Iraqi protesters kept braving Bagdhadi curfew, as Thursday became the deadliest day of unrest yet

Iraqi security forces used live ammunition and tear gas against some 4,000 protesters who defied a curfew in Baghdad and clashed with riot police across the south on Thursday, the third day of mass rallies that have left at least 27 dead. Defying curfews, tear gas and live rounds, thousands of demonstrators gathered across the country to vent anger over corruption, unemployment and poor services in the biggest challenge yet to Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. The embattled premier made a televised speech early Friday as heavy gunfire rang out across Baghdad, saying there was no “magic solution” to Iraq’s chronic governance problems and graft but pledging to try to pass a law granting poor families a basic income.