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China expels ALL American reporters!
Today's Headlines
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Coronavirus threatening 40,000 prisoners in Afghanistan, warns Taliban
[KhaamaPress] The Taliban group has warned that the coronavirus is threatening at least 40,000 prisoners across Afghanistan as the group called on international health and rights organizations to seriously consider the condition of prisons in Afghanistan.

The group issued a statement, expressing concerns regarding the lack of cleanliness and health facilities in prisons, warning that the spread of coronavirus spread in Afghan jails could result into a major humanitarian disaster.

The statement further added that the Afghan government would be responsible in the event of disaster in Afghan jails.

This comes as Taliban group is awaiting the release of at least 5,000 prisoners from Afghan jails following the signing of a peace deal with the United States late last month.

The Afghan government however opposed the release of all 5,000 prisoners and President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani issued a decree earlier this week stating that the government would conditionally release the prisoners in three stages with the first batch of 1,500 prisoners to be released on 14th March.

On the other hand, the public health authorities have reported 21 positive cases of coronavirus in Afghanistan.

The Public Health Ministry said it has recorded five new positive cases of coronavirus in three provinces of the country in the past 24 hours.

Wahidullah Mayar, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health confirmed that two of the new cases have surfaced in western Herat province, bringing the total number of the positive cases to 12.

The authorities have also recorded two more positive cases in central Logar province while the fifth new case has surfaced in northwestern Badghis province.

The officials say they have so far recorded 21 positive cases of coronavirus in seven provinces of Afghanistan.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/17/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Subsaharan
Sweden plans to send troops, helicopters to #Mali
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 03/17/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa

#1  Woohoo, allies of France!
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/17/2020 1:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Sweden?!? The Swedes have been very careful in their neutrality for a long time. Is the EU needing people to fill the gap left by BREXIT and coerced Sweden into this?
Posted by: magpie || 03/17/2020 2:05 Comments || Top||

#3  /\ Okay... The Swedes have been sending significant numbers of troops on UN Peacekeeping Missions(Sweden) for decades. An non-UN mission is different... Interesting.
Posted by: magpie || 03/17/2020 2:10 Comments || Top||

#4  Didn't Sweden recently restore the draft?

And agree with OrangeMan on terms for a billion-dollar plus purchase of Patriot missile defense systems?
Posted by: Lex || 03/17/2020 8:02 Comments || Top||

#5  Bringing back more Muzzies for Malmo?
Posted by: AlanC || 03/17/2020 8:08 Comments || Top||

#6  Does Greta know?
Posted by: Matt || 03/17/2020 8:54 Comments || Top||

#7  Vivat Carolus Rex!
Posted by: Lex || 03/17/2020 9:02 Comments || Top||

#8  Swedenstan fighting Muslims. A bit hypocritical. Would love to hear erby's take.
Posted by: Woodrow || 03/17/2020 16:49 Comments || Top||

#9  While Vikings served as mercenaries for the Byzantine court and in action against the Muslims on Byzantium's borders, they were also involved in raids on Al Andalus - Muslim-occupied Spain:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varangian_Guard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_raid_on_Seville
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 03/17/2020 20:42 Comments || Top||

#10  salting, in a manner of speaking, the Swedish armed forces with combat experience and lessons learned in real fighting might be one reason to be involved.
Lots of nations served in Iraq and Astan. See El Salvador, the Stone Platoon. Slovakia in Astan.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey || 03/17/2020 21:06 Comments || Top||


Europe
ISIS warns terrorists not to enter Europe, ‘the Land of the Epidemic,' to cover your sneezes
More on this and this from yesterday.
[HomelandSecurityToday] ISIS included a full-page infographic on coronavirus prevention in the new issue of the terror group’s official weekly al-Naba newsletter.

The group has followed the outbreak from the beginning of this year, regularly including updates in the news briefs section of the newsletter. "A new virus spreads death and terror in China," al-Naba reported in January, adding that "communist China is panicking after a new virus has spread" and noting how Chinese officials discussed the discovery of person-to-person transmission as well as the lockdown of Wuhan. Al-Naba highlighted "growing concern about the spread of the infectious virus," adding that "this could push the World Health Organization into an emergency."

Around the same time, ISIS-supporting Quraysh Media, which has been active in its production of online propaganda posters, seized on the outbreak to produce and disseminate a poster with a grainy image of a person in a hazmat suit and respirator. "China: coronavirus," the poster stated, adding, "A promise is a debt we must not forget."

As the outbreak spread, perhaps mindful that the global reach of the new coronavirus could also pose a threat to their members or supporters, the Islamic State turned to criticizing the Chinese government for hiding the scope of coronavirus outbreak.

In a February al-Naba piece, ISIS noted that while "many Muslims rushed to confirm that this epidemic is a punishment from God Almighty" for China's widescale abuse of of the Uyghur population, "the world is interconnected" and transportation "would facilitate the transfer of diseases and epidemics." Muslims should "seek help from God Almighty to avoid illness and keep it away from their countries," the terror group added.

"The real numbers for the dead and the ill are many times what they announced," the ISIS news brief said, adding that China was "claiming the recovery and discharge of some patients with the disease… to reassure people, and to reduce the catastrophic effects."

In the latest al-Naba issue, a full-page graphic on the back cover cited Islamic texts for “directives to deal with epidemics.”

ISIS highlights “the counsel to put trust in God and seek refuge in Him from illnesses” and “the obligation of taking up the causes of protection from illnesses and avoiding them.” The terror group also added that “the healthy should not enter the land of the epidemic and the afflicted should not exit from it,” though their claimed provinces and active cells aren’t all operating in virus-free lands: While West and Central Africa remain mostly untouched, along with no reported cases in Syria or Yemen (where ongoing war would make gauging the extent of an outbreak difficult), cases have been reported in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, India, the Philippines and Indonesia.

ISIS also reminds followers to “cover the mouth when yawning and sneezing” and cites a hadith about germs and contamination: “Cover the vessels and tie up the waterskins, for there is one night in the year when pestilence descends, and it does not pass by any vessel that is not covered or any waterskin that is not tied up, but some of that pestilence descends into it.

People should also “wash the hands before dipping them into vessels,” ISIS concludes.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 03/17/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


The Grand Turk
Turkey detains 19 people for allegedly sharing misinformation on coronavirus
[RUDAW.NET] Ottoman Turkish authorities have detained nineteen people for "sharing unsubstantiated and provocative" information about coronavirus
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
on social media, the Ottoman Turkish interior ministry said in a statement according to Ottoman Turkish news agency DHA. The statement added that they have identified 93 people spreading misinformation.
Posted by: Fred || 03/17/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Mehmet Ali Agca who shot #Pope John Paul II in 1981 brags about the hit on national teevee
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 03/17/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  At the time he was thought to be acting on behalf of the USSR.

Turns out he was part of a worldwide movement that is no less pernicious and that opposes Christian Russia no less than America: global jihad.
Posted by: Lex || 03/17/2020 8:08 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Iraq’s President Barham Salih designates Adnan Al-Zurfi as the new Prime Minister
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 03/17/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanon military court orders Lebanese-American released
[IsraelTimes] A military tribunal in Beirut on Monday ordered the release of a Lebanese-American held in the country for nearly six months on charges of working for an Israeli-backed militia two decades ago, Leb
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
’s state-run news agency
...and if you can't trust the state-run news agency who can you believe?...
said.

Amer Fakhoury was ordered released because more than 10 years had passed since he allegedly tortured prisoners at a jail run by the so-called South Lebanon Army, the National News Agency said.

Fakhoury, 57, is is a former SLA member who became a US citizen last year, and is now a restaurant owner in Dover, New Hampshire. His case has been closely followed in his home state of New Hampshire, where US Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and other officials have called for imposing sanctions on Lebanon to pressure Beirut to release him.

Fakhoury has not been attending questioning sessions in Lebanon over the past few months, since being hospitalized with stage 4 lymphoma.

It was not immediately clear if he will be set free, as he is facing another case filed by former prisoners who say they were tortured by him.

Over the weekend, the Fakhoury family placed a sign on their restaurant’s door saying they anticipate reopening by early or mid-April, Seacoastonline.com reported.

"We are excited to serve you again!" the sign read. The statement was attributed to Fakhoury and his wife, Micheline.

Fakhoury has been enjugged
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
since September 12, after returning to Lebanon on vacation to visit family. Lebanon’s intelligence service said he confessed during questioning to being a warden at Khiam Prison, which was run by the SLA during Israel’s 18-year control of southern Lebanon.

Human rights groups have described the prison as a center for torture.

Fakhoury’s family and lawyer, however, say he had no direct contact with inmates and was never involved in any interrogation or torture.

Lebanon and Israel have been officially at war since Israel’s creation in 1948. Lebanon bans it citizens from traveling to Israel or having contact with Israelis.

His lawyer and family say he fled Lebanon in 2001 through Israel and eventually to the United States because of death threats he and many other SLA members received after Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.

In February, Fakhoury was charged by a military investigative judge with the murder and torture of inmates at Khiam Prison.

Hundreds of former Lebanese members of the SLA militia had fled to Israel, fearing reprisals if they remained in Lebanon. Others stayed and faced trial, receiving lenient sentences.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/17/2020 01:54 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iranian Deputy Health Minister Kianoush Jahanpour: The ministry records 1,053 new #coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 03/17/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Radiofarda claims 32k infected 1.5k deaths

as opposed to official numbers of 15k and 900

https://en.radiofarda.com/a/exclusive-more-than-32-000-coronavirus-patients-in-iran-hospitals-1-300-dead/30490507.html
Posted by: lord garth || 03/17/2020 9:55 Comments || Top||


Iranians are trying to storm and open a shrine in Qom, after the authorities closed it due to the outbreak of Coronavirus
Darwin always wins.
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 03/17/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Social madness vs social distancing
Posted by: Alistaire Tingle9882 || 03/17/2020 7:01 Comments || Top||

#2  Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness Of Crowds, Persian edition
Posted by: Bob Grorong1136 || 03/17/2020 8:37 Comments || Top||

#3  That'll show 'em! Give 'em a good licking!
Posted by: Lex || 03/17/2020 9:04 Comments || Top||

#4  Islam, the disease itself looking for another. Go for it kiddies.
Posted by: Woodrow || 03/17/2020 16:47 Comments || Top||


IDF indicates Iran scaling back terror activity in light of coronavirus
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 03/17/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


Turkey backed Al-Nusra Front terrorists
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 03/17/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  Turkey backing Al-Nude would have been funny.
Posted by: Woodrow || 03/17/2020 16:50 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
41[untagged]
7Sublime Porte
3Taliban
3Govt of Iran
3Govt of Iraq
3Islamic State
2Govt of Iran Proxies
2Commies
1al-Qaeda in North Africa

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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2020-03-17
  China expels ALL American reporters!
Mon 2020-03-16
  Saudi Arabia detains 298 officials in new corruption cases
Sun 2020-03-15
  Hezbollah commander prosecuted in Austria for terror finance
Sat 2020-03-14
  Violence by Taliban Spikes Despite Peace Efforts
Fri 2020-03-13
  Sudan moves against Bashir loyalists after assassination attempt
Thu 2020-03-12
  4 Iranian proxy forces HQ hit in airstrikes along Iraq-Syria border
Wed 2020-03-11
  Rocket attack in Iraq kills two Americans and a British citizen
Tue 2020-03-10
  US begins military pullout from two Afghan bases
Mon 2020-03-09
  Turks Use Drones in Tear Gas Attacks on Greek Border Guards
Sun 2020-03-08
  Leb defaults
Sat 2020-03-07
  Saudis reportedly detain three royal princes over ‘coup plot’
Fri 2020-03-06
  Tunis: suicide bomber explodes near U.S. embassy
Thu 2020-03-05
  Russia sends reinforcements through the Bosporus
Wed 2020-03-04
  4 L-39's and 18 Su-24's left in Syrian Airforce
Tue 2020-03-03
  Taliban Orders Resumed Attacks on Govt Forces

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