Mosul

Mosul (/moʊˈsuːl/; Arabic: الموصل‎ – al-Mawṣil (local pronunciation: el-Mōṣul); Syriac: ܢܝܢܘܐ‎ – Nînwe; Kurdish: مووسڵ‎ – Mûsil) is a city of normally about two and a half million people (2014 est.) in northern Iraq, illegally occupied since 10 June 2014 by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Mosul is completely ruled by the Islamic State terror group headquartered in Al-Raqqah, Syria.The legitimate government of Iraq stopped paying salaries soon after the city was overrun by militants. (that ISIL allegedly exploited by stealing a generous percentage) which it had previously paid to city workers including nurses, doctors,

Located some 400 km (250 mi) north of Baghdad, the original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has grown to encompass substantial areas on both the "Left Coast" (east side) and the "Right Coast" (west side) as the two banks are described in the local language.

Battle of Mosul (2004)

The Battle for Mosul was a battle fought during the Iraq War in 2004 for the capital of the Ninawa Governorate in northern Iraq that occurred concurrently to fighting in Fallujah.

Prelude

During the occupation by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division in 2003, a 21,000-strong force under General David Petraeus, the U.S. forces made a civil peace with the local Sunni tribes. However, after its pullout, the CIA allied itself almost exclusively with the Kurds, and the U.S. had been seen as essentially another tribal ally of the Kurds, making conflict inevitable. While one battalion of the 25th Infantry Division were heading out of Mosul to Fallujah to help in the attack on the city, insurgents were, ironically, coming in to the city from Fallujah where they were joined by foreign fighters from across the border. Attacks on coalition forces in the city intensified and the insurgents were planning on trying to take the city when the attack on Fallujah began.

Battle

By November 8, 2004, insurgents were conducting coordinated attacks and ambushes in an attempt to take over the city. That same day, units from the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, known as "Deuce Four", fought with the insurgents in the vicinity of the Yarmuk traffic circle, in the heart of western Mosul. The battle lasted throughout the day and the insurgents proved to be both determined and coordinated. The 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, known as "Gimlets" to the north was hammered with mortars while insurgents attacked from the west, east, and south with small arms fire, RPGs, and machine gun fire. As a testament to the intensity of combat that day, a 30 man Platoon (2nd PLT) from Bravo Co. 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment sustained 9 casualties and 2 out of their 4 Stryker vehicles were rendered useless as RPGs and machine gun fire had taken out their weapon systems. Kiowa Warrior attack helicopters had also taken out several technical vehicles that day.

France 24

France 24 (pronounced France vingt-quatre [fʁɑ̃s vɛ̃t katʁ] on all three editions) is an international news and current affairs television channel based in Paris. Its stated mission is to "cover international current events from a French perspective and to convey French values throughout the world." It started broadcasting on 6 December 2006.

The service is aimed at the overseas market and is broadcast through satellite and cable operators throughout the world. During 2010 the France 24 channel started broadcasting through its own iPhone app.

Based in Issy-les-Moulineaux in the suburbs of Paris, the channel broadcasts world news. Currently it offers variants in English and Arabic in addition to French. The channel has since 2008 been wholly owned by the French government (via its holding company, l'Audiovisuel extérieur de la France (AEF)), having acquired the remaining shares held by its former partners Groupe TF1 and France Télévisions. Its budget is approximately €100 million per year.

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern United States and is the United States' 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. The state has a maritime border in the Atlantic Ocean with Rhode Island, east of Long Island, as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the north and Ontario to the west and north. The state of New York, with an estimated 19.8 million residents in 2015, is often referred to as New York State to distinguish it from New York City, the state's most populous city and its economic hub.

With an estimated population of nearly 8.5 million in 2014, New York City is the most populous city in the United States and the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. The New York City Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City is a global city, exerting a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, its fast pace defining the term New York minute. The home of the United Nations Headquarters, New York City is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural and financial capital of the world, as well as the world's most economically powerful city. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State. Two-thirds of the state's population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% live on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th century Duke of York, future King James II of England. The next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany.

The New York Times

The New York Times (sometimes abbreviated to NYT) is an American daily newspaper, founded and continuously published in New York City since September 18, 1851, by the New York Times Company. It has won 117 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other news organization.

The paper's print version has the second-largest circulation, behind The Wall Street Journal, and the largest circulation among the metropolitan newspapers in the United States. It is ranked 39th in the world by circulation. Following industry trends, its weekday circulation has fallen to fewer than one million daily since 1990. Nicknamed for years as "The Gray Lady", The New York Times has long been regarded within the industry as a national "newspaper of record". It is owned by The New York Times Company. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. – whose family (Ochs-Sulzberger) has controlled the paper for five generations, since 1896 – is both the paper's publisher and the company's chairman. Its international version, formerly the International Herald Tribune, is now called the International New York Times.