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BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq and Russia discussed prospects for deepening military coordination, Iraq's Defense Ministry said Thursday, amid a strain in Baghdad-Washington relations after a U.S. airstrike killed a top Iranian general inside Iraq. The ministry statement followed a meeting in Baghdad between Iraqi army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Othman Al-Ghanimi and Russian Ambassador Maksim Maksimov, as well as a newly arrived defense attache. The meeting comes during an uncertain moment in the future of Iraq-U.S. military relations, following the Jan. 3 U .S. drone strike that killed Iran's most powerful military commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and Iraqi senior...

While panic about a sudden, deadly virus is to be expected, some fears — especially in North America and the West — have been based on something other than health. The panic has exposed a deep-seated xenophobia, and with it, a symptom of its own has surfaced: hostility toward East Asian people.

Meanwhile: China doing 'very professional job' against coronavirus: Trump US President Donald Trump has said China is doing a "very professional job" in combating the coronavirus. Trump said he had discussed the crisis with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a "very good" phone call late on Thursday and added that the US and China were "working together" on the issue.

KYIV — At the heart of the impeachment saga that ended on Wednesday in Donald Trump’s acquittal was $391 million in US military assistance for Ukraine that the president ordered be withheld. But that aid package, which was eventually released last September, wasn’t the only US arms transfer meant for the war-torn country that was held up. Several direct commercial sales of arms and ammunition to Ukraine faced significant delays at the same time — and they remain mysteriously frozen months later, BuzzFeed News has learned. Now, after a lengthy wait and down payments in the tens of millions of...

The cruise line operator Royal Caribbean has said it will refuse any passengers with Chinese, Hong Kong or Macao passports, regardless of when they were last in China. The remarkable statement comes after reports that about two dozen passengers aboard a cruise ship that docked in Bayonne, New Jersey, on Friday morning were screened for coronavirus and four were sent to a local hospital for further screening. (please see link, for full story)

The Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan on 6 February 2020, at 09:12 UTC (15:12 local time), with NASA astronaut Christina Koch, ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano and cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos. Christina Koch’s 328-day-long mission is the longest single spaceflight in history by a woman and the second-longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut Credit: NASA/Roscosmos

The Michigan diocese of the Episcopal Church is about to welcome its first female and first openly lesbian bishop this weekend. The elevation of the Rev. Bonnie A. Perry to bishop in Michigan comes as some Christian denominations in the U.S. struggle with issues of same-sex marriages and gays or lesbians in church leadership roles. Perry was elected last June at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit and her ordination will be held Saturday in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn. The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson became the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop in 2004. Episcopal conservatives opposed...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP/VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE and AMERICA: Healthcare, Government, Family, Military, Business, Farmers, Sanctity of Life, Education, Churches, and the Media. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 JOHN 5:14 Religion Forum Threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind.

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE (CBS13) — Five people who were evacuated from Wuhan, China and quarantined at Travis Air Force Base have been confirmed “symptomatic” and transported to local hospitals, the CDC confirmed. The evacuees brought to Travis AFB for quarantine this week will stay isolated until doctors can confirm they don’t have the virus. A doctor with the CDC told CBS13 one of those patients is doing well, and the others still need more tests. Four of the patients with symptoms just arrived in Fairfield from Wuhan on Friday morning. Officials say one of the five patients arrived at...

Trump Fan Network 2 NICOLLE WALLACE: An Enemy of The People -- #TFNOriginal #TFNSeries Friendly Liberals Take Note.

A U.S. citizen diagnosed with the new coronavirus died in Wuhan, China on Thursday, the U.S. embassy said in a statement. “We can confirm a 60-year old U.S. citizen diagnosed with coronavirus died at Jinyintian Hospital in Wuhan, China on February 6. We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss. Out of the respect for the family’s privacy, we have no further comment,” the embassy said.

February 8, 2020 Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Kgs 3:4-13 Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, because that was the most renowned high place. Upon its altar Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings. In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” Solomon answered: “You have shown great favor to your servant, my father David, because he behaved faithfully toward you, with justice and an upright heart; and you have continued this great favor toward him,...

In Kazakhstan in the settlement Masanchi unknown people opened fire on residents. The police said that the situation is under control, however, according to the head of the Association of Dungans of Kazakhstan Husain Daurov, the situation in Masanchi is not under control, and the law enforecement can not take anything. However, the Chairman of the Association of Dungans of Kazakhstan noted that people awaiting the arrival of federal law enforcement officers, and in the meantime the situation is heating up. "Somewhere more than 10 households now burning, no fire engines in sight. There is a massive fight. Not just...

BOSTON (CBS) – Pete Buttigieg continued his rise in Friday night’s exclusive WBZ/Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll, for the first time taking a narrow lead that falls within the survey’s 4.4% margin of error. Buttigieg pulled in 25 percent, up two points from Thursday night, while Bernie Sanders held steady at 24 percent. Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden also rose by two percentage points, placing Warren third with 14 percent and Biden fourth with 11.

<p>YOKOHAMA, Japan —For now, only the sick can leave.</p> <p>Growing desperate after days of being cooped up, Vana Mendizabal, 69, suddenly realized: What if her only escape route from the ship and the mandatory 14-day quarantine would be to come down with the virus?</p>

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday said Mexico was in talks to buy a batch of Russian-made military helicopters. Mexico has long-standing military ties with Russia and the Mexican armed forces use an extensive fleet of Russian-made helicopters. Lavrov, on a visit to Mexico, said a new supply agreement with Russia's Rosoboronexport arms exporter could follow an earlier purchase of about 50 Russian helicopters. "The Mexican side is currently considering concrete proposals from Rosoboronexport, including the supply of helicopters," Lavrov said. In 2018, Mexico's then-incoming President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said he would cancel the...

A debate between some of the Democrats running for President tonight who met qualifying criteria. Bernie Sanders, who won the popular vote in the Iowa caucuses, came under intense criticism.... The Russian Defense Ministry says that the Israeli military endangered an airline with 172 passengers on board by launching an early Thursday morning air attack on Damascus using the airliner as a shield.... Turkey says it will respond to any attack on its military forces in northwestern Syria's Idlib.... Official word of the death of an Al-Qaeda leader in a US military operation...... The French teenager who blasted Islam online...

This is a video of an apartment building on fire in Wuhan today. This building is OCCUPIED. I put this on DropBox to post here, please click on the source link to view the video. My wife is fairly new to the US (8 months from China) and today she has started to finally see how the Chinese government and system really treats their subjects. A sobering experience for her, to say the least. My prayers go out to everyone in China right now. Please share this video!

Trump posted this video featuring a woman comparing him to Superman.

CHEROKEE, Iowa -- A Marcus, Iowa, man was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for stealing copper from wind turbine sites around Marcus and burglarizing several businesses. Andrew Bock, 35, pleaded guilty in Cherokee County District Court to first-degree criminal mischief, third-degree burglary and third-offense possession of a controlled substance. Bock was charged with stealing copper and materials valued at $7,390 from nine wind turbine sites on Oct. 12 or Oct. 13. He was accused of causing $11,080 in damage to the wind turbine sites.