The World Health Organization said the situation in Baghdad continued to cause major concern. The Central Public Health Laboratory had been looted and incubators containing polio virus cultures had been stolen, spokesperson Melanie Zipperer said. Hospitals reported to be functioning to some extent included the Medical City complex, Yarmouk, Kadhimiya and No'man. WHO staff would continue to visit major hospitals in order to prioritize and rapidly meet the most urgent needs, she added.


"We have made contact with WHO staff in Baghdad and the information they have provided is bleak," Ms. Zipperer said. The WHO Baghdad office had been very badly looted and burnt, all official vehicles had been stolen and much valuable equipment and information destroyed.


The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), meanwhile, reported an outbreak of blackwater fever in southern Iraq. The waterborne disease, also know as laeshmaniasis, leads to severe debility and eventually death if not treated within four to six weeks. Spokesman Geoffrey Keele stressed the urgency of getting medicines into the affected area.


He said the Iraqi Refugee Aid Council had reported 100 cases in Amarah, 70 in Nasiriya, and an unspecified number in Az Zubair. Children under five were the most vulnerable to contracting the disease, he added.

Last month, the Congressional Budget Office said Bush's tax proposal would generate deficits totaling $1.82 trillion over the coming decade. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has also warned that higher government borrowing crowds out private borrowing and can lead to higher interest rates.

I would love for someone to explain to me how this tax cut is going to work.


Because I have to tell you, I have no confidence in this administration's ability to safeguard my future financial wellness. At the rate he's going, I'm thinking that I'll finally be reaching retirement age at 80!

I'd love to know how the proposed tax cut is going to help the economy.

If it's such a good plan, then why did "Senate leaders agreed on Friday to cut Bush's proposal to $350 billion, sparking a bitter and unusual rift with Republican counterparts in the House of Representatives, which has approved a $550 billion tax cut plan"?

Please tell me where he plans to get the money to pay for this?