Donna Block

Just at a time when it seemed conditions could not worsen, the world airline industry has been further hit by the uncertainties of war and the rise of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) in the Far East.

Eager United States companies are queuing up for a piece of what could be billions of dollars of work in rebuilding Iraq. Questions remain about the United Nations’s role after the war; how Iraq’s oil income will be used; and whether countries other than the US will help finance reconstruction.