:
Tu Jan 25 -

COVERING THE IQ ELECTIONS -

Many journalists are on their way
into Iraq, but some are experiencing
delays in getting there.

*The streets of the capital are full of muddy brown water from a storm at the weekend. There is now 10 hours electricity a day in the capital, compared to only two or three hours a month ago ... Mobile phones now often cease to function for hours at a time due to overloading of the system. There has also been a water shortage, blamed on sabotage, in much of Baghdad over the past 10 days ... Many from Baghdad have already left for Jordan, Syria and Dubai.*

:: Patrick Cockburn : The Independent ::


*But Baghdad residents received a boost on Sunday when water was restored to nearly half of the capital after a week-long crisis caused by sabotage of a water main.*

:: Reuters ::


*Apparently, there were "issues" today at the Baghdad International Airport. One issue was a nasty sandstorm. Another issue was that for a brief part of the day, the airport was under mortar attack.*

:: From D Shuster : MSNBC Baghdad Diary ::


And Anthony Shadid sends in a long
:: Dispatch from Basra ::


Although there may be a lot of Big Name journalists covering the event, there are also some newer hopefuls making an effort, too. And we are no longer limited to Big Media, since there are going to be some grassroots people sending in dispatches on various
kinds of weblogs.

Some of these correspondents may be good; some not very good; some may make your eyes glaze over.

It's going to be quite a weekend with satellite equipment and videophones and probably at least some glitches.

So, fasten your seat belt!

...