Before February 22nd, there were no reported Covid 19 cases in Iraq. Since February 22nd, when the first case was reported, nearly 500,000 cases have been diagnosed. SUPER SPORT reports, "Iraq captain Alaa Abdel Zahra and forward Hussein Ali have tested positive for Covid-19 officials said on Sunday a day before they were to travel to Abu Dhabi for friendlies next week. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi and Sports Minister Adnan al-Derjal had attended a special send-off training with the team on Saturday, shaking members' hands. Bassil Gorgis, the administrative head of the national team, told AFP skipper Abdel Zahra, 33, and forward Ali, 25, tested positive the following day." Covid is a global pandemic. Hiwa Shilani (KURDISTAN 24) explains, "Iraq’s Ministry of Health and Environment on Sunday reported 2,530 new coronavirus infections and 44 deaths due to the disease in the past 24 hours. The health ministry in its statement mentioned that it had conducted 15,965 tests in the last 24 hours, making for a total of 3,002,586 tests since the beginning of the outbreak in Iraq. According to official data, the total number of infections in Iraq has now reached 498,549, including 428,928 recoveries, and 11,327 deaths." XINHUA notes the tallies for Iraq as well as the rest of the region.
Covid deaths take place around the world. In Iraq, you can also be killed for protesting. You can be and over 600 have been in the last year and one month. AP reports, "Iraqi security forces opened fire during clashes with hundreds of protesters in the southern city of Basra on Friday, killing one demonstrator and wounding several others as tensions flared once again, hospital officials said." ALJAZEERA identifies Omar Fadhel as the man shot dead for the 'crime' of protesting. Zeidon Alkinani Tweets:
Amnesty International's Donatella Rovera Tweeted:
He was buried on Saturday. Azhar al-Rubaie Tweeted Saturday:
ASHARQ AL-AWSAT notes, "Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi vowed on Saturday that the government will be unyielding in dealing with any member of the security forces found guilty of using live fire against the Iraqi people." Yes, he did. He 'vowed' in a Tweet:
The state will not tolerate any security personnel who disregard orders which explicitly forbid the use of bullets against demonstrators, as happened in Basra. Also, the security services are serious about not allowing offenders to tarnish their image. (1/2)
The alleged killer of Omar Fadhil has been arrested, and he will receive a fair trial. We trust the Iraqi people, the Iraqi Security Forces, and our heroic Army, and together we will overcome these types of challenges. (2/2)
I guess, for some, that passes for bravery. Equally true, he'd already said publicly -- twice since May, that he wouldn't tolerate security forces killing protesters. He 'vowed' then too. Of course, as Omar Fadhil's death demonstrates, that didn't stop the killings.
Ineffectual leaders, the world is plagued with them. Saturday in the US, the press declared Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election. AFP notes the latest group to congratulate Joe, "Iraq's pro-Tehran factions have welcomed Joe Biden's election as US president, alarming officials and activists in Baghdad who fear a US-Iran deescalation could empower hardliners in their own country."
What a warm moment -- did the two take a bath together -- a bath in the blood of the Iraqi people? What a telling moment. Who could have guessed it? Oh, maybe anyone who paid attention to Iraq. December 14th, the electoral college meets to name Joe Biden president -- and the US doesn't get any better. The duopoly is an infected bird with two wings.
REUTERS reports, "Unidentified gunmen killed at least 11 people and wounded 8 others including soldiers in an attack on an Iraqi army post in western Baghdad, police sources and medics said on Monday." And MEMO notes ISIS executed Amer Jaddan al-Fahdawi, an engineer for the United Nations Development Organization, following his kidnapping in al-Rutba on October 25th.
Good thing ISIS was defeated, right? What's that? It wasn't defeated and vanquished despite the western press telling you over and over that it was since 2016? You know what else they lie about? They lie that the Iraq War ended.
Jenny Morrison (DAILY RECORD) reports:
The heartbroken sister of a soldier killed in a rocket attack in Iraq is calling on the nation today to remember all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
As Brodie Gillon paid her respects on last year’s Remembrance Sunday at the cenotaph in her home town of Ayr, her family say her actions that day beautifully sum her up.
So this time last year, Lance Corporal Brodie Gillon paid her respects to the fallen and then, in March of this year, she became one of the fallen. She was killed in a rocket attack on Camp Taji March 11th. This is the same attack that US Army Spc Juan Miguel Mendez Covarrubias and Air Force Staff Sgt Marshal D. Roberts were killed in.
Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "2 Partisans Talking" went up earlier today. The following sites updated:
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What Now?2 hours ago
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Spc. Juan Miguel Mendez Covarrubias, 27, of Hanford, California, and Air Force Staff Sgt. Marshal D. Roberts, 28, of Owasso, Oklahoma.
has executed a United Nations Development Organisation (UNDP) engineer who was recently kidnapped in Iraq’s western city of Al-Rutba, some 450 kilometres west of the capital Baghdad.
Alsumaria quoted a local source as saying that Amer Jadaan Al-Fahdawi was kidnapped on 25 October when he left a construction site to rebuild a damaged bridge in the eastern province of Anbar.
"The test results arrived on Sunday but because we suspected they were infected, the two athletes were already in confinement from Saturday," Gorgis said.
Iraq are set to play Jordan on Thursday.
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