THE Good Morning Iraq presenters chatted in front of a scenic backdrop of Baghdad’s Tigris river. Then a body floated into view. Welcome to morning television, Iraq-style.

Such programmes are common fare in the West, a mix of celebrity gossip, entertainment and upbeat lifestyle segments on health and cooking, with the barest sprinkling of news.

Iraq’s state-run al-Iraqiya television has been running the show for two hours, six days a week for the past three years, offering Iraqis a brief respite from their daily diet of death and destruction.

“Iraqis are fed up with politics and the security situation,” said the programme’s producer, Hussein al-Khazaali.

“We like to distract their attention from what is going on.”

Filming such a show in Iraq presents a unique set of obstacles, as producers found when the body floated into their shot of the river that runs through the heart of Baghdad, a popular dumping place used by kidnappers and insurgents.

A deft cut back to the studio and the presenters moved on as if nothing had happened.

“We don’t want to broadcast violence and destruction. The Iraqi streets are one thing and we are something else,” said assistant producer Habib Mohammad. “The morning needs optimism.”

Producers say they are trying to show the rest of the world that normal life goes on in Iraq.

Danger is ever-present, even for those involved in such seemingly innocuous productions as Good Morning, Iraq.

Media figures are frequently targeted in Iraq, the most dangerous place in the world from which to report, and there is always the risk of being caught up in indiscriminate acts of violence.

“One day we were filming al-Ahrar bridge in central Baghdad when a car exploded on the bridge. We immediately cut the live footage and continued presenting other items,” Mr Mohammad said.

The danger of filming outside in Baghdad means the show relies on footage from less volatile regions such as Babil, Dhi Qhar and Arbil for its “slice of life” segments. Programme director Hussein Tahir said cameramen were frequently shot at, and police often made it difficult for them to work by asking if they have permission to film.

The show must also make sure it does not offend religious sensibilities.

On its exercise segment, “Body Fitness”, four young women wear demure full-length tracksuits as they exercise, usually under palm trees or by a swimming pool.

The segment is one of the show’s most popular, with Baghdad’s lawless streets keeping many Iraqis indoors.

But even as the producers and presenters try to give an alternative picture of Iraq, the news ticker at the bottom of the TV screen provides a remorseless reminder of the violent reality of Iraqi life.

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STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Swedish telecommunications operator Tele2 AB said Monday it will book a 3.5 billion kronor, or $540 million impairment loss in the third quarter, mainly related to its acquisition of Societe Europeenne de Communication in 2000.

The Stockholm-based company said the charge is largely attributable to goodwill in Central and Southern Europe and the Benelux countries, while a smaller part is due to fixed assets in Germany and an impairment of its information technology systems.

Tele2 said the charge will not impact its cash flow, adding that its third-quarter earnings before interest and taxes, or EBIT, will be boosted by 1.4 billion kronor in one-time items from the sale of the company 3C as well as divestments made in Denmark and Russia.

The combined net effect will come to around 2.1 billion kronor in losses, it said.

Later Monday, Tele2 said it had sold its Austrian mobile unit to Telekom Austria Group for 65 million kronor in cash. At the end of June, Tele2 had 131,000 mobile customers in Austria.

Lars-Johan Jarnheimer, president and chief executive of Tele2, said “our strength in Austria lies within our infrastructure-based fixed and broadband operation. However, the current market environment leaves us little room for a profitable and sustainable MVNO operation.”

The deal requires regulatory approvals.

SINGAPORE: Hong Kongs high-end apartments are the worlds most expensive to rent, followed by those in Tokyo and New York, reflecting the high living costs in those cities, according to a survey on expatriate accommodations.

An “executive” three-bedroom apartment in Hong Kong costs more than $8,500 a month to rent, said the report, released Tuesday by ECA International, a human resources consultancy in Britain.

Rents for typical expatriate apartments in Hong Kong rose by an average of 10 percent last year and 15 percent in 2005, thanks to the Chinese territorys robust economic growth, said Lee Quane, general manager of ECA Internationals office in Hong Kong.

In addition, the gap between Hong Kong and other cities was widening, he said.

The survey compared rental prices in 92 locations worldwide, the firm said.

Tokyo rents for expatriates averaged $7,358 a month. In New York, rents averaged $7,249.

Moscow was ranked the fourth-most expensive rental city, at $6,526 a month, followed by Seoul, London, Mumbai and Shanghai, the survey found.

Caracas was ranked ninth because, Quane said, expatriates there need to live in high-security compounds for safety reasons. Paris ranked 10th in the survey.

The cheapest location of the 92 cities examined was Nairobi, where a three-bedroom apartment cost about $1,000 a month, the survey said.