BAGHDAD, March 9: Iraq’s new parliament will hold its first meeting on March 19, just over three months after it was elected, a spokesman for President Jalal Talabani said on Thursday.
Members of the dominant Shia-led United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) earlier the same day called on Mr Talabani to delay by a week the opening of the new parliament — a request that was accepted by all the other parties, Kamiran Karadari said.
A decision on when to open parliament was earlier held up by a dispute between the Alliance and Mr Talabani, who was backed by Kurds and Sunnis, over whether outgoing Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari — the UIA candidate — should be chosen to lead the next coalition government.
The announcement followed a closed-door meeting of the three-man presidential council, headed by Mr Talabani, alongside Mr Jaafari and Iraq’s deputy premiers.
13 EXECUTED: Thirteen guerillas were executed in Iraq on Thursday after they confessed to taking part in ‘crimes against Iraqis’.
A television network said one of them had confessed to being hired by foreign groups.
Three men were executed in September after a court in the city of Kut convicted them of killing three policemen, as well as of kidnap and rape.—Reuters/AFP
