8 April 2005 Events in Iraq

kirkuk 
Kirkuk Cathedral

Baghdad: Personal takes from today's online edition of BBC News:

The corruption is even worse now than under Saddam.
The Americans brought the terrorists here. They weren't here before.
God willing, the new government will deal with the problems.
I am afraid all the time, in the streets, at home.
The corruption in Iraq is very bad now. All the ministries are stealing the wealth of Iraq.
In the past groceries were cheap. The milk powder for my children was subsidised, and a box cost 500 dinars. Now I pay 15,000.
We finish college, but cannot find jobs. None of the ministries follow the law. They employ their friends and people from their tribe. If you do not have connections, you cannot find a job.
The police threaten shopkeepers and truckers. They also control the gas station lines.
Iraq has good soil. We used to export vegetables. Now we have to import from our neighbors, and prices are high. And the farmers do not produce as they used to.

Rome. Funeral for Pope Jean-Paul II. When Bush's face appeared on giant screen TVs showing the ceremony, many in the crowds outside St. Peter's Square booed and whistled.

Baghdad. Today Iraq commemorated the death of the Prophet Mohammed and offered prayers for deceased Pontiff John-Paul II. In the multiethnic city of Kirkuk, Kurds, Turkmen, Sunni and Shi'a Arabs and Christians assembled in the Chaldean cathedral for a papal memorial service. Veiled women cried as men in tribal dress followed the service attentively. On national TV, Bishop Shlaimoun Wardouni gave a sermon saying the Pope was beloved and respected by Muslims. The Holy Father hoped to live to see Palestine liberated and to see the Three Great Religions pray together in The Holy Land. The leader of the Catholic Armenian Church, Archbishop Antoine Atamyan, said that today, every Iraqi who suffers and who is instilled with faith has followed the funeral of the Pontiff, saying that we loved him and he loved us.

Baghdad. Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari began talks to form a goverment of technocrats beyond reproach. It is expected that talks will continue for at least two weeks.

Baghdad. Radical Sunnis and Shi'ite Imams called on all Iraqis to demonstrate on Saturday against the occupation.

Basrah. An Iraqi army officer was assassinated.

Mosul. Turkish truck driver ambushed and killed.

Kirkuk. US soldier killed by bomb. Meanwhile four others were wounded in northern Iraq.

Paris. French media prepare for a 24-hour nonstop commemoration of the 100th day in captivity of Florence Aubenas and her guide, Hussein Hanoun.

London. The British organization Iraq Body Count says 7, 350 Iraqis were killed between 20 March 2003 and 1 May 2003.

Washington. US Army to reduce length of rotation. 12-month rotational deployments are expected to be reduced to 9 or 6 months in the near future.

Baghdad. Iran and Iraq have signed an agreement to admit 1,500 pilgrims per day into Iraq, says Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi. The accord was signed by Hami Reza Assefi of the Foreign Ministry and Iraqi official Sa’d al-Hayani, who is in Teheran. The accord also covers commercial exchange and business contacts.

23:36 Baghdad. Three Shi'ite notables assassinated. Rebel snipers assassinated three Shi'ite notables as they demonstrated against the occupation in south Baghdad.

22:31 Baghdad US troops arrest a CBS cameraman whom they wounded and later accused of assisting the insurgency. [Lie, lie lie!--Nur]

20:27 Baghdad. Sadr supporters shot at. Supporters of Muqtada al Sadr a Baghdad were shot at as they demonstrated against the occupation on the anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein. Two died of their wounds

17:18 Egypt. Group claims credit in souk bombing. A previously unknown group, the Islamic Pride Brigades, has claimed credit for the souk bombing which killed two foreign tourists in Cairo.

16:30 Yemen. Clashes between government troops and rebel Shi'ites. Clashes in the mountains of north Yemen between Sheik Badr al-Din and the government have killed 171 people from boths sides.

16:42 Jerusalem. Israel confiscates Palestinian land for military uses. Israel confiscates 120 acres of land from the Deir Bzeih City Council. The town is west of Ramallah. The land will be used for a highway reserved for Jewish settlers. Two other confiscation orders were issues to the City Council of Bethlehem and elsewhere. All parcels are located between Bethlehem and the Jewish settlement of Gush Etzion.

15:22 Algiers. 14 Algerian civilians were killed by a band of radical Islamists at a fake checkpoint in Larbaa, 30 km south of Algiers.

14:37 Baghdad. Iraqi hostage freed. An Iraqi who returned to Iraq from Germany, where he had lived for nine years, was released after being kidnapped on 17 March. Hassan al-Zaïdi returned from exile on 17 February 2005 to work for an humanitarian assistance agency and was kidnapped three weeks later by the Protectors of the Islamic Brigades. Al-Zaïdi was born in Amara in 1952 and went into exile in 1996.

14:02 Cairo. Yesterday's explosive device which detonated in a Cairo souk was a nail-bomb. The act killed an American and a French tourist. According to analysts, this attack as well as recent incidents targeting foreigners are collateral effects of the Anglo-American occupation of Iraq. Two Hungarian tourists were wounded by gunshot last month in the same area.