BREAKING NEWS from Iraq is that Basra Airport is now officially open for domestic and international flights. Minister of Transportation Salam Al-Maliki flew in Saturday on the first Iraqi Airways scheduled flight since the toppling of the Saddam regime. At a press conference on the Boeing 727 he said the airport would receive commercial flights from Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, in addition to London and Frankfurt, starting from mid-July. The minister pointed out that the airport is administered by Iraqi authorities, except for security aspects, which are shared between the Iraqi and British forces, noting that the airport and its surrounding areas and roads are secure. The airline currently does not have a web site.