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Iraqis don’t know where is Saddam’s body, but Indians exhume it every year!

coastaldigest.com web desk
April 20, 2018

Within a day after his execution on the first day of Eid ul-Adha on December 30, 2006, the mortal remains of the dethroned Iraqi president Saddam Hussein were buried in a tomb in his birthplace, Al-Awja (near Tikrit), about 95 miles north of the capital city of Baghdad.

Reports say that then-US president George W Bush had personally authorized the immediate transfer of the slain leader’s body on an American military helicopter from Baghdad to the northern city of Tikrit. 

Sheikh Manaf Ali al-Nida, a leader of the Albu Nasser tribe to which Saddam's clan belongs, held on to a letter his family signed when they received the body, agreeing that Saddam be buried without delay. The place turned into a richly-adorned pilgrimage site to which supporters and groups of local school children would flock on his birthday, April 28, every year.

However, in March 2015, the mausoleum where the grave of Saddam lies was partially destroyed in an Iraqi air strike after the Daesh group, the so-called Islamic State (IS), posted snipers on its roof. This attacked fuelled a series of theories on the mortal remains of Saddam.

Some believe that hours before the air strike on the mausoleum, a Sunni tribal group shifted his body to a secret location, fearful of what may happen.  Shaikh Nida was not there to witness the blast — but he is convinced that Saddam's tomb was "opened and blown up". On the other hand, one of his fighters speculated that Saddam's exiled daughter Hala had flown in on a private plane and whisked her father's body away to Jordan. Jaafar al-Gharawi, the Hashed's security chief, argue that the body is still there. 

Today, visitors need special authorization to enter, the site lies in ruins, and Sheikh Nida has been forced to leave the village and seek refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan. 

Amidst all these confusions, some of the ardent fans of Saddam Hussein believe that he’s still alive. According to them it was one of Saddam’s body doubles who was hanged.

Indians, Pakistanis keep exhuming the body!

On the other hand, thousands of miles away, in countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh people keep spreading “miraculous” rumours about Saddam’s body through social media in general and WhatsApp in particular.

For past few days a morphed image of the smiling face of Saddam has been going viral on WhatsApp groups in these countries. The image also bears a caption: “Saddam’s body was exhumed today. Even 12 years after his burial the body was in same condition. People were surprised to see his smiling face.” Ironically, similar messages had gone viral in this part of the world in April 2017 and Apirl 2016 too!

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News Network
May 12,2020

Bengaluru, May 12: Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that the Central and Karnataka government have failed in containing the coronavirus spread despite having enough time for preparations.

"Central and state government failed in properly controlling COVID-19. The first coronavirus case was reported in Kerala on January 30. Lockdown was imposed on March 24. Both Centre and state had enough time for preparations," Siddaramaiah said in a press meet here.

He said that the Central government did not stop the airline services on time.

"Karnataka government might have been able to stop COVID-19 properly. However, both the state and central government are playing politics over the issue and blaming Tablighi Jamaat for the spread, which is a political strategy painted by the RSS," Siddaramaiah said.

"Who gave the licence to Tablighi's international convention? Who gave them permission in Delhi? They didn't control it. Central government is directly responsible for the increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in India," he added.

Siddaramaiah said that the lockdown was imposed without any preparation, which he said caused huge problems for the migrant workers across the country.

"Now, the government is collecting ticket fare and looting migrant workers. They don't have jobs or food, they don't have money, and they earn every day to survive. How will they pay for the tickets? Why the government is not arranging for free trains?" the Congress leader said.

He said that around Rs 35,000 crore have been credited to PM CARES fund, Rs 3,000 crore of which was credited from Karnataka alone. "Why are they not using that money?" he asked.

Siddaramaiah said that the party is demanding for the Centre to arrange for migrant workers to return to their native places across the country free of cost.

"We asked Chief Minister to call an all party meeting. We gave many suggestions, which this government did not consider. We also took a delegation and gave a memorandum about farmers, daily wage workers, road side vendors, barbers, problems faced by the unorganized sector. But this government didn't consider any of it," he said.

Questioning the Central government's suggestion to States to amend their Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Acts, Siddaramaiah said that the move is against the federal system of the country and claimed that it harms the interests of small scale farmers.

He said that the BJP-led state government has also decided to postpone the Gram panchayat elections in the state and is trying to nominate their party workers for village panchayat elections.

"The Government must continue with the present members of the Gram panchayat. If BJP tries to nominate their party members to village panchayats, we will take to streets to protest despite the lockdown," Siddaramaiah added.

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News Network
June 22,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 22: Areas having three to four COVID-19 cases being termed as clusters will be totally sealed and maximum testing will be conducted there, moreover only critical cases will be shifted to COVID hospitals in Bengaluru, said Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

Speaking to media persons, Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said, "It has been decided that clusters (areas having 3-4 #COVID19 cases) will be totally sealed and maximum testing will be done there. Only critical cases will be shifted to Covid hospitals. I demanded that police personnel are tested on priority."

"A lot of issues were discussed about the spike in COVID-19 cases. As far as hospitals are concerned there are two types of patients, asymptomatic and symptomatic, moderate and critical. Moderate and normal cases can be shifted to COVID centres," he added.

Bommai further added that beds in hospitals need to be reserved for corona warriors as well.

"There has to be a coordination between BBPM who brings the patient and the hospital, the moment a positive case is reported to avoid the waiting period. Even in hospitals, some beds have to be reserved for corona warriors. Community transmission is not yet there but we have to be prepared," he added.

Earlier today, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had called an emergency meeting of concerned officials and departments to discuss measures to control rising COVID19 cases in Bengaluru.

As the numbers of COVID-19 cases are increasing in Bengaluru at an alarming rate, the Chief Minister opined that this can be contained only if preventive measures were implemented strictly.

He directed the officials to implement lockdown strictly in the clusters, which reported more number of cases, especially KR Market and surrounding areas such as Siddapura, VV Puram, Kalasipalya. It was decided to seal the adjoining streets, where the cases are reported.

He said that stringent action would be taken against those who violate quarantine and FIR would be filed if necessary.

Officers were directed to fix rates for treatment of COVID patients in private hospitals to make coronavirus treatment accessible to all.

Yediyurappa further instructed officials to set up fever clinics in all wards and maintain hygiene and provide other basic amenities to the people who were quarantined in social welfare hostels and other government institutions.

"COVID-19 should be contained without affecting the economic activities in Bengaluru, which resumed recently," he said.

"COVID War Room shall have real-time information on the availability of beds in various COVID hospitals and shall facilitate the infected person to avail treatment without losing any time," added Yediyurappa.

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 2,2020

Rumours are doing rounds on social media that wearing face masks can cause fungal and bacterial pneumonia. On June 19, a Florida congressional candidate posted a tweet claiming that wearing face masks could lead to pneumonia.

“Excessive use of face masks causes fungal and bacterial pneumonia,” wrote Jessi Melton, a conservative business owner who is running to represent Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. The false post had thousands of retweets.

Davidson Hamer, an infectious disease specialist at Boston University, said he was unaware of any harm that comes from wearing masks besides discomfort.

“THERE’S NO EVIDENCE OF MASKS LEADING TO FUNGAL OR BACTERIAL INFECTIONS OF THE UPPER AIRWAY OR THE LOWER AIRWAY AS IN PNEUMONIA,” SAID HAMER, WHO IS ALSO A PROFESSOR OF GLOBAL HEALTH AND MEDICINE AT THE UNIVERSITY.

Hamer noted that bacterial growth could occur, in theory, if someone wore a mask that was already contaminated with moisture and became moldy. “Theoretically, it could happen, but it’s highly unlikely with just typical mask use,” he said.

However, he added, paper masks that become visibly wet should be discarded. Anne Monroe, an internal medicine physician and epidemiologist at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, agreed: “There’s no evidence to back up this claim. Digging into it a little bit more, in terms of mask use, it is important to follow general sanitation guidelines.”

She said it’s important that disposable masks be discarded and cloth masks be washed. “The idea that contamination could cause fungal pneumonia is not a valid conclusion,” she said. Monroe agreed with Hamer that it’s “potentially theoretical,” but that it has not been documented.

The real danger, Hamer said, is “spreading incorrect information like this, especially at a time when we really need to be encouraging more people to wear masks.” The number of confirmed new coronavirus cases per day in the U.S. hit an all-time high of 40,000 Friday — eclipsing the mark set during one of the deadliest stretches in late April.

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