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BAGHDAD, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Private security guards escorting a convoy of four vehicles through central Baghdad killed two women on Tuesday, the Iraqi government and police said.

There was no indication who was responsible or what had triggered the incident, but it came the same day the government demanded U.S. security firm Blackwater pay families of 17 people killed in a shooting last month $8 million each in compensation.

Two police sources said the shooting on Tuesday was in the central Baghdad district of Karrada. It was unclear if the women were in a car or on the streets.

"There has been an incident, an attack on civilians. Two Iraqi women were killed and an investigation is going on to find which security company it was," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.

A U.S. embassy spokeswoman said they were checking media reports of the shooting.

Reuters AlertNet - Security guards kill two women in Baghdad-govt

Magazines about fashion and design are the most frivolous in the world but, of course, they sometimes want to do something serious. Monocle, a magazine it seems for rich Newyorker who are almost never at home and enjoy several holidays a year, is giving advice to countries that would like to get rid of their bad image and bad reputation.
Of course, I immediately thought of Iraq.

AMMAN/BAGHDAD/DAMASCUS/DUBAI, 9 October 2007 (IRIN) - As cholera awareness posters have been going up in Baghdad, countries bordering Iraq have also taken measures to prevent an outbreak of the disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been advising countries in the region to boost their defences against cholera, after reports that cholera had crossed the Iraqi border into Iran where at least 45 people had been infected.

The Jordanian Ministry of Health has begun implementing a contingency plan, Ali Assad, head of the National Committee for Epidemics at the ministry, told IRIN. However, the possibility of closing the borders has been ruled out by officials.

"We have the anti-cholera treatments to deal with the disease in case it appears. But for now there is no need to close the borders if we follow scientific methods in handling the disease," said Bassam Hijawi, head of the Ministry of Health’s Disease Control Department.

Air passengers

The Jordanian and Iraqi governments have agreed that air passengers from Iraq be screened and provided with the necessary preventative medication either before they embark on flights to Jordan or when they land in Amman. Passengers are also given certificates by the Iraqi side indicating that they are cholera-free.

"No treatment will be given to those holding certificates indicating they have taken preventative medication. The certificates of treatment must be stamped by the government of Iraq and approved by the WHO in order to avoid having people showing fake certificates," said Hijawi. He said Jordan had agreed with Iraq that any passengers suffering from stomach problems would not be allowed to fly to Jordan.

The Health Ministry also plans to scrutinise the treatment being given to Iraqis living in Jordan, mainly in densely populated areas. "We want to make sure proper measures are taken when dealing with possible cholera patients," said Assad.

At least 700,000 Iraqis live in Jordan, the majority of whom arrived after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. 

All passengers coming from Iraq are asked to disclose necessary information about their work and place of residence in Iraq as well as in Jordan. The measures also ban the importation of foodstuffs other than canned food into Jordan.

Officials at the Department for Epidemics said dozens of laboratory technicians had been sent to different parts of the kingdom to conduct tests and make sure the country remained cholera free.