Chalabis deny guilt
(Al-Bayan) Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed al-Chalabi and his nephew Salim al-Chalabi, who heads the special criminal court to try Saddam Hussein, have denied the accusations of Iraqi court against them. They said they would come to Iraq to confront the accusations which they said they were operating under personal and political motives. Iraqi judge Zuhair al-Maliki has issued warrants of to arrest Ahmed for counterfeiting and Salim al-Chalabi for murder.
(Al-Bayan is issued four times weekly by the Islamic Dawa Party, chaired by Vice-President Ibrahim al-Jafari.)

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Sadr truce holds - media report
(Addustour) News sources said a one-day truce held between al-Sadr office and the Governor of Najaf. The delegation that consisted of Iraqi independent figures, tribal leaders and clerics to solve the current crisis in Najaf said there were improvements in the negotiations between the two sides. The representative of Sadr's office in Najaf, Ali al-Yasiri, said the Mahdi Army would be changed into a political current or a serving organization when the military operations stopped.
(Addustour is an independent daily published by former journalist Basim al-Sheikh.)

Southern Oil stops pumping
(Al-Mashriq) For security reasons, the Southern Oil Company has stopped pumping oil after the threats of Sadr militiamen to attack the oil installations. Salam al-Maliki, Muqtada's deputy in Basra, also talked about the secession of the three provinces of Basra, Amara and Nasiriya to form the southern region if US forces did not withdraw from Najaf and if Prime Minister Iyad Allawi did not officially apologise from Sadr's office. Compensations should be given to the harmed people of the city, he added.
(Al-Mashriq is published daily by Al-Mashriq Institution for Media and Cultural Investments.)

Muqtada remains defiant
(Asharq Al-Awsat) There were improvements in the negotiations between the Iraqi government and Muqtada al-Sadr, the negotiating delegate said. Meanwhile, Muqtada said they would keep fighting until the multilateral forces depart Iraq. He rejected the amnesty issued by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. His deputy in Basra Salam al-Maliki has threatened secession of the southern region of Basra, Amara and Nasiriya. In a press conference inside Imam Ali shrine, Muqtada said he would not leave the city and would keep defending it because it was the most holly city.
(London-based Asharq al-Awsat, a pro-Saudi independent paper, is issued daily.)

Foreign minister comments on Sadr, Chalabis
(Al-Taakhi) Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zibari yesterday warned that the government would firmly face the Sadr's militiamen, and he also insisted that the arrest warrant against Ahmed al-Chalabi had no political nature. Zibari said that fighting armed militias is one of the largest challenges facing the government, and "we have to enforce the state of law". As to the arrest warrant, Zibari said "there is no political motive behind it".
(Al-Taakhi is issued daily by the Kurdistan Democratic Party.)

Census preparations underway
(Baghdad) Today the process of numbering houses, buildings, and establishments will start as a step prior to the census to be conducted on October 12. Member of the Media Committee Abdul Zahra al-Hindawi said the process would last a month. Hindawi added that the provinces of Iraq had been divided into 15,000 sectors to facilitate the process. The General Board of Census will conduct an experimental census later including some provinces to ensure success of the process, Hindawi concluded.
(Baghdad is a daily newspaper issued by the Iraqi National Accord.)