An Iraqi man checks an electrical applia

An Iraqi man checks an electrical appliance converting direct (DC) to alternating current (AC) at Agd al-Nasara market, specialized in selling electricity appliances, in central Baghdad, 22 August 2007. For war-weary residents of Baghdad fighting sweltering heat in near-blackout conditions, the message from Electricity Minister Karim Wahad today was grim -- there won't be any relief this summer. Nor next summer. Nor even the one after. Much of the national power grid was destroyed during the US-led invasion in 2003, while insurgents, militias and thugs continue to vandalise infrastructure even as the government races to rehabilitate facilities, he said. AFP PHOTO/ALI YUSSEF (Photo credit should read ALI YUSSEF/AFP via Getty Images)