The Iraqi delegation, led by Izzat Ibrahim, the vice-chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, had other reasons to feel discomfited.

ECONOMIST: The Arabs�� chat-show

But even as Austrian authorities were arresting a Serb suspect last month, they were also playing host to Mr Hussein's deputy, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, before letting him go home safely to Iraq.

ECONOMIST: Iraq��s opposition

Iraq's government issued a new list of most wanted insurgents and fugitives from Saddam Hussein's regime, with the former dictator's intelligence head, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, at the top, and also including Mr Hussein's wife and eldest daughter.

ECONOMIST: Politics this week