Yahoo! News: Iraq

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• Trump faces deadline in court battle over travel ban
• Appeals court weighs Trump ban as travelers arrive to tears
• The Latest: Arguments set for Tuesday over Trump travel ban
• U.S. court to hear arguments Tuesday on Trump's travel ban
• UN chief: IS on defensive in conflict areas but is adapting
• Trump vows US, allies will defeat 'radical Islamic terrorism'
• IS 'besieged' in last bastion in Syria's Aleppo province
• Wheaton College offers refugee scholarship in response to Trump travel ban
• Romanian government urges calm after graft U-turn, protests persist
• President Trump's executive actions, explained
• Tech sector leads resistance to Trump travel ban
• U.S. embassy in Iraq reports threat against Baghdad hotels
• Trump claims media not reporting terrorist attacks
• Trump's Neocon?
• Could Brexit pressures push May to surrender British 'independence' to US?
• AP FACT CHECK: No arrests from 7 nations in travel ban? Nope
• Kremlin asks for apology after Bill O'Reilly calls Putin 'a killer'
• Islamic State on the defensive: UN report
• Corporate America Responds to Trump's Travel Ban
• World Bank links financial support for Iraq to reconciliation
• Republicans seek distance from Trump's comments on Putin, US
• Iraqi forces wage psychological war with jihadist corpses
• Trump fumes on Twitter as polls show majority of Americans oppose his travel ban
• Islamic State encircled in Syria's al-Bab after army advance
• Ski resort brings winter cheer to Iraq displaced
• College responds to Trump's order with refugee scholarship
• Kerry, Albright urge court to uphold block on Trump travel ban
• Sudanese president criticizes Iran and Egypt
• For Trump, 'We Have a Lot of Killers' Isn't a Criticism
• What Effective Protest Could Look Like
• Legal battles to test Trump and his immigration ban
• New Pentagon chief Mattis a hit in Japan, South Korea
• AP FACT CHECK: Reality in Washington took a beating
• Travelers denied entry a week ago, now arriving in US
• Refugees in Indonesia protest slow UN resettlement process
• Technology firms to urge Trump to alter U.S. travel ban: sources

Trump faces deadline in court battle over travel ban Posted: 06 Feb 2017 04:31 PM PST The US government on Monday defended President Donald Trump's travel ban as a "lawful exercise" of his authority, and claimed that a federal court made a mistake in barring enforcement of the measure. Meanwhile two new polls show that a majority of Americans now oppose the ban, which sparked chaos at US airports -- findings that Trump angrily dismissed as media lies. "Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election," he said on Twitter.

Appeals court weighs Trump ban as travelers arrive to tears Posted: 06 Feb 2017 04:04 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The fierce battle over President Donald Trump's travel and refugee ban edged up the judicial escalator Monday, headed for a possible final face-off at the Supreme Court. Travelers, temporarily unbound, tearfully reunited with loved ones at U.S. airports.

The Latest: Arguments set for Tuesday over Trump travel ban Posted: 06 Feb 2017 04:04 PM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the lawsuit involving President Donald Trump's executive order restraining immigration (all times EST):

U.S. court to hear arguments Tuesday on Trump's travel ban Posted: 06 Feb 2017 03:52 PM PST By Daniel Levine and Dustin Volz SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. federal appeals court will hear testimony on Tuesday over whether to restore President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban, the most controversial policy of his two-week old administration. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Monday asked lawyers for the states of Washington and Minnesota and the Justice Department to argue whether the ban should remain shelved. A U.S. district judge in Seattle on Friday suspended Trump's order, opening a window for people from the affected countries to enter.

UN chief: IS on defensive in conflict areas but is adapting Posted: 06 Feb 2017 03:34 PM PST UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Islamic State extremist group is militarily on the defensive in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria but is partially adapting by moving to covert communications and recruitment and expanding its areas of attack away from conflict areas, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a new report.

Trump vows US, allies will defeat 'radical Islamic terrorism' Posted: 06 Feb 2017 01:41 PM PST President Donald Trump vowed Monday that America and its allies would defeat the "forces of death" and keep radical jihadists from gaining a foothold on US soil, but did not offer details about his strategy to defeat the Islamic State group. In his first visit to US Central Command -- responsible for an area that includes the Middle East and Central Asia -- Trump also did not say whether he would scrap parts of the anti-IS mission in Iraq and Syria undertaken by his predecessor Barack Obama. "Today, we deliver a message in one very unified voice to these forces of death and destruction -- America and its allies will defeat you.

IS 'besieged' in last bastion in Syria's Aleppo province Posted: 06 Feb 2017 01:25 PM PST The Islamic State group is "completely besieged" in its last major stronghold in Syria's Aleppo province, a monitor said Monday, as pro-regime forces pressure the jihadists on several fronts. IS fighters were cut off in Al-Bab after forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad's government severed a road into the northern town, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. "Al-Bab is now completely besieged by the regime from the south, and the Turkish forces and rebels from the east, north and west," the monitor said.

Wheaton College offers refugee scholarship in response to Trump travel ban Posted: 06 Feb 2017 01:20 PM PST Wheaton College, a private liberal arts institution located in Norton, Mass., has created a scholarship exclusively for refugees in the wake of a controversial executive order from President Trump that temporarily banned the entry of people from seven predominately Muslim countries into the United States. The new scholarship will be open to any refugee fleeing conflict from any part of the world, but applicants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen – all named in the ban – will receive priority consideration. Mr. Trump's travel ban has sparked protests across the US and abroad, with longtime Trump critics and even many Republican officials condemning the order.

Romanian government urges calm after graft U-turn, protests persist Posted: 06 Feb 2017 12:41 PM PST By Luiza Ilie and Radu-Sorin Marinas BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania's ruling Social Democrats appealed for calm on Monday after withdrawing a decree widely condemned as reversing the country's anti-corruption drive, but protesters again took to the streets to demand the government's resignation. On Sunday the government rescinded the decree, which would have shielded dozens of politicians from prosecution, following the largest demonstrations in Romania since the fall of communism in 1989. Political analysts said the government – in power for barely a month – now faced an uphill task restoring shattered public confidence.

President Trump's executive actions, explained Posted: 06 Feb 2017 12:25 PM PST After entering office, President Trump began issuing a flurry of executive orders and presidential memorandums that have set a new course for US policy. Trade, security, energy, health care, immigration – there are few areas that Mr. Trump's executive actions have not touched. Quantitatively, Trump does not stand out from the pack.

Tech sector leads resistance to Trump travel ban Posted: 06 Feb 2017 12:25 PM PST A coalition led by some of the world's biggest tech firms is taking on President Donald Trump's travel ban, signaling the contentious relationship between the sector and the White House could be about to get worse. "The tech sector will stand up to the president when they see him threatening industry interests, and on the immigration issue all these companies depend heavily on foreign scientists and engineers," said Darrell West, director of the Brookings Institution's Center for Technology Innovation.

U.S. embassy in Iraq reports threat against Baghdad hotels Posted: 06 Feb 2017 12:12 PM PST The U.S. embassy in Baghdad said on Monday it has limited the movement of its personnel after receiving "credible threats of possible attacks on hotels frequented by Westerners". "As a reminder, U.S. citizens should maintain a heightened sense of security awareness and take appropriate measures to enhance their personal security at all times when living and working in Iraq," an emergency security message for U.S. citizens on the embassy's website said. U.S. authorities advise citizens to avoid traveling to Iraq citing the risk of being kidnapped by armed political groups or criminal gangs and bombings by the group Islamic State.

Trump claims media not reporting terrorist attacks Posted: 06 Feb 2017 12:09 PM PST President Trump's first speech to active duty troops since taking office went much the same way his first speech to CIA officers went. Speaking at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida on Monday, Trump gave an abbreviated history of terrorist attacks, from 9/11 to the Paris nightclub attacks to the truck massacre in Nice.

Trump's Neocon? Posted: 06 Feb 2017 11:44 AM PST Elliott Abrams is reportedly under consideration to be deputy secretary of state—setting up a strange third act for the longtime Republican foreign-policy figure, and a strange No. 2 for the Trump State Department. Politico's Michael Crowley reports that Abrams is meeting with President Trump on Tuesday, and that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson supports him for the job. Josh Rogin previously reported that Abrams was in the running for the job. Abrams declined to comment for this article.

Could Brexit pressures push May to surrender British 'independence' to US? Posted: 06 Feb 2017 11:36 AM PST To some in Britain, their prime minister, Theresa May, violated that rule when she became the first foreign leader to visit the US since President Trump's inauguration – and promptly invited Trump to make a state visit to the UK later this year. The honor – one not extended to former Presidents Obama and Bush until they'd been in office for two years – comes as Britain gears up to leave the EU and shifts its gaze across the pond toward its top export partner. Politicians and ordinary Britons alike are aware that the move out of the EU gives the "special relationship" of the US and Britain particular weight.

AP FACT CHECK: No arrests from 7 nations in travel ban? Nope Posted: 06 Feb 2017 11:13 AM PST WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge who halted President Donald Trump's travel ban was wrong in stating that no one from the seven countries targeted in Trump's order has been arrested for extremism in the United States since the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Kremlin asks for apology after Bill O'Reilly calls Putin 'a killer' Posted: 06 Feb 2017 09:36 AM PST Both Donald Trump and Fox News are in hot water over an interview between the US president and television host Bill O'Reilly broadcasted during Sunday's Super Bowl pregame show. The Kremlin demanded an apology from Fox News on Monday after Mr. O'Reilly described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "killer," while Republican lawmakers distanced themselves from President Trump for defending his counterpart in Moscow. The controversy shows how thorny the subjects of Russia and its leader are in Washington.

Islamic State on the defensive: UN report Posted: 06 Feb 2017 08:55 AM PST The Islamic State group is militarily on the defensive, facing a drop in revenue from oil and extortion and a shrinking ability to attract new recruits, according to a new UN report released Monday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned however in the report to the Security Council that IS jihadists continue to pose a grave threat and are "partially adapting" to losses on the battlefield. "ISIL is militarily on the defensive in several regions, notably in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and the Syrian Arab Republic," said the report sent to the council on Thursday.

Corporate America Responds to Trump's Travel Ban Posted: 06 Feb 2017 08:45 AM PST The news of the week was President Donald Trump's travel ban that prevents U.S. entry to citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. In the wake of the immigration order, many global companies spoke out against the new policy in an effort to reassure employees.

World Bank links financial support for Iraq to reconciliation Posted: 06 Feb 2017 08:13 AM PST By Maher Chmaytelli BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The World Bank plans to offer Iraq financial support in parallel with projects to foster reconciliation after Islamic State's defeat, its regional director said on Monday, to ensure that reconstruction after years of conflict is sustainable. U.S.-backed Iraqi and Kurdish forces have dislodged Islamic State from most cities that the hardline Sunni group captured in 2014 in Iraq, and they are now fighting the militants in their last major stronghold, Mosul, in the north. While mainstream Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish forces are taking part or supporting the battle to dislodge Islamic State from Mosul, their politicians are yet to heal rifts that followed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Republicans seek distance from Trump's comments on Putin, US Posted: 06 Feb 2017 07:31 AM PST WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump has long expressed a desire for improved relations with Moscow, but his latest comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin and the U.S. are leading some fellow Republicans to take a step back from the president — on this issue at least.

Iraqi forces wage psychological war with jihadist corpses Posted: 06 Feb 2017 07:13 AM PST By Michael Georgy MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - The flyblown corpses of Islamic State militants have been rotting along a main street in north Mosul for two weeks, a health risk for passersby. As Iraqi forces prepare to expand their offensive against Islamic State from east to west Mosul, they want to stamp out any sympathy that residents may have for the group, which won instant support when it seized the vast city in 2014. "We will leave the terrorists there," said Ibrahim Mohamed, a soldier who was standing near three dead jihadists, ignoring the stench.

Trump fumes on Twitter as polls show majority of Americans oppose his travel ban Posted: 06 Feb 2017 06:46 AM PST President Trump trashed polls that show a majority of Americans oppose his executive order banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. "Any negative polls are fake news," Trump tweeted from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday. Like many of Trump's early-morning Twitter missives, the broadside followed a cable news segment about the topic at hand.

Islamic State encircled in Syria's al-Bab after army advance Posted: 06 Feb 2017 06:39 AM PST By Ellen Francis and Humeyra Pamuk BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces advanced on the northern Islamic State-held city of al-Bab on Monday, cutting off the last supply route that connects it to militant strongholds further east towards Iraq, a monitor said. Islamic State militants in the area are now effectively surrounded by the army from the south and by Turkish-backed rebels from the north, as Damascus and Ankara race to capture the largest Islamic State stronghold in Aleppo province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said the army and allied militia made gains southeast of al-Bab overnight, and fought the militants there on Monday.

Ski resort brings winter cheer to Iraq displaced Posted: 06 Feb 2017 05:07 AM PST In the fledgling ski resort of Korek in war-torn Iraq, the only battles are snow fights between visitors who often leave their traumatic memories at the foot of the slopes. Look at the people here enjoying themselves, not like in Mosul," said the 35-year-old, his face flush from the bright sun and cold wind. Korek lies in Iraq's northern autonomous region of Kurdistan, where hundreds of thousands of Iraqis displaced by the 2014 jihadist offensive have found refuge.

College responds to Trump's order with refugee scholarship Posted: 06 Feb 2017 05:02 AM PST BOSTON (AP) — A liberal arts college in Massachusetts has created a refugee scholarship in response to President Donald Trump's order on immigration and refugees and is calling on other colleges to do the same.

Kerry, Albright urge court to uphold block on Trump travel ban Posted: 06 Feb 2017 03:10 AM PST A group of prominent Democrats including former secretaries of state John Kerry and Madeleine Albright called Monday for a federal appeals court to continue blocking President Donald Trump's travel ban, saying it harms national security. Trump's ban barred all refugees and travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States.

Sudanese president criticizes Iran and Egypt Posted: 06 Feb 2017 03:07 AM PST CAIRO (AP) — Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir accused Egyptian intelligence of supporting Sudan's opposition forces, and vowed to take a border dispute between the two neighbors to the United Nations Security Council if negotiations fail.

For Trump, 'We Have a Lot of Killers' Isn't a Criticism Posted: 06 Feb 2017 01:43 AM PST In an interview that aired on Sunday, Bill O'Reilly alleged that Vladimir "Putin is a killer." Donald Trump replied, "We have a lot of killers. Well, you think our country is so innocent?"

What Effective Protest Could Look Like Posted: 06 Feb 2017 01:00 AM PST Fourteen years ago, I found myself an unexpected micro-target of a left-liberal protest demonstration. I had visited London to watch the debate and subsequent vote in the House of Commons over the Iraq war resolution. A huge demonstration against the war snaked down Whitehall toward Parliament. I wandered into Trafalgar Square for a view. Somebody recognized me as a recent alumnus of the Bush administration; arguably its least important member, but undeniably the closest at hand. A small throng surrounded me, and there followed what the diplomats would describe as a candid exchange of views.

Legal battles to test Trump and his immigration ban Posted: 06 Feb 2017 12:16 AM PST By Dustin Volz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's temporary immigration ban faced on Monday the first of several crucial legal hurdles that could determine whether he can push through the most controversial and far reaching policy of his first two weeks in office. On Monday, the government has a deadline to justify the executive order temporarily barring immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries and the entry of refugees after a federal judge in Seattle blocked it with a temporary restraining order on Friday. The uncertainty caused by a judge's stay of the ban has opened a window for travelers from the seven affected countries to enter the United States.

New Pentagon chief Mattis a hit in Japan, South Korea Posted: 06 Feb 2017 12:10 AM PST TOKYO (AP) — In his debut abroad as the first retired general to lead the Pentagon in more than half a century, Jim Mattis found that in Japan and South Korea his experience in uniform is seen as an asset.

AP FACT CHECK: Reality in Washington took a beating Posted: 06 Feb 2017 12:06 AM PST Reality took a beating from the Washington blame game this past week. Americans heard about a Kentucky massacre that never happened, a travel ban that was a ban despite it being called something else, and a dark plot to help Russian intelligence that was nothing of the sort. A look at some of the ways political figures strayed into fiction:

Travelers denied entry a week ago, now arriving in US Posted: 06 Feb 2017 12:04 AM PST NEW YORK (AP) — Travelers from the seven Muslim-majority countries targeted by President Donald Trump who were denied entry into the United States a week ago are arriving at airports around the country and into the open arms of their loved ones.

Refugees in Indonesia protest slow UN resettlement process Posted: 05 Feb 2017 11:21 PM PST JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Asylum seekers who have been in Indonesia for years rallied in the capital on Monday urging the U.N. refugee agency to speed up the process of resettling them in third countries.

Technology firms to urge Trump to alter U.S. travel ban: sources Posted: 05 Feb 2017 06:10 PM PST (Reuters) - Several technology companies plan to send a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday urging his administration to follow through on proposed changes to a travel ban on seven mainly Muslim nations, sources familiar with the letter said Sunday. "We welcome the changes your administration has made in recent days in how the Department of Homeland Security will implement the Executive Order," according to a draft of the letter. The technology companies expected to sign the letter include Apple Inc, Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc's Google, Twitter Inc, Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc. The sources did not want to be identified because discussions regarding the letter were ongoing.

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