Reporters Kuwait

It was Kuwait city or bust. After seven months of Iraqi occupation, the Kuwaiti capital had been liberated--and nearly 1,000 restless journalists already bored with war and intrigued by peace prepared to slingshot themselves into Kuwait any way they could. It wasn't going to be easy.

It was Kuwait city or bust. After seven months of Iraqi occupation, the Kuwaiti capital had been liberated--and nearly 1,000 restless journalists already bored with war and intrigued by peace prepared to slingshot themselves into Kuwait any way they could. It wasn't going to be easy.

Five new cases of cholera were reported in Kuwait on Wednesday, bringing the total this summer to 30, the Kuwaiti news agency said. Quoting Health Ministry sources, the agency said the new cases emerged as officials from Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Geneva-based World Health Organization discussed ways to stop the spread of the disease.

French television said Friday that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has told President Francois Mitterrand he is ready to discuss Kuwait, but government officials said they could not confirm the report. And in Washington, Bush Administration sources said the Iraqi invaders have wired Kuwait's refineries with explosives so they could be blown up if the Iraqis are forced out of the emirate.

French television said Friday that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has told President Francois Mitterrand he is ready to discuss Kuwait, but government officials said they could not confirm the report. And in Washington, Bush Administration sources said the Iraqi invaders have wired Kuwait's refineries with explosives so they could be blown up if the Iraqis are forced out of the emirate.

Radio newsman Atef Gawad says he felt his heart "bouncing" when, while broadcasting his evening show on Aug. 1, he received a telephone tip that Iraqi troops had just crossed the border heading south. For 15 minutes, Gawad, the Egyptian-born program director of the Arab Network of America, which has its headquarters here in Maryland, simply sat on the information, trying frantically to get confirmation while teasing his listeners with promises of "a very important announcement" to come soon.

For years, the Bibi Saleh Center in downtown Kuwait city has been a haven for wealthy foreigners and Kuwaiti playboys and their girlfriends, a symbol of the oil-rich emirate's penchant for the pleasures of life. But in the two months since Iraq seized Kuwait, the four-towered condominium complex has become a cornerstone of Kuwait's brutal subjugation, according to reliable sources fleeing the country.

Interim Iraqi President Ghazi Ajil Yawer arrived here Saturday to press for improved ties and to discuss Baghdad's multibillion-dollar debt to Kuwait. It was the first such visit by an Iraqi president in decades. Official ties have improved between the former foes since President Saddam Hussein was ousted last year, and in June, Kuwait restored diplomatic relations. But outstanding issues remain, including about $15 billion Iraq owes Kuwait.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi visited Italian troops in Nasiriya on Saturday, expressing pride in their performance and later reiterating that they will remain in Iraq despite a "very difficult" situation. Italian television showed Berlusconi, dressed casually and wearing a military cap, joking and having his picture taken with the troops at their base. "Well done," Berlusconi told the troops. "I bring you a big hug from all of Italy. We are proud of you."

Closing the books on Operation Desert Storm, Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf and most of the U.S. Central Command staff will leave Saudi Arabia on Saturday as the number of American troops in the Persian Gulf dropped Wednesday to half its war-time strength. Exactly three months after Schwarzkopf launched what became a devastating rout of the Iraqi army, U.S. military officials announced that the outspoken four-star general and most of his staff will return to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla.

For years, the Bibi Saleh Center in downtown Kuwait city has been a haven for wealthy foreigners and Kuwaiti playboys and their girlfriends, a symbol of the oil-rich emirate's penchant for the pleasures of life. But in the two months since Iraq seized Kuwait, the four-towered condominium complex has become a cornerstone of Kuwait's brutal subjugation, according to reliable sources fleeing the country.

Radio newsman Atef Gawad says he felt his heart "bouncing" when, while broadcasting his evening show on Aug. 1, he received a telephone tip that Iraqi troops had just crossed the border heading south. For 15 minutes, Gawad, the Egyptian-born program director of the Arab Network of America, which has its headquarters here in Maryland, simply sat on the information, trying frantically to get confirmation while teasing his listeners with promises of "a very important announcement" to come soon.

Five new cases of cholera were reported in Kuwait on Wednesday, bringing the total this summer to 30, the Kuwaiti news agency said. Quoting Health Ministry sources, the agency said the new cases emerged as officials from Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Geneva-based World Health Organization discussed ways to stop the spread of the disease.

Kuwait stood alone Wednesday in publicly rejecting an OPEC proposal, backed by a majority of the members, to extend a limit on the cartel's oil production to the end of the year. Oil ministers of the 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries met in small groups for a third day of strategy talks, and officials said no policy decisions had been made. The full conference was in suspension while committees discussed details of pricing and production policies.

Hijackers of a Kuwait Airways jumbo jet seized eight days ago released 12 of their estimated 46 captives today and ground crews refueled the plane for a flight to Algeria. A short time later the gunmen asked the control tower at this Mediterranean airport for flight charts to travel to Algiers, then a voice told the control tower by radio: "All tanks full." Forty people were believed on board the aircraft after the latest release, including a half-dozen hijackers.