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Saddam's stars, scrawl dropped from Iraq flag Published Date: January 23, 2008 BAGHDAD: The Iraqi flag will no longer boast Saddam Hussein's handwritten praise to God nor its distinctive three stars, parliament decided yesterday. The house passed a new flag law by 110 votes to 50 which will change the appearance of the standard but keep its horizontal red, white and black stripes. Instead of the executed dictator's handwritten "Allahu Akhbar" (God is Greater), the phrase will be printed in green on the central white stripe in the Kufi form of Arabic script, parliament ruled. The thre e green...

Saddam Hussein's handwritten praise to God will be dropped from the Iraqi flag and the symbolism behind its three green stars will be changed, according to a bill presented to parliament on Saturday.The Iraqi flag still bears the ousted dictator's handwritten Allahu Akhbar" (God is Greater) while the three stars officially symbolise unity, freedom and socialism -- the slogan of Saddam's Baath party.Under the new flag law, given its first reading by parliament on Saturday, the praise to God will be printed -- in yellow -- in the Kufi form of Arabic script while the stars will now represent peace,...

BAGHDAD -- Iraq has launched a competition to search for a new flag and national anthem to distance the country from the legacy of Saddam Hussein. The closing date for the competitions is Jan. 15, and a committee made up of the culture minister, artists, and intellectuals will select the winning submissions. ''The old flag is linked to the regime of Saddam Hussein," Culture Minister Mofeed al-Jazaeri said. ''A lot of people don't want to keep it." Iraq's flag has undergone minor design changes since US-led forces toppled Hussein in 2003. The phrase, ''God is Great," which first appeared on...

<p>BAGHDAD — Shortly after the interim government of Iraq was installed on Monday morning, a huge flag was hoisted atop a 10-story building at the edge of central Baghdad's green zone, visible to the traffic-trapped motorists nearby.</p> <p>But it was not the blue, white and yellow banner introduced with some fanfare in April by the Iraqi Governing Council. Nor was it the simple red, white, black and green flag that flew over Iraq before the rule of Saddam Hussein.</p>

FALLUJAH, Iraq (AFP) - Celebratory gunfire ripped the Sunni Muslim bastion of Fallujah as US marines in a dozen armoured vehicles entered the war-battered city on a symbolic tour and met with local leaders. Iraqi police and masked insurgents shot off rounds and people flooded the streets, waving Iraqi national flags and honking their car horns in jubilation over what they mistakenly believed was a deal between the marines and the city's leaders to scale back the US presence in Fallujah. Locals said they believed if the city was quiet during the convoy tour marines would leave Fallujah for good....

The governing council in Iraq unveiled the second draft of its new national flag today (Thursday) – following protests against the version displayed earlier this week for resembling Israel’s flag. The new design is nearly identical to that released earlier this week – two blue stripes along the bottom with a yellow stripe between them, and a crescent above them. The main difference is that the blue on the latest version is much darker than the light blue originally printed in an Iraqi paper, making the colors less similar to Israel’s flag. The Iraqi paper that printed the flag received...

Iraqi leaders unveiled a new national flag Wednesday after critics said an earlier version resembled Israel's standard. Governing Council President Massoud Barzani said the flag replaces one used by ousted leader Saddam Hussein -- a red, black and green banner with the words "Allahu Akbar" or "God is great." The latest design keeps the two blue stripes along the bottom with a yellow stripe between them, as well as a crescent representing Islam centered in a white field. But the stripes and crescent are a much darker shade of blue, after many said the original light blue stripes looked like...

Too Jewish: Iraqis Replace New Flag After Hue and CryNewsmax Oopsy: Iraq's new flag, only days old, has bit the dust because it looked too much like Israel's. Red-faced leaders today displayed a new banner with a similar design, two blue stripes along the bottom with a yellow stripe between them, topped by a blue Muslim crescent in a white field. But now the blue is darker, unlike the pale blue of the Jewish nation's symbol. Hameed al-Kafaei, a spokesman for the Iraqi Governing Council, insisted the hues had not been not changed. He claimed that "the copies you saw...

BAGHDAD, April 26 -- It was supposed to be the perfect symbol for a new and unified Iraq: an Islamic crescent on a field of pure white, with two blue stripes representing the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and a third yellow stripe to symbolize the country's Kurdish minority. But the new national flag, presented Monday after an artistic competition sponsored by the Iraqi Governing Council, appears to have met with widespread public disapproval here...

U.S.-Picked Iraq Leaders Approve New Flag BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's U.S.-picked leaders approved a new flag for the country, making a dramatic change that dumps the Saddam Hussein-era colors and slogan "God is great" and introduces symbols of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, a spokesman said Monday. The new flag is white, with two parallel blue strips across the bottom representing the rivers and a yellow stripe between them representing Iraq's Kurdish minority. Above the stripes is a blue crescent representing Islam. Council spokesman, Hameed al-Kafaei, said the U.S.-picked council approved the design as the new official flag — though...

Feb 27, 3:10 PM ESTIOC Clears Iraqi Flag for Athens Olympics By LISA ORKINAssociated Press WriterATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Iraqi athletes will march under their national flag at the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympics.After being suspended 10 months ago, Iraq's national Olympic committee was reinstated Friday by the International Olympic Committee."It's a great moment for the Iraqi athletes and Iraqi people," said Ahmed al-Sammarai, the Iraqi committee's chief. "This helps to prove the Iraqis can rule themselves. Just give them the chance.""We are starting from zero," he said. "This is the first step. It's a hard job but we...