Good News Watch

[darrels joy]

Good News Watch
"Basra Is Booming," announces a headline in the Sun, a conservative London tabloid:

Wages have soared, sparking a boom in trade which has seen street stalls groaning with Western goods banned under Saddam. Locals in Basra have dubbed one street Electric Avenue because of the stores selling new fridges, freezers, washing machines, TVs and satellite dishes. . . .

As businessman Ihsan Ali Jazie, who runs the port of Um Qasr, told The Sun: "Things are better than good here now thanks to the war. Before, the Iraqi people were dead. Now we are alive."

And Basra doctor Fakhry Satter said: "Iraq will be a great country once more. Saddam has gone and sales are up. Wages have increased. People are happy again. We feel like we have been freed.

"We thank the British and American forces for what they did."