New cabinet sworn in
(Al-Mashriq) With the Iraqi president and National Assembly speaker in attendance, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and his cabinet were sworn in by chief justice Midhat al-Mahmood, to become the first elected Iraqi government in 50 years. The event was also attended by foreign diplomats, National Assembly members and other politicians. After taking the oath, the prime minister said he had not distinguished between Sunni and Shia when he was assigning ministerial posts. He also called on former Baath party members whose "hands are clean" to show repentance and to enter into a dialogue with his government.
(Al-Mashriq is published daily by the Al-Mashriq Institute for Media and Cultural Investments.)

National Assembly finalises rulebook
(Al-Mutamar) The National Assembly has finished drafting a legal regulation which defines the way its members work, the role of its speaker, and its oversight and control of the executive authority. Deputy speaker Hussein al-Shahrestani said the draft was unanimously approved by assembly members. Lawyer Maryam al-Rayes said that under the rules, parliament has the right to question the presidency board (the president and his two deputies), cabinet ministers and any other official in the executive.
(Al-Mutamar is issued daily by the Iraqi National Congress.)

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Peaceful Democratic Plans Moves On
(Al-Mada) The head of the Shia political council, Jawad Boolani, said the new government has formulated a comprehensive security plan to deal with any action by forces trying to subvert the activities of the new government or to sow chaos and confusion with the aim of damaging its reputation. He also said the National Assembly has tasked a special committee with writing the constitution.
(Al-Mada is issued daily by Al-Mada Institute for Media, Culture and Arts.)

Defence ministry tackles corruption
(Al-Sabah) The defence ministry has set up a special hot line so people can ring in to report bribery and corruption at military recruitment offices. The ministry's media office urged people to phone in 8525227, giving their own details and those of the person who offered a bribe at a recruiting office. The information will be kept confidential. The measure is a response to the practice of offering prospective soldiers 300 US dollars to join up as a volunteer. Army volunteers in Nasiriyah have held a demonstration in protest against such corruption.
(Al-Sabah is a daily independent publicly owned newspaper.)

Sorting out Iraq's debts
(Addustour) Finance minister Ali Allawi said on May 3 that the government would work to sort out Iraq's accumulated debts so as to rebuild its economy. Unless these foreign debts are settled, the country will be unable to re-enter international markets, he warned. Iraq's external debt is put at more than 120 billion US dollars. Allawi suggested it might be possible to draw new loans from the international finance institutions. He also said corruption and mismanagement need to be curbed as they alone cost Iraq billions of dollars.
(Addustour is an independent daily published by former journalist Basim al-Sheikh.)

Baghdad students hold demo after colleague's killing
(Al-Bayan) Furious students on the Bab al-Muaddam site of Baghdad University have held a demonstration to protest against the killing by insurgents of Masar Hassan, who was head of the cultural league at the college of pharmacology. Some students alleged that Hassan had been threatened by college staff because he planned to take part in celebrations to mark the creation of a new Iraqi government. The protesters students called for a swift investigation into the killing, and for those responsible to be put on trial.
(Al-Bayan is issued four times a week by the Islamic Dawa Party.)

Baghdad-Amman flights cancelled
(Al-Ittihad) Iraq's civil aviation authority has cancelled flights between Baghdad and Amman until further notice. Officials said this was for security reasons but gave no further information. A source at Royal Jordanian Airlines said Baghdad airport had informed them of the cancellation without telling them the reason. Adnan al-Hadeed, technical manager at Iraq's national carrier, said it might be possible to resume flights on May 4.
(Al-Ittihad is published daily by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.)