NEWS

UK firm ’employed former child soldiers’ as mercenaries in Iraq

A former senior director at a British firm says that it employed mercenaries from Sierra Leone to work in Iraq because they were cheaper than Europeans and did not check if they were former child soldiers. James Ellery, who was a director of Aegis Defence Services between 2005 and 2015, said that contractors had a “duty” to recruit from countries such as Sierra Leone, “where there’s high unemployment and a decent workforce”, in order to reduce costs for the US presence in Iraq. (more…)

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NEWS

Baghdad holds Miss Iraq pageant for the first time in 43 years

When I first heard of these, I thought to myself, hmmm no bikini section? At least there is a development in freedom! (CNN)When Shaima Qasim was crowned Miss Iraq this weekend, she not only triumphed over the other women in the competition but over threats against her life. The pageant was the first to be held in Baghdad in 43 years. "Iraq needed this," pageant director Ahmed Leith said. "The situation is weak here, and we wanted to celebrate this the same way other countries like Lebanon and others do. To have a sense of normalcy." (more…)

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