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Iraq's Health Ministry Warns of Worsening Epidemiological Situation

Workers in protective suits spray disinfectants near the gate of Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travellers between Iraq and Iran, Iraq March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
Workers in protective suits spray disinfectants near the gate of Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travellers between Iraq and Iran, Iraq March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
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Iraq's Health Ministry Warns of Worsening Epidemiological Situation

Workers in protective suits spray disinfectants near the gate of Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travellers between Iraq and Iran, Iraq March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani
Workers in protective suits spray disinfectants near the gate of Shalamcha Border Crossing, after Iraq shut a border crossing to travellers between Iraq and Iran, Iraq March 8, 2020. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani

The epidemiological situation in Iraq has become extremely worrying, Iraq’s Health Ministry has warned in a statement on Wednesday.

“The rate of infections is escalating, while citizens continue to neglect compliance with health-preventive measures,” the statement noted.

Controlling the pandemic is everyone’s responsibility, the statement said, stressing that by applying the imposed precautionary measures, people help the government control the coronavirus outbreak.

The ministry has proposed a package of measures to the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety, headed by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, to curb the virus’s spread.

These include applying stricter measures in case the epidemiological situation continues to deteriorate, the statement read.

The Committee is scheduled to hold its next meeting on Saturday to discuss the implications of the high rates of infection recorded in the country and the possibility of imposing new measures to limit the spread of the virus, according to the German News Agency.

Iraqi authorities are expecting to receive the first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine in late February.

On Wednesday, the ministry recorded 2,282 new coronavirus cases and six deaths.

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Close Aide of Syria President Dies after Car Crash

Luna al-Shibl, a member of the Syrian government delegation arrives to meet UN-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi on January 24, 2014 at the "Geneva II" peace talks in Geneva. (AFP)
Luna al-Shibl, a member of the Syrian government delegation arrives to meet UN-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi on January 24, 2014 at the "Geneva II" peace talks in Geneva. (AFP)
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Close Aide of Syria President Dies after Car Crash

Luna al-Shibl, a member of the Syrian government delegation arrives to meet UN-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi on January 24, 2014 at the "Geneva II" peace talks in Geneva. (AFP)
Luna al-Shibl, a member of the Syrian government delegation arrives to meet UN-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi on January 24, 2014 at the "Geneva II" peace talks in Geneva. (AFP)

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's media adviser Luna al-Shibl died on Friday three days after being injured in a car crash, Assad's office announced.

"The presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic mourns the death of the adviser Luna al-Shibl, who passed away today after a serious car accident", it said in a statement.

"She served in recent years as a director of the political and media office of the presidency and then as a special adviser to the presidency," it added.

State media reported on Tuesday that she had suffered a "cerebral hemorrhage" which required emergency surgery after her car "veered off the road".

The 48-year-old rose to prominence for quitting a prestigious journalism career at Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera to become Assad's media adviser at a time when Damascus was cracking down on peaceful protesters in 2011, triggering Syria's ongoing civil war.

But her role expanded well beyond communications, carving out a place within Assad's inner circle as she accompanied him to high-level meetings in Syria and on his rare visits abroad.

She played an important role during the most intense years of the war and was part of the delegation to ultimately doomed peace talks in 2014.

Britain-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, reported earlier this week that she had fallen out of official favor in recent months and her brother had been arrested.

"There was growing dissatisfaction with her within the regime," said Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman.

"Accusations surfaced that she leaked minutes of closed meetings between Assad and Iranian officials," Abdulrahman added.

Syrian intelligence arrested her brother "on charges of communicating with a party hostile to Syria" after Israel struck the Iranian consulate in Damascus in April, the monitor said.

In 2020, Washington sanctioned Shibl and her husband Ammar Saati, with the US Treasury saying at the time that "she has been instrumental in developing Assad's false narrative that he maintains control of the country and that the Syrian people flourish under his leadership".