Saddam cronies blow the whistle
(Al-Adala) – Salim al-Chalabi, manager of the special trial for Saddam Hussein, said two of the former president’s subordinates – Tarik Azeez and Mohammed Hamza – served as witnesses for the prosecution. In their taped testimonies, the two said Saddam was guilty and deserved the death penalty. Chalabi said similar testimony from other former officials have been registered to be presented before the court.
(Al-Adala is issued daily by the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.)

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Fallujans urge departure of foreign fighters
(Al-Sabah al-Jadeed) – Sheikhs and notables of Fallujah on Tuesday dismissed the last Arab armed group, many of whom have been kicked out of the city after the American assaults on their dens. The dismissed group consists of 25 elements from Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The notables met them and requested them to leave the city and to practice al-Jihad in their countries where the Israeli flag fluttered and to leave Iraq to the Iraqis who are capable of defending their country. The notables said those groups have defamed the Iraqi Islamic resistance which sought the withdrawal of the occupation rather than killing innocents and destroying the infrastructure.
(Al-Sabah al-Jadeed is an independent daily paper.)

US jets pound Fallujah, residents want compensation
(Azzaman) – American jet fighters on Sunday attacked a house suspected to be a terrorist haven. Eleven elements wanted by the multilateral forces were killed in the assault. Similar air raids took place earlier, leaving many casualties thought to be al-Zarkawi followers. Meanwhile, dozens of Fallujah residents held a sit-in demanding compensation from the American forces for the destruction of their properties during April's battles of Fallujah.
(London-based Azzaman is issued daily by Saad al-Bazaz.)

Stock market underlines confidence in the future
(Asharq Al-Awsat) – The Baghdad stock exchange yesterday witnessed an historical day. In a two-hour session, two million shares were traded, indicating the confidence businessmen have in the country’s future. Stock Exchange Manager Taha Ahmed Abdul Salam said it was a historical day despite the primitive way of working. After the war, Iraq issued financial stocks of three months duration valued at $104 million with profit of 5.5% through an auction organised by the Central Bank.
(London-based Asharq al-Awsat, a pro-Saudi independent paper, is issued daily.)

Terrorists losing direction, support
(Al-Sabah) – Terrorists began to lose their way after the dramatic fall which changed them into an unstable weak force with no obvious vision. A high-ranking security source said those groups began to suffer disagreements about the bloody scenarios of al-Zarkawi group, which included foreign terrorist elements. Academic researchers specialised in terrorist groups said people began to stop aiding the terrorist operations because of the random bloodshed. They started cooperation with the security elements especially after the transfer of power.
(Al-Sabah is a daily independent publicly owned newspaper.)

Government to axe top earners
(Al-Bayan) – An informed source in the government consultancy council attached to the Ministry of Justice said they would issue on August a decision to reduce by five percent the number of government officials whose salaries are above 500,000 Iraqi dinars as a means of saving money to rebuild Iraq and develop the infrastructure. Another source in the ministry said the ministry has restored 65 of those who have been fired from their jobs for political reasons.
(Al-Bayan is issued four times weekly by the Islamic Dawa Party, chaired by Ibrahim al-Jafari, Governing Council member.)