Talabani: Saddam to Stand Trial Within Two Months
(Al-Sabah al-Jadeed) President Jalal Talbani said the trial of ex-president Saddam Hussein will be held within the coming two months. Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Ja'afari said the trail will be presided over by Iraqi judges and denied rumors that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice asked to postpone the trial.
(Al-Sabah al-Jadeed is an independent daily newspaper.)

Sadr Lashes Out at Americans
(Addustour) Young Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has accused the Americans of not being serious in hunting down suicide bombers. In his meeting with the Karbala provincial council, Sadr said the Americans free insurgents who were handed to them by Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army. He also denied accusations that Sunnis were responsible for insurgent attacks.
(Addustour is an independent daily published by former journalist Basim al-Sheikh.)

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Basra Police Controlled By Militias
(Baghdad) Basra police Brigadier General Hasan al-Sada said he has lost control of 75 percent of his staff, adding that the sectarian militias have infiltrated the police. Al-Sada said militias are the dominating power in Basra and complained about the weakness of the government that was hindering his efforts to clean up his police staff.
(Baghdad is a daily newspaper issued by the Iraqi National Accord.)

Roads Blocked in Baghdad
(Al-Iraq al-Yoom) More than 90 main and side roads in Baghdad have been blocked off by American and Iraqi security forces to clamp down on the violence, a Ministry of Interior official said. He added that 80 percent of the roads are not safe to drive on due to the escalation of insurgent attacks. The blocking of the roads have caused severe traffic jams, as there are now more than 1 million cars in Baghdad.
(Al-Iraq al-Yoom is a weekly newspaper issued by Isra Shakir.)

Immigrant Office in Iran to Open
(Al-Mashriq) The Minister of Displacement and Immigrant Affairs said it will open an office in Iran to track Iraqi residents living there. The office will try to find solutions and suitable conditions for Iraqis to return home.
(Al-Mashriq is published daily by Al-Mashriq Institution for Media and Cultural Investments.)

Mortars Found and Defused
(Al-Adala) The Terror Elimination Department of the Karbala police has defused 200 mortars that were placed in the Hai al-Askeri area of Karbala. The mortars were found in a raid of Ba'ath loyalists in a poor area of Karbala.
(Al-Adala is issued daily by the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.)

Antiques Seized in Diwaniya
(Al-Mada) The Diwaniya Criminal Intelligence Office has seized large amounts of antiques worth 50 billion Iraqi dinars that were going to be smuggled to Syria. The antiques were stolen from the historical site of Nefer by two people, one of whom is Syrian. In the province of Thi Qar, officials have set up barbed wires around the monarchy cemetery of Ur.
(Al-Mada is issued daily by Al-Mada Institution for Media, Culture, and Arts.)