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The laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus) is an indispensable tool in experimental medicine and drug development, having made inestimable contributions to human health. We report here the genome sequence of the Brown Norway (BN) rat strain. The sequence represents a high-quality 'draft' covering over 90% of the genome. The BN rat sequence is the third complete mammalian genome to be deciphered, and three-way comparisons with the human and mouse genomes resolve details of mammalian evolution. This first comprehensive analysis includes genes and proteins and their relation to human disease, repeated sequences, comparative genome-wide studies of mammalian orthologous chromosomal regions and rearrangement...

After enduring decades under a corrupt state-run economy, the Iraqi people are poised for an economic renaissance through reconstruction projects funded by an $18.4 billion American grant, senior U.S. and Iraqi officials announced today in Baghdad. "The waiting is all but over. The partnership between the American and Iraqi people for the reconstruction of Iraq is on the move," Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, Coalition Provisional Authority administrator, told reporters during a news briefing. This "Partnership for Prosperity," Bremer noted, will benefit all Iraqis and "is based on the commitment of the American people to provide substantial support" to transform...

Iraq economy shakes off the shackles of Saddam By Paul Wiseman, USA TODAY Hussein Abizaid Khadum doesn't care where the cars come from. His auto-repair shop serves car thieves and crime victims alike. He and his crew paint over vehicles, patch up bullet holes and pound out the dents and dings suffered in the daily crush of Baghdad traffic. His business is thriving, taking in about $1,000 a day. He estimates that stolen cars account for 20%. "I don't care about the source of the business," Khadum, 37, says cheerfully, his T-shirt and work pants splotched with paint, the air...

<p>March 26, 2004 -- Opponents of U.S. Iraq policy have painted a distorted picture of how the country has progressed in the year since the war started, an expert on the region said last night.</p> <p>The forming of new political parties, businesses and "thousands of small enterprises," and the return of refugees since the fall of Saddam Hussein "is totally ignored," Post columnist Amir Taheri told a forum at The Pierre hotel last night.</p>

One year after the war began, Mark Steyn believes that anyone who looks honestly at liberated Iraq must see it as a success story New Hampshire Before we get on to the breezy assertions and specious arguments, here are ten facts about Iraq today: 1) Saddam Hussein is in jail, his sons are in ‘paradise’, and of the 52 faces on the Pentagon’s deck of cards all but nine are now in one or the other of those locations. 2) The coalition casualties in February were the lowest since the war began. 3) Attacks on the Iraqi oil pipelines have...

<p>March 25, 2004 -- BAGHDAD - Iraq is "on the path to full democracy" and has made significant economic progress since the United States toppled Saddam Hussein a year ago, top U.S. administrator Paul Bremer said yesterday.</p> <p>Bremer listed the U.S.-led governing coalition's accomplishments during a speech to Iraqi leaders and other delegates that was billed as an address marking the beginning of the last 100 days of Iraq's U.S.-led occupation.</p>

  Bremer Announces New Iraqi Government Departments By Gerry J. GilmoreAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, March 24, 2004 – The Coalition Provisional Authority's senior official today announced the coming creation of several new Iraqi-run government departments. Addressing members of the Iraqi Governing Council and the Baghdad City Council in Baghdad, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III noted he'd soon establish government defense, anti-corruption and information departments. With about 100 days remaining until the June 30 handover of power to an Iraqi interim government, Bremer saluted the governing council, noting Iraq's citizens owe "thanks for its courageous statesmanship in writing the...

AAFES opens first movie theater in Iraq March 22, 2004 DALLAS (Army News Service, March 22, 2004) -- The Army & Air Force Exchange Service opened a “Reel Time” theater in Balad, Iraq, March 18 and now is sending the latest Hollywood movies to troops deployed there. With the opening of AAFES' first 35mm “Reel Time” theater in Iraq, the 16,000 troops at Camp Anaconda, a large U.S. base near Balad, can now take a break from their harsh surroundings as they enjoy first-run movies. Col. (P) James Chambers, commander of the 13th Corps Support Command & Life Sustainment...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 March 23, 2004Release Number: 04-03-45 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE KOREAN COALITION PARTNERS OPEN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CENTER TALLIL AIR BASE, Iraq - The 1100th Construction & Engineering Support Group, Republic of Korea, will host an opening ceremony of the new Information Technology Center for Dhi Qar University in An Nasiriyah Thursday, March 25. The construction group, operating out of Tallil AB, provided construction support and assisted in the renovation of the school's sewer system and overall infrastructure. Additionally, the unit has provided...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 March 21, 2004Release Number: 04-03-43 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Makhmur District mayors select election dates MOSUL, IRAQ - As an example of the Mosul region moving forward with the democratic process, residents of the Makhmur District in Ninevah Province will soon be allowed to nominate their own city officials. The Makhmur District is located 90 kilometers southeast of the city of Mosul. While the majority of the Mosul area has already completed elections, the Makhmur District had to resolve some issues...

As the turnover date for the governance of Iraq nears -- and an independent poll shows that overwhelming numbers of ordinary Iraqis want Coalition forces to stay on, at least until a stable government is established -- anti-war protests around the world yesterday drew smaller crowds than anticipated. The global protests were organised for the one-year anniversary of the day the Coalition began the attacks on an Iraq then under the thumb of Baathist dictator Saddam Hussein. In New Zealand, a few hundred activists gathered in Wellington and Auckland, with smaller numbers in other locations. The messages sent by organisers...

The Liberation of Iraq Security Freedom & Sovereignty Quality of Life Education International Support The Liberation of Iraq On March 19, 2003, the United States and its Coalition partners launched the first air strikes of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On the evening of April 9, 2003, Iraqis danced and waved their country's flag in central Baghdad as U.S. Marines toppled a huge statue of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. In a matter of weeks, Hussein's decades-old regime had been removed, liberating 25 million Iraqis from one of the world's most brutal tyrannies. Operation Iraqi Freedom was a military success, courageously executed...

After the horrific March 2 bombing that killed 170 at Shi'a shrines in Baghdad and Karbala, one Iraqi had an answer for those in the West who wonder if such tactics can work. His words speak to the horror of the events in Spain last week and in Baghdad on Wednesday. His name is Ali and his Web log said this about the terrorists and their allies: "They are spitting in the face of the wind." One of the interesting developments in post-Saddam Iraq is the appearance of amateur Web sites, where Iraqis are taking advantage of modern technology to...

The United States cannot defend against every terrorist threat, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told a Philadelphia radio audience March 16. "The only way to deal with it is to go after the terrorist in the terrorists' havens where they exist," Rumsfeld said. It is better to deal with terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq than in the United States, he said. Rumsfeld spoke as part of Radio Day at the Pentagon. The event brought together civilian and military leaders with radio stations around the country. Rumsfeld said the United States is making great progress in the war on terror. U.S....

ALBU SHUKUR, Iraq — In a shady orchard, along a rutted country lane, the men of “Charlie Rock” did a little digging and discovered weapons meant to kill them. The haul included a Russian-made machine gun, 146 mortar rounds, detonating cord, bomb-making materials and rocket-propelled grenade heads. It was found about three miles from Logistical Support Area Anaconda — the former Balad Air Base — home to some 15,000 U.S. troops and the target of frequent mortar attacks. “They were definitely firing mortars out of this field,” said Capt. Matthew Archambault, commander of Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion, 26th...

The arrival of the Marines here on the same day that Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned as Haiti's president prevented many Haitian deaths here, the U.S. ambassador to Haiti said here March 13. James B. Foley met with Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers at the Toussaint L'Overture Airport here. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff finished a five-day trip to Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Chile with a stop in Haiti. Myers met with Marines, sailors and airmen. He also met with U.S., French, Chilean and Canadian commanders. During a press conference, Myers thanked the partners. He said the Multinational...

It helps sometimes to put things in historic and metric perspective. The Iraqi Governing Council adopted a constitution on March 8, 11 months after the fall of Saddam Hussein. The German Western Parliamentary Council adopted a constitution--in May 1949, 48 months after the fall of Adolf Hitler. George W. Bush's critics complain of his "rush to war" and unpreparedness for its aftermath, but the 11 months it took to get a constitution was less than the 14 months between his speech naming Iraq as part of the "axis of evil" and the beginning of military action in Iraq. What is...

A Promising Post-Soviet Russia By Paul M. Weyrich CNSNews.com Commentary February 23, 2004 For a decade, my colleagues at the Free Congress Foundation and I taught Russians about how to win elections and how to build a civil society. At the end of my final lecture I would always say, "We are not here to tell you what to do. We are here to tell you what we did that worked. But whether or not it will work for you is for you to determine. Ultimately you have to fashion a system that will work for you." At these same...

…and at times trying, year. A year has passed since the invasion of Iraq, and while no sensible person would claim that Iraqis are safely and irrevocably on a course to liberal democracy, the honest and rather remarkable truth is that they have made enormous strides in that direction. The signing on March 8 of the Iraqi interim constitution — containing the strongest guarantees of individual, minority, and women's rights and liberties to be found anywhere in the Arab world — is the most obvious success. But there are other measures of progress, as well. Electricity and oil production in...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush marks the one-year anniversary of the Iraq invasion with a speech next week on the war there and in Afghanistan. But the White House is looking to spotlight progress in the broader war on terrorism, from breaking up an arms-dealing network based in Pakistan to persuading Libya to give up weapons of mass destruction. Also blended into Bush's schedule are political events in key electoral states including Pennsylvania and Florida. Every day next week, the White House has arranged events meant to highlight gains in the war on terrorism and the Iraq war, which began...