BAGHDAD, November 22 – The violence that has spread around Iraq since Friday continued yet another day, claiming more and more lives every time. Elaborate suicide attacks are carried out with lethal precision with little to nothing to do against them.

Today Kirkuk was the scene of such a terrible attack. Insurgents lured police officers into combat by shooting an Iraqi policeman. The officers rushed to the scene were surprised by a suicide car bomber who took at least 10 officers with him into certain death. In total 21 Iraqi’s were killed by this elaborate thought out scheme.

In addition to these deaths the U.S. military announced three more deaths of U.S. soldiers. One soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Habaniyah, west of Baghdad. Roadside bombs are becoming an increasingly popular technique among insurgents as their efficiency is extremely high with little to no risk.
In Mosul two other U.S. soldiers were killed while engaged in enemy combat, likely by small-arms fire.

In Tikrit chaos spread when an official transfer of one of Saddam’s palaces to the Iraqi forces was interrupted by mortar fire. The mortar hit the target but did not detonate, meanwhile many officials scattered to search for cover. Although authorities are trying to downplay the incident the fact remains that if the mortar went off it could have had catastrophic consequences.

LONDON, November 21 – British pharmaceutical giant Glaxo Smith Kline has been hit hard by a new ruling of the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has imposed tough restrictions on the use of Glaxo Smith Kline’s leading drug, Advair. This drug is one of the best treatments for asthma and very much used by patients all over the world. This drug is known as Seretide in the United Kingdom.

The new regulation means that Advair will only be prescribed when all other treatments have failed to succeed. This also includes new labeling of the drug because of possible, not yet entirely proven, side effects. Considering that Advair is the best-selling drug for Glaxo Smith Kline means that this could have serious effects on their revenue and profits for the coming year. Needless to say the shares dropped immediately. Advair was responsible for $2.8 billion in sales in America alone last year, worldwide this added up to a staggering $4.5 billion in sales.

Glaxo immediately responded with a statement claiming that this new regulation could lead to serious health issues for asthma patients. Keeping the best treatment till last is no solution, they added. They also pointed out a very valid point, in July of this year an FDA advisory committee issued a report in favor of Advair and since that advise no new studies have come out, so how come the FDA changed their minds all of the sudden?

BAGHDAD, November 20 – The violence in Iraq continues and this Saturday was the third day in a string of attacks which demanded many lives. In total 26 Iraqi’s were killed today along with three U.S. soldiers and one U.K. soldier.

The majority of the casualties occurred in Haditha, about 140 miles northwest of Baghdad. A roadside explosive detonated which killed 15 Iraqi’s and one U.S. soldier. In other incidents another 11 Iraqi’s were killed or found dead already, the U.S. military also announced two other U.S. soldiers were killed earlier. Elsewhere in Iraq a British soldier was also killed by a roadside bomb, a form of attack that is increasing in popularity and effectiveness.

These attacks follow two strong days of violence which demanded over 100 Iraqi deaths and at least seven foreign military deaths. The trigger of this string of attacks is not exactly clear, some assume the discovery of a secret prison in Baghdad might have been the spark. In that discovery over 150 Sunni men were found malnourished and tortured in a prison led by the Shiite Interior Minister.

Hundreds of people demonstrated in Baghdad against these practices. Many believe that this prison is only the tip of the iceberg and the recent exposure of possible Eastern Europe detention centers ran by the CIA only fuel these beliefs. Meanwhile the United Nations are called upon to investigate this matter.

BAGHDAD, November 19 – Yet another day of suicide attacks filled the news in Iraq. After the terrible attacks in northeast Iraq yesterday which demanded over 80 deaths another 48 could be added to the list today.

The deadliest attack occurred again northeast of Baghdad, yet a little close, only 40 miles away. In Abu Sayda, near Baquba, 35 people were killed when a suicide bomber pulled up in his vehicle next to a condolence tent at a funeral. The funeral was for a Shiite tribal sheikh, the condolence tent is traditional in the Iraqi culture and means that there were a lot of people present at the time of the attack. More than 50 people were wounded.

In a smaller attack earlier on the morning 13 people were killed as a suicide car bomber pulled up next to a busy market. At least 20 people were wounded in this attack which occurred just outside of Baghdad in Diyala Bridge.

The attacks come at a crucial time, political parties are preparing heavily for the elections on December 15th. Meanwhile President Bush announced, ironically, that the war in Iraq is progressing and that the war on terror will never end.

BAGHDAD, November 18 – Iraq was hit hard today when terrorists struck in several incidents. The bloodiest attack occurred almost 100 miles northeast of Baghdad in Khanaqin.

This largely Shiite town was struck by two suicide bombers walking into two mosques during the Friday prayers. Hundreds of people turn up daily for prayers in the mosques and the insurgents took advantage of this by detonating explosives in the middle of the groups. At least 74 people were killed instantly and another 75 were wounded. Medical specialists from all over the country came to aid in the care for the wounded since this city does not have such big resources.

In Baghdad the Hamra Hotel was targeted, this hotel hosts many international journalists including those of NBC News and the Boston Globe. Two vehicles loaded with explosives tried to penetrate the protective walls surrounding the hotel but they did not succeed. Unfortunately eight Iraqi citizens were killed in the process. The commanding police officer claims that the plan was for the first vehicle to breach the wall so the second, larger, truck could drive through and hit the hotel. Luckily they did not succeed at this attempt.

TUNIS, November 17 – Today a very interesting, promising project entered the next phase. At the UN summit for Information Technology in Tunis the $100 laptop was presented to the general public. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Nicholas Negroponte from MIT introduced the “green machine”.

The laptop stands out thanks to its lime green color. The device is robust since it has a rubber exterior, especially designed to withstand carelessness by children. Thanks to special techniques used in the screens and technological advances like mesh-networking the laptop does not need much power. It can even be winded up like a toy.

The thought behind this development is that to close the gap between rich and poor knowledge is needed. Nowadays technology has a center point in the Western community and introducing this to poor countries will increase their knowledge and skills. Primarily targeted at education this tool will also make sure creativity is used. The system operates on an open source system so the local communities itself can develop software for it.

Backed by supporters like Google and media-tycoon Rupert Murdoch the plan is to produce hundreds of millions of these units for governments to buy. Negroponte announced that six big but differing countries will see the introduction in 2006 and then six months later anyone who wants can follow. Governments are asked to commit to contracts of one million laptops at least to keep the price as low as possible. With such commitments the price will come out at roughly $100 per laptop.

Meanwhile five manufacturers and three big technology brands have expressed their interest to bring this laptop to the market publicly.