Iraq: the Bloody Disaster is Working

In Iraq this week, officials say a school got a fresh coat of paint. In other news …

Iraq to Scrap Food Program by June to Comply with World Bank

By Ali Jawad

Azzaman

The government has decided to end the rationing food program which has saved millions of Iraqis from starvation.

The decision, the government said, was in line with the obligations it has made to the World Bank.

But Finance Ministry officials, refusing to be named, said they opposed the move and feared it could lead to unexpected hikes in food prices.

The government said it was also determined to end fuel subsidies, but it declined to say when.

The food rationing system was started by former leader Saddam Hussein to offset the hardships emanating from U.N. trade sanctions.

For nearly 13 years, the program continued without hiccups with the United Nations praising it as the world's largest and most effective relief effort.

But the program has run into serious trouble since U.S. troops landed in Baghdad. The volume of rations was slashed several times and food failed to reach many beneficiaries.

The system which cost the treasury billions of dollars a year was mired in corruption.

The government took the decision without parliamentary approval.

Analysts say millions of Iraqis will be affected, particularly families with no income earners and the jobless -- currently estimated at about 40 of the workforce.

Iraq Braced for More Cholera Outbreaks

By Emad al-Shara'

Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Health experts are warning that the country could be hit by new cases of cholera once temperatures start to rise.

The government said its last cholera case was recorded in late November and has credited a public-awareness campaign and the colder winter temperatures for halting the spread of the disease. However, doctors warn that cholera could recur as summer approaches because of poor sanitation.

Adil Abdul-Muhsin, general inspector at the ministry of health, said that Iraq suffered its worst bout of cholera for forty years, with 4,691 cases, resulting in 24 fatalities.

Deputy Health Minister Amir al-Khuza'i said the ministry of health has "totally controlled the disease."

"There aren't any cholera cases in Baghdad or in any other provinces," he said.

But doctors say it's only a matter of time before the disease reappears.

"Nothing can prevent a cholera outbreak next summer," said Ni'man Mohammad, a physician in Baghdad.

Read more here.

Iraqi Official: Baghdad Is Drowning In Sewage

Agence France Presse

Baghdad is drowning in sewage, thirsty for water and largely powerless, an Iraqi official said on Sunday in a grim assessment of services in the capital five years after the US-led invasion.

One of three sewage treatment plants is out of commission, one is working at stuttering capacity while a pipe blockage in the third means sewage is forming a foul lake so large it can be seen "as a big black spot on Google Earth," said Tahseen Sheikhly, civilian spokesman for the Baghdad security plan.

Sheikhly told a news conference in the capital that water pipes, where they exist, are so old that it is not possible to pump water at a sufficient rate to meet demands -- leaving many neighbourhoods parched.

Read more here.

Row Over Killing of Iraqi Family

BBC News

An Iraqi couple and their son, 19, have been killed when US soldiers stormed a tiny one-room house north of Baghdad.

The US military says its troops killed the two men in self-defence after gunfire came from the house, but local people say the victims were unarmed.

At least one of the couple's daughters was also wounded in the raid, in the village of al-Dawr, near Tikrit.

The military said it was unclear who had fired at the female casualties and the incident is being investigated.

Read more here.

Parliament Walkout Freezes Bill on Iraqi Local Elections