BAGHDAD (AP) — The ethnic and sectarian tensions that threaten to tear Iraq apart flared Wednesday as the prime minister accused the Kurdish self-rule region of harboring the Sunni militants who have overrun much of the country, and 50 bodies were discovered dumped in a village south of Baghdad.

It was not clear who the men were or why they were killed, but such grisly scenes were common during the darkest days of the Iraq war, and the deaths raised fears of another round of sectarian bloodletting. Many of the victims were bound, blindfolded and shot in the head.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's allegations, made in his weekly televised address, are likely to worsen Baghdad's already thorny relationship with the Kurds, whose fighters have been battling the insurgents over the past month.

The accusations would also seem to dampen the prospect of reconciliation that the United States, the U.N. and even Iraq's top Shiite cleric say is necessary to bridge the country's ethnic and sectarian divisions and hold Iraq together.

The militant offensive spearheaded by the Islamic State extremist group has plunged Iraq into its worst crisis since the last U.S. troops left the country in 2011.

View gallery

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki meets with US Secretary of State John Kerry (unseen) in Baghdad, …

The jihadis have been joined in their assault by other Sunni insurgents, feeding off the anger in their minority community against the Shiite-led government. On the other side, Shiite militias have rallied around al-Maliki's government to fight off the insurgents.

In the far north, meanwhile, Iraq's Kurds have taken advantage of the mayhem to seize disputed territory — including the city of Kirkuk, a major oil center — and move closer to a long-held dream of their own state.

The Kurds say they only want to protect the zones they have entered from the militants, but many of the areas have significant Kurdish populations. The Kurds also have allowed tens of thousands of civilians into the Kurdish-controlled areas to escape the militant onslaught.

Last week, the president of the Kurdish area urged the region's lawmakers to move quickly on preparations for a referendum on independence.

These moves have infuriated al-Maliki, who is under pressure from opponents as well as former allies to step down.

View gallery

Shi'ite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against militants of the Islamic Sta …

Speaking Wednesday, al-Maliki took aim at the Kurds, whose regional government is based in Irbil, saying, "Everything that has been changed on the ground must be returned."

He went a step further, saying: "We can't stay silent over Irbil being a headquarters for Daesh, Baath, al-Qaida and the terrorists." Daesh is the acronym in Arabic for the Islamic State group, while Baath was the party of former dictator Saddam Hussein.

A spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government, Safeen Dizayee, called al-Maliki's accusations "baseless."

"The Kurdistan region has never harbored any terrorists, now or ever, because we have been the victim of them before," Dizayee said. "What Mr. al-Maliki is talking about is far from reality."

Al-Maliki provided no evidence to back up his claims, and there is no indication that Baathists or Islamic extremists are operating openly out of Irbil.

Kurdish Leader Calls For Independence ReferendumPlay Video

But tribal sheiks who oppose the central government whose fighters are battling the military have found refuge in the Kurdish capital.

One of the anti-al-Maliki sheiks, Abdul Razzaq al-Shammari, told The Associated Press that "Kurdistan is not hosting any terrorists — though there are people here who stand against the Iraqi political regime."

The militant offensive has dramatically raised tensions between the country's Shiite Arab majority and Sunni minority, and the discovery of the 50 bodies raised the specter of sectarian massacres.

The bodies were found in the predominantly Shiite village of Khamissiya, about 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of Baghdad, said military spokesman Brig. Gen. Saad Maan Ibrahim. He said an investigation was underway to determine the identities of the dead and the circumstances of the killings.

The dead were all men between the ages of 25 and 40, and it appeared they had been killed a few days earlier and then dumped in the remote area, said a local police officer and a medical official.

Most of the bodies had bullet wounds in the head or the chest, they said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The area is predominantly Shiite, but there is a belt of Sunni-majority towns to the north.

Such killings harken back to the worst days of Iraq's sectarian bloodletting in 2006 and 2007.

Sectarian tensions have soared once more since the Sunni insurgent blitz began last month, and authorities have once again begun to find bodies.

Earth's magnetic field, which protects the planet from huge blasts of deadly solar radiation, has been weakening over the past six months, according to data collected by a European Space Agency (ESA) satellite array called Swarm.

The biggest weak spots in the magnetic field — which extends 370,000 miles (600,000 kilometers) above the planet's surface — have sprung up over the Western Hemisphere, while the field has strengthened over areas like the southern Indian Ocean, according to the magnetometers onboard the Swarm satellites — three separate satellites floating in tandem.

The scientists who conducted the study are still unsure why the magnetic field is weakening, but one likely reason is that Earth's magnetic poles are getting ready to flip, said Rune Floberghagen, the ESA's Swarm mission manager. In fact, the data suggest magnetic north is moving toward Siberia.

"Such a flip is not instantaneous, but would take many hundred if not a few thousand years," Floberghagen told Live Science. "They have happened many times in the past."[50 Amazing Facts About Planet Earth]

Scientists already know that magnetic north shifts. Once every few hundred thousand years the magnetic poles flip so that a compass would point south instead of north. While changes in magnetic field strength are part of this normal flipping cycle, data from Swarm have shown the field is starting to weaken faster than in the past. Previously, researchers estimated the field was weakening about 5 percent per century, but the new data revealed the field is actually weakening at 5 percent per decade, or 10 times faster than thought. As such, rather than the full flip occurring in about 2,000 years, as was predicted, the new data suggest it could happen sooner.

Floberghagen hopes that more data from Swarm will shed light on why the field is weakening faster now.

View gallery

Changes measured by the Swarm satellite over the past 6 months shows that Earth's magnetic field …

Still, there is no evidence that a weakened magnetic field would result in a doomsday for Earth. During past polarity flips there were no mass extinctions or evidence of radiation damage. Researchers think power grids and communication systems would be most at risk.

Earth's magnetic field acts like a giant invisible bubble that shields the planet from the dangerous cosmic radiation spewing from the sun in the form of solar winds. The field exists because Earth has a giant ball of iron at its core surrounded by an outer layer of molten metal. Changes in the core's temperature and Earth's rotation boil and swirl the liquid metal around in the outer core, creating magnetic field lines.

The movement of the molten metal is why some areas of the magnetic field strengthen while others weaken, Florberghagen said. When the boiling in one area of the outer core slows down, fewer currents of charged particles are released, and the magnetic field over the surface weakens.

"The flow of the liquid outer core almost pulls the magnetic field around with it," Floberghagen said. "So, a field weakening over the American continent would mean that the flow in the outer core below America is slowing down."

The Swarm satellites not only pick up signals coming from the Earth's magnetic field, but also from its core, mantle, crust and oceans. Scientists at the ESA hope to use the data to make navigation systems that rely on the magnetic field, such as aircraft instruments, more accurate, improve earthquake predictions and pinpoint areas below the planet's surface that are rich in natural resources. Scientists think fluctuations in the magnetic field could help identify where continental plates are shifting and help predict earthquakes.

These first results from Swarm were presented at the Third Swarm Science Meeting in Denmark on June 19.

Follow Kelly Dickerson on Twitter. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.

Magnetic field weakening faster than thought

The field, which protects the Earth from huge blasts of deadly solar radiation, is in trouble, new data shows.
Scientists puzzled

By Keith Coffman

DENVER (Reuters) - A state judge struck down Colorado's gay marriage ban on Wednesday, saying the prohibition violated constitutional rights, but put his ruling on hold pending appeal.

It was the latest of several decisions by state and federal judges to strike down state bans on same-sex nuptials and then stay their rulings pending challenges to higher courts.

Adams County District Court Judge C. Scott Crabtree said in his decision that Colorado's prohibition, approved by voters in 2006, conflicted with the fundamental right to marry.

"The Court rejects the State's attempt to too narrowly describe the marital right at issue to the right to marry a person of the same sex," Crabtree wrote.

There are 19 states, plus the District of Columbia, where same-sex marriage is now legal. Several other same-sex marriage lawsuits are moving toward the U.S. Supreme Court.

View gallery

File - In this June 16, 2014, file photo, plaintiffs in a gay-marriage case and longtime couple Rebe …

Two other lawsuits, testing bans in Oklahoma and Virginia, have already been heard by appeals courts.

The attorney general of neighboring Utah said on Wednesday he would appeal directly to the Supreme Court a ruling by a federal appeals court last month that backed gay marriage in the conservative, largely Mormon state.

Responding to Crabtree's ruling, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said it reaffirmed the fact that the fate of the state's same-sex marriage law now rested with the Supreme Court.

"Judge Crabtree provides additional clarity that until the high court rules on the issue of same-sex marriage, Colorado’s current laws remain in place," Suthers, a Republican, said in a statement.

'FINAL RESOLUTION'

View gallery

Seattle: Marchers stretch out a large pride flag across the street during the 40th annual Seattle Pr …

"Adherence to the rule of law will bring about the final resolution with the greatest certainty and legal legitimacy," Suthers added.

He has sued the elected county clerk in Boulder, Colorado, after she issued more than 100 marriage licenses to gay couples following the ruling on Utah by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

On Wednesday, Boulder County District Court Judge Andrew Hartman held a hearing in the case in which an attorney for the state accused the clerk, Hillary Hall, of flouting the law.

Assistant Solicitor General Michael Francisco said the state's 63 other county clerks had abided by the appellate court's ruling putting its decision on hold.

"Clerk Hall is the only outlier," he said.

View gallery

Rick Spitzborg, right, kisses his partner Blaine Bonham during a rally at City Hall, Tuesday, May 20 …

Hall testified briefly, repeating her stance that she could not deny same-sex couples their fundamental right to marry.

Three lesbians also described the difficulties gay couples face in Colorado because of the ban, including in areas such as making medical decisions for partners, getting approval to adopt children, and being denied federal benefits.

The question of whether the licenses issued by Hall are valid will be litigated separately.

Outside the building, gay marriage supporters waved signs reading: "Legalize Love" and "Support Equality."

Hartman said he would rule on the issue "very shortly," but gave no indication when that might be.

(Reporting by Keith Coffman; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Sandra Maler and Peter Cooney)

Impressive results for Israel’s 'Iron Dome' system

The U.S.-funded defense program has emerged as a game-changer in the current round of violence in Gaza.
Still far from foolproof

By Richard Balmforth and Maria Tsvetkova

KIEV/DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces regained more ground but sustained further casualties on Thursday in clashes with separatists, while two Western allies urged Russia's Vladimir Putin to exert more pressure on the rebels to find a negotiated end to the conflict.

Government forces have recently gained the upper hand in the three-month conflict against separatists in the Russian-speaking eastern regions in which more than 200 government troops have been killed as well as hundreds of civilians and rebel fighters.

The Ukrainian military says it has a plan to deliver a "nasty surprise" to the heavily-armed separatists who have dug in in Donetsk, a city of 900,000 people, after being pushed out of their bastion in Slaviansk last weekend.

In a further success, military spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov said government forces on Thursday re-took the town of Siversk, east of Slaviansk, when separatists fled.

A separatist confirmed the government's version saying it was "more or less correct".

"There was no sense in holding it and reinforcing it (Siversk) because there was a big risk of being encircled," he said.

But casualties mounted on the Ukrainian side with the deaths of three more soldiers in two attacks on Wednesday night in different parts of the east, the military said.

One was killed in an ambush of an army convoy near Luhansk. Two others died when an armoured personnel carrier was blown up by a landmine in the village of Chervona Zorya near Donetsk.

Government forces guarding Donetsk's international airport, scene of bitter fighting in late May, came under mortar fire on Thursday but the rebel attack was repelled, Seleznyov said.

In further diplomacy to end the worst Russia-West crisis since the Cold War, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Putin by telephone to "exert all necessary pressure on the separatists to bring them to negotiate effectively," an Elysee Palace statement said.

View gallery

Pro-Russian separatist fighters from the so-called Battalion Vostok (East) run into position at a ch …

They also asked him to take concrete steps to ensure control of the border where, the Kiev government says, Russian authorities have been turning a blind eye to fighters crossing with weapons and equipment to help the rebels.

Moscow protested to Kiev on Thursday after it said Ukrainian military fired on a Russian border checkpoint. The Foreign Ministry said it was not the first time the border post at Gukovo had come under fire.

Moscow is under sanctions by the United States and the European Union over the Ukraine crisis but denies it is supporting the rebels in the Russian-speaking east of Ukraine.

Russia condemned an EU plan to extend a list of people, including Russians, targeted with asset freezes and travel bans as an unfriendly move that would hamper ties with the 28-nation bloc. The EU has decided to add 11 new names to the list, likely to take effect on Saturday, an EU diplomat said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, in a phone conversation with Merkel on Thursday, said Russia was violating international norms by holding a Ukrainian woman pilot, Nadezhna Savchenko, and called for her release, his website said.

Savchenko, 33, was seized by rebels in June while she was fighting with pro-government militia near Luhansk. But she has now turned up in detention in Russia and Moscow says she has been charged with involvement in the deaths of two Russian reporters killed near Luhansk.

"PROVOCATIONS"

The rebellions began in April after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula following the overthrow of a Moscow-backed president amid mass street protests in Kiev.

Ukraine's border guard service reported that six Russian helicopters had flown some distance over the border into Ukraine on Wednesday and then returned home in what it described as "direct provocations in support of the terrorists".

In its version of the call between Putin, Hollande and Merkel, the Kremlin said they had agreed on the need for a "swift renewal" of the ceasefire and another round of peace talks involving the "contact group" and separatist leaders.

The group includes a former president of Ukraine, informally representing the Ukrainian government, Moscow's ambassador to Kiev and a high-ranking member of the security watchdog, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Poroshenko refused to prolong a 10-day unilateral ceasefire when it expired on June 30 and ordered a resumption of the military offensive against the rebels resulting in Slaviansk being re-taken at the weekend.

His security chiefs say the rebels repeatedly breached the government's unilateral ceasefire, resulting in many Ukrainian military deaths, and have ruled out any more such truces until the rebels lay down their arms.

Rebels in Donetsk, commanded by a Russian military adventurer called Igor Girkin or Strelkov, say they are recruiting new fighters to resist government forces despite being now without help from Russia.

Buoyed by the success in Slaviansk, Ukrainian security officials say they have a plan ready to crush the rebels in Donetsk, though Poroshenko has ruled out air strikes and artillery bombardment because of the large civilian population.

The rebels are occupying administrative buildings in both Donetsk and Luhansk and are dug in on the outskirts of Donetsk.

Thousands of people have fled Donetsk, a major industrial hub and Euro-2012 soccer venue, since the onset of the conflict and many businesses are closing down.

With armed men out on the streets, tension is growing. Several social groups came together on Thursday to urge citizens to join a daily prayer session at noon everyday from next Monday.

(Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets and Thomas grove in Kiev and Alissa de Carbonnel in Moscow; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)