Car bombs boost
(Al-Mashriq) An interior ministry source says officials have intelligence about 70 car bombs that are ready for detonation in various parts of Baghdad. The ministry is working intensively to foil attacks, with large numbers of police deployed to hunt down the saboteurs and find the car bombs.
(Al-Mashriq is published daily by the Al-Mashriq Institute for Media and Cultural Investments.)

More Saboteurs Arrested
(Asharq al-Awsat) Iraqi police sources have announced the arrest of 28 people suspected of killings and violent acts. United States forces backed by Iraqi forces, meanwhile, announced the arrest of 84 suspects in a raid in Baghdad. Shirzad Moofri, chief of police in the Raheem Awa precinct of Kirkuk, said his forces had arrested two insurgents working for Jihad and Tawhid, two groups linked to al-Qaida's Iraq operation. He said the detainees confessed to attacking a US headquarters and killing seven American soldiers.
(The London-based Asharq al-Awsat, a pro-Saudi independent paper, is issued daily.)

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Heightened security around Baghdad
(Addustour) Minister of National Security Abdul Kareem al-Anezi has said the intensification of sabotage operations, coinciding with the announcement of the new cabinet, were designed to stop the government being created. Cooperation by security forces, multilateral troops, neighbouring states and members of the public have rendered these attempts unsuccessful, said the minister. He added that a security belt has been placed around Baghdad, especially in places where tension is highest; and said agreements were being sought with neighbouring states to curb the influx of saboteurs.
(Addustour is an independent daily published by former journalist Basim al-Sheikh.)

Cabinet formation concludes with posts for Sunnis
(Al-Taakhi) Iraqi officials reached agreement on May 2 on giving six ministries and the post of deputy prime minister to Sunni Arabs. "We have agreed with the United Iraqi Alliance on the names of six ministers and a deputy prime minister," said Mishaan al-Joboori, a Sunni member of parliament. The finalised cabinet list will be presented to the National Asembly on May 3 for its approval.
(London-based Asharq al-Awsat, a pro-Saudi independent paper, is issued daily.)

Allawi confident in democratic process
(Al-Mutamar) On a visit to Lebanon, outgoing prime minister Ayad Allawi said democracy in Iraq is still young, and represents the start of a long journey. He voiced confidence that the democratic political process will prove fruitful, that the government that is formed will work for the coming elections, and that current difficulties will be overcome.
(Al-Mutamar is issued daily by the Iraqi National Congress.)

Budget deficiency put at five billion dollars
(Al-Mada) Deputy prime minister and deputy oil minister Ahmed al-Chalabi has said Iraq's national budget suffers from a deficit of five billion US dollars. He urged the National Assembly and government to set aside personal interest and focus on the common good, specifically economic growth, employment, and providing better public services. He also said administrative corruption should be stamped out, the energy crisis resolved, and the government budget relieved of the massive cost of paying foreign bodyguards.
(Al-Mada is issued daily by Al-Mada Institute for Media, Culture and Arts.)

Disease rumours denied
(Baghdad) The director of Baghdad's Medical City centre, Abdul Amir al-Mukhtar, has denied reports of a strange disease said to attack people under 18. The doctor said health officials had no record of even a single case. His comments followed reports of a disease attributed to the use of internationally prohibited weapons.
(Baghdad is a daily newspaper issued by the Iraqi National Accord.)