Baghdad is swathed in a cloud of dust today as the sandstorm season begins. The entire capital is an eerie orange color, with fine particles of sand that leave everybody feeling icky and grainy. At times, the roaring winds even drown out the perpetual hum of electrical generators and the booms of roadside bombs.

On my way to an interview this morning, I saw an endearing scene at a checkpoint. An Iraqi soldier who was inspecting cars held a box of tissues in one hand and his gun in the other. After making sure drivers weren't suicide bombers, he handed out tissues for them to blow their noses and wipe the orange grime from their faces. He got surprised smiles and thank yous in return.

Such a storm makes it hard to breathe, much less pound the streets reporting, so I'm holed up indoors for the rest of the day, dousing my eyes with Visine and sorting through press releases and regional headlines. Here's some of the more notable items:

Tehran police chief arrested in sex scandal
Wire services and Iranian media are following up on the arrest last month of Tehran Police Chief Gen. Reza Zarei, who was in charge of fighting vice in the Iranian capital. Authorities wouldn't elaborate on reasons for the detention of Tehran's top cop, but Iranian media are reporting that he was busted in a raid on an underground brothel, where he was reportedly caught with six nude women. The AP reports that Zarei was in charge of a program to clean cities from corruption and in recent months had reported arrests of young men and women for illicit relationships or not respecting Iran's mandatory Islamic dress code. The report goes on to note that young Iranians have been jailed and flogged for offenses such as dancing together at birthday parties. Full AP story is here.

Yemeni judge dissolves marriage of 8-year-old girl
A Yemeni judge has ruled in favor of an 8-year-old girl who, over the apparent objections of her parents, contacted authorities to get out of a forced marriage to a 30-year-old man. The girl's lawyer was reported as saying the girl -- whose case has grabbed regional headlines for the past week -- is just one of thousands of minors who've been forced into early marriages in impoverished Yemen. The girl told reporters Wednesday that her husband, identified as Faiz Ali Thamer, repeatedly beat her and had sex with her during their two-month marriage. The judge dissolved the marriage, ruling that the girl had not reached puberty.

Kuwaitis charged over mourning for Hezbollah militant
Seven Shiite Muslims from Kuwait are expected to stand trial in connection with a letter they sent to Lebanese and Iranian TV stations in which they expressed sympathy for the death of Hezbollah militant Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a car bombing in Damascus two months ago. Wire services are reporting that the seven Kuwaitis were charged with "spreading false news about the situation in the country." An attorney for the men was quoted as saying his clients deny involvement in the statement. Shiites make up about 30 percent of this mostly Sunni nation of 1 million.

ETC.
-- The Guardian newspaper published this profile of Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. The Angry Arab blogger criticized it as "glowing." Suleiman's name is included on the short list of possible successors to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who's been in power since 1981.

-- A release from the Council on American-Islamic Relations reprinted a story from a Texas student newspaper about an increase in the number of Muslim women participating in the Olympics. No figures were given, but this article timed to the 2004 Olympics says a record 50 or more Muslim women participated in those Games. That was also the first year women from Afghanistan competed; Egypt fielded 15 female athletes that year. I'd be interested in seeing the numbers for Beijing. Anyone know where I can find them?