Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

·         Minister says US implemented ``useless'' projects in Iraq- Azzaman,
·         Unemployment hits nearly 50% in southern province - Azzaman
·         Al- Sistani Supports No Certain List - As-Sabah
·         Billion & 400 Millions Iraqi Dinar For Paving And Covering Roads- As-Sabah
·         International Network For Kidnapping Girls Arrested In Baghdad - As-Sabah
·         Talban Ghosts In Mosul Hinder Students From Studying - As-Sabah
·         Terrorism, Unstable Security Situation Behind Unemployment In Iraq - As-Sabah
·         New Electrical Units To Supply Power- As-Sabah
·         Baghdad hospital head, patients appeal for aid worker's life- Al-Sharqiyah,
·         Programme summary of Al-Iraqiyah TV news bulletin( 2am )21 October 04


Minister says US implemented ``useless'' projects in Iraq- Azzaman,
Azzaman, 2004-10-20, Many of the projects the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority carried out in the country are of little value, according to a cabinet minister in the current interim government.``The CPA implemented several projects which are useless because it did not consult with Iraqis when carrying them out,'' Minister of Public Works Nesreen Mustafa Berwari said.The now-disbanded CPA was headed by the US civil administrator Paul Bremer and its jurisdiction came to an end when the present government took over by end of last June.Iraqis blame the CPA and its chief for the country's descent into lawlessness and chaos.Berwari made the remarks during a meeting with the head and members of the Baghdad Council.She said the government was revising the regulations and rules Bremer issued during his tenure as CPA's chief.``The Iraqi government is considering revising the laws the former civil administrator Paul Bremer issued,'' she said.Berwari did not mention which regulations the government intended to revise as Bremer had issued more than 100 laws. But she said: ``These laws were promulgated without consultation with the Iraqi government which is now set to issue new laws that respond to the nature of the Iraqi society.''

Unemployment hits nearly 50% in southern province - Azzaman
 By Khayoun Saleh, Azzaman, 2004-10-20
 The southern province of Dihqar has the highest unemployment rate in the country with more than 46% of people over 15 years of age without a job, according to an official survey.The province is home to nearly 1.5 million people and up to 300,000 of them live in the provincial capital of Nasiriya.The figures, by the Central Statistics bureau, confirmed earlier estimates of rampant unemployment rates in the country.The bureau, the government's statistical arm, issued the figures after a 10-day investigation of the central and southern parts of the country.The bureau's findings do not cover the three northern provinces of Sulaimaniya, Dahouk and Arbil, currently under Kurdish control, and where jobless figures are estimated to be much lower.The study reports that on average 28.1% of working population in the center and south is unemployed.The survey shows that unemployment is higher among men than women.The tables the bureau provides show that 32.2% of Iraqi men are unemployed compared to 16% of Iraqi women Unemployment is also found to be higher in urban centers than countryside.The statistics reveal that unemployment reaches 30% in urban centers and 25.4% in rural areas.The study is the first by the government since the overthrow of the former regime more than a year and a half ago.The survey attributes Dhiqar's high unemployment rates to the existence of ``huge numbers of (former) army personnel'' in the province.US civil administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer, disbanded Iraqi armed forces and as a result hundreds of thousands of Iraqis became jobless.The bureau says it hopes its study of unemployment will put an end to ``unauthenticated estimates'' of jobless rates in Iraq.The survey covered 24,900 families which included 153,384 members from provinces in the central and southern parts of the country.
 Al- Sistani Supports No Certain List - As-Sabah
As-Sabah , Oct 20, Page 1 Replying to what was being dispatched by the media about the support of Ayatollah Ali- al- Sistani for a certain list of the coming elections of the national assembly; Al- Sistani office in Najaf denied these news and considered them as groundless. The reply was addressed to what is quoted by the Agence France Presse on Hamid al- Khafaf the representative of Al- Sistani as saying that the religious authority will support the list of the independent candidates or it urged for preparing such a list.Close source to Al- Sistani affirmed that the religious authority will keep on neutrality in these elections further and not participating directly in the political competitions under any circumstances.
Billion & 400 Millions Iraqi Dinar For Paving And Covering Roads- As-Sabah

Baghdad, As-Sabah , Oct 20, Page 1 The ministry of labor and municipalities has allocated about one billion and 400 millions Iraqi dinars for paving and covering more than 779,000 kilometers of the roads in Baghdad and other cities within the projects of the investment plan in the current year.Eng. Rakaan Ahmed al- Alaa'f the director of the general municipalities said that the cadres of the directorate in Baghdad and other provinces have accomplished works of pavement for 22007km and 757855 km in addition to molding side blocks of the roads in different cities , clarifying that the municipality adopted a unified system to number the streets , the houses , the districts and crossroads in the cities all over Iraq.
International Network For Kidnapping Girls Arrested In Baghdad - As-Sabah

Baghdad, As-Sabah , Oct 20, Page 1 A source at the interior intelligence agency unveiled the arrest of a network is professional in kidnapping and selling the girls into international networks for prostitution purpose. "Upon intelligence reports on the existence of a house in Jihad district managed by a lady for selling the kidnapped girls from Baghdad and other cities to be sold later on to the international foreign parties, we launched crack down on the said house". The source said, referring that some suspects were arrested and two girls were freed.
 
Talban Ghosts In Mosul Hinder Students From Studying - As-Sabah

Baghdad, As-Sabah , Oct 20, Page 1 The security situation has aggravated in Nineveh after the emergence of gangsters and gunmen pretend to be fanatic groups as if they are ghosts of Talban movement.Younadim Kenn the member of the national assembly said that these groups are outlaws hostile to transformation , democracy and the new political experiment in addition to Saddam loyalists who are bent on imposing their authority and hegemony on some sites and districts all over the city of Mosul specifically in the university .He added that the university is now threatened after seizing the buses of the university by the said groups under different pretext to intimidate the students and ban their determination to continue study.
Terrorism, Unstable Security Situation Behind Unemployment In Iraq - As-Sabah
Baghdad, As-Sabah , Oct 20, Page 1 The official statistics made by the ministry of labor and social affairs indicate that the unemployment in Iraq increased to 50% which is considered as a low average than the real one . Notably , unemployment is considered as the 2nd priority after the security dossier faced by the government .Abdul Kareem al- Bdri the expert at the ministry said that the unemployment has emerged since late 1980s, but nowadays is expanded. The average of unemployment rose quickly from 5% in 1987 into 17% in 1997 and reached 28% from the total number of the economically prospered population in 2003. He indicated that the unemployment in Iraq is characterized with un extraordinary feature resulted from destruction, sabotage, wars, economic sanctions and the fundamental changes.
New Electrical Units To Supply Power- As-Sabah

Baghdad, As-Sabah, Oct 20, P3:The Engineering and technician cadres at the Ministry of Electricity have accomplished the maintenance and rehabilitation for power producing units in addition the ending from entering new generating units to supply the electricity power with further quantities.An official source at the ministry said that the ministry's cadres continued their works within a drawn plan to realize stable electricity current, citing that technician sides are capable also from operating the third unite in al-Quds electricity station with capacity of 100 MW, this unit is one of the new generating unites which accomplished after April 9, 2003 and it is now in primary operation phase.

Baghdad hospital head, patients appeal for aid worker's life- Al-Sharqiyah,

Al-Sharqiyah, Baghdad, in Arabic 21Oct 04
Patients at Ibn-al-Kuf Hospital in Baghdad have gathered today to protest the kidnapping of Margaret Hassan, the director of CARE International. Patients in wheelchairs said that CARE International helped rebuild the hospital following an attack on the nearby United Nations building in 2003, and that it worked to save their lives. They demanded the kidnappers to release Hassan.
On a similar level, the Iraqi government has condemned Margaret's kidnapping, and said that it was clear evidence of the terrorists' criminal intentions, adding that it was an insult to Islam during the blessed month of Ramadan.

Programme summary of Al-Iraqiyah TV news bulletin( 2am )21 October 04
·         Interim cabinet discusses outcome of Tokyo meeting of donor countries. Video report
·         Prime Minister Iyad Allawi meets visiting Dutch defence minister. Video report
·         Car bomb strikes military convoy, leaving four American soldiers injured on Baghdad airport highway. Video report covers two Baghdad attacks, aftermath.
·         Four children killed in car bomb in Samarra; four policemen injured in attack on convoy; American raid on "terrorists" positions in Fallujah. Video report covers raids, arrests of terror suspects.
·         US joins British-Iraqi efforts to release abducted aid worker; international aid agency Care halts its Iraq operations following kidnapping. Video report
·         Iraqis suffer shortage of services in Al-Ramadi. Video report highlights problems, causes of power cuts and water shortage.
·         University professors leave home due to deteriorating security situation. Video report covers problem, academics and students grievances.
·         Iraqis believe situation in the country to have bearing on US election - opinion poll. Video report covers outcome of poll, analysts views.
·         Students call for reduced private university tuition. Video report highlights student grievance about increasing fees.
·         First medical college opened in Ziqar province. Video report
·         Public library in Basra reopened. Video report
·         British Prime Minister Tony Blair says redeployment of UK troops in Iraq has not been decided. Video report covers his statement in Commons.
·         Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri and his cabinet resign. Video report
·         Syria rejects UN Security Council call for its withdrawal from Lebanon. Video report
·         Israel defence minister voices fears over division in Israel following rabbis comments on settlements. Video report
·         Indonesian president-elect sworn in. Video report
·         Iranian President Mohammad Khatami says Tehran ready to give guarantees on peaceful use of nuclear power. Video report highlights Tehran launch of fresh missile test.
·         American President George Bush and his Democratic challenger John Kerry in neck-a-neck presidential race. Video report
·         New Cambodian king returns home. Video report
·         Myanmar change setback to reform. Video report
·         South Korean defence minister says his US visit to strengthen ties. Video report
·         Australian sentenced to death in Singapore following drug smuggling conviction. Video report
·         Business bulletin. Baghdad forum on privatization. Ship wreckage obstructs navigation in Shat-al-Arab. Food prices increase in province of Wasit during Ramadan.
·         Chirac stresses France's readiness to take part in anticipated international conference on Iraq in Egypt
·         IAEA warns of disappearance of nuclear equipment in Iraq that could be used for making nuclear weapons