Independent agency to control Iraqi aid spending in bid to attract donors

AN independent agency will decide how to spend billions of dollars in aid for Iraq in a bid to attract more money from international donors, it was confirmed yesterday.

The United States is said to have taken the decision after many countries refused to give money if Iraq's reconstruction spending was dictated by America.

The new agency will be controlled by the World Bank and the United Nations, according to a report quoting Bush administration and international aid officials in the New York Times.