic State is using "headhunters" on social media and instant messaging sites to recruit disaffected young people in Germany, some as young as 13 or 14, the head of the country's domestic intelligence agency said on Thursday. Hans-Georg Maassen also drew parallels between the militant Islamist group and past radical movements such as communism and Adolf Hitler's Nationalist Socialists that also tried to lure young people keen to rebel against their parents and society. "On social media networks there are practically headhunters who approach young people and get them interested in this (Islamist) ideology," Maassen told foreign reporters in Berlin.

Lawmakers reject EU laundering blacklist, want tax havens included Posted: 19 Jan 2017 08:04 AM PST By Francesco Guarascio BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union lawmakers rejected on Thursday an EU blacklist of ten countries at risk of facilitating money laundering or terrorist financing on the grounds that the list is too short and needs to be expanded to include tax havens. In a bid to cut terrorist funding after January 2015 attacks on French magazine Charlie Hebdo, the EU adopted stricter rules against money laundering and began naming countries with legal loopholes that could be exploited by militant organizations to get funding. North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Laos, Syria, Uganda, Vanuatu and Yemen are in the latest EU blacklist drafted by the EU executive commission.

Trump retains 50 key Obama aides (for now) Posted: 19 Jan 2017 07:58 AM PST President-elect Donald Trump will keep 50 top aides to President Obama on critical issues like the war on the so-called Islamic State, international sanctions and global counterterrorism efforts, his spokesman announced Thursday. "What we've ensured is that, for the time being, we've got a team in place that will continue to advise him and make sure that the country remains safe and that our priorities will be carried out," incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters.

After Iran's nuclear pact, state firms win most foreign deals Posted: 19 Jan 2017 07:27 AM PST By Yeganeh Torbati, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin and Babak Dehghanpisheh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When world powers agreed in 2015 to lift sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program, the deal's supporters in the United States, Europe and Tehran hoped renewed trade and investment could boost Iran's private sector and weaken the state's hold on the economy. Of nearly 110 agreements worth at least $80 billion that have been struck since the deal was reached in July 2015, 90 have been with companies owned or controlled by Iranian state entities, the Reuters analysis shows.  U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Friday, has threatened to scrap the accord, which came into force in January 2016. In Iran, Khamenei and other anti-Western hardliners have repeatedly criticized it because they are concerned it would open the door to Western involvement in Iran's economy.

Kosovo sentences 7 for ties to terror groups in Syria Posted: 19 Jan 2017 07:09 AM PST PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — A Kosovo court has sentenced seven Albanian citizens on charges of terror, participating in terror groups and recruiting for Islamic terror groups in Syria.

Trump's America: Caution in evenly split Nebraska county Posted: 19 Jan 2017 07:03 AM PST LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A block from Nebraska's Capitol, with its unique one-chamber, nonpartisan Legislature, is the lobbying office of Bill Mueller and Kim Robak, who embody the make-it-work spirit of this city: They're husband and wife, Republican and Democrat.

Iraq counts on U.S. advisers, mostly out of sight, in war on Islamic State Posted: 19 Jan 2017 06:17 AM PST By Stephen Kalin BARTELLA, Iraq (Reuters) - When Iraqi forces faced a fierce Islamic State counter-attack last month at a hospital in Mosul they had stormed without enough troops to hold it, U.S. advisers behind the front lines shepherded them to safety. Washington, leading an international coalition against the jihadists in Iraq and Syria, has launched thousands of air strikes over the past 2-1/2 years and provided aerial surveillance vital to pushing them back. As the Iraqis have made rapid gains in a renewed push since the turn of the year, retaking nearly all of eastern Mosul, U.S. soldiers have moved closer to the fight.

EU lawmakers reject too limited money laundering blacklist Posted: 19 Jan 2017 06:06 AM PST BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union lawmakers have rejected a proposed blacklist of countries at risk of money laundering and terror financing because it is too limited.

Sculpture of destroyed Iraqi antiquity makes Trafalgar Square plinth shortlist Posted: 19 Jan 2017 05:44 AM PST A 14-foot high sculpture of a winged bull made of empty date syrup cans could be greeting visitors to London's Trafalgar Square next year if it is chosen from a shortlist unveiled on Thursday. Entitled "The Invisible Enemy Should not Exist," the sculpture by Michael Rakowitz took inspiration from the statue of a protective deity that once stood at the entrance to Nineveh, Iraq, which was destroyed by Islamic State insurgents in 2015. It is among five candidates, two of which will next occupy Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth from 2018 and 2020 respectively.

Iraqi sheep, locals, environment suffer Islamic State oil fires Posted: 19 Jan 2017 04:55 AM PST Locals cough and wheeze under vast clouds of smoke, and NASA images show oil threatening to encroach on the Tigris River, a major water source. Lit by Islamic State as they fled Iraqi forces in August, huge oil fires are still raging across northern Iraq, bringing a litany of problems in their wake. A toxic cloud has hung for months over the town of Qayyara, just 60 km (40 miles) from Mosul where Iraqi forces are battling to defeat the militant Sunni group.

OPEC oil output to come down in January: IEA Posted: 19 Jan 2017 03:36 AM PST Steeper cuts in OPEC oil production are likely this month as producers increasingly implement a recent key deal aimed at stabilising oil prices, the IEA said Thursday. "Initial indications are that a steeper (month-on-month) decline may be on the way in January," said the International Energy Agency, which analyses energy markets for major oil consuming nations. Under a landmark deal on November 30, aimed at reducing a global supply glut that depressed oil prices, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is meant to slash its output ceiling by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 32.5 million bpd, effective January 1.

10 Things to Know for Today Posted: 19 Jan 2017 03:11 AM PST Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

British ex-war correspondent on trial in Bali for hashish Posted: 19 Jan 2017 03:02 AM PST A British former war correspondent and an Australian businessman went on trial Thursday on the Indonesian resort island of Bali accused of using hashish. David Fox, 55, and Giuseppe Serafino, 48, appeared separately in court in the Balinese capital Denpasar after allegedly being caught in possession of small amounts of the drug in October. "After being interrogated the defendant (Fox) admitted owning the drugs, the hashish... to use for himself," said prosecutor Erawati Susina.

President Trump and the end of the American Century Posted: 19 Jan 2017 02:00 AM PST It's inauguration week just as the Framers must have imagined it: citizenry streaming into the capital from every state to celebrate the most sober and symbolic moment in the democracy, even as the soon-to-be president tears into an American hero, fends off criticism from allies, deflects a sexual harassment suit and wails that his public approval ratings are rigged. This is how the Trump presidency begins, and the American Century ends. Any calendar will tell you, for instance, that the 19th century ended in 1901, the year President McKinley was assassinated and Teddy Roosevelt took his place.

Carter tells AP more US troops will not fix Iraq or Syria Posted: 19 Jan 2017 12:36 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — Sending thousands more American troops into Iraq or Syria in a bid to accelerate the defeat of the Islamic State group would push U.S. allies to the exits, create more anti-U.S. resistance and give up the U.S. military's key advantages, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in an Associated Press interview.

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