Iraqi Sovereignty

Earlier this morning, U.S. governor L. Paul Bremer transferred sovereignty back to Iraq, handing the legal documents of transfer to the Iraqi chief justice Midhat al-Mahmood some two days early. Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and the rest of the interim Iraqi government were sworn in six hours later.

The interim government has full sovereignty, though it also has some restrictions until elections are held no later than January 2005. America retains responsibility for security (I haven't heard a time limit on this), though the Iraqi government can now ask that the American forces leave the country.

Chimpanzee Hijinks

At the Lincoln Park Zoo's (Chicago) new Regenstein Center for African Apes, chimpanzees can touch a panel hidden from public view that will shoot harmless bursts of air at unsuspecting visitors.