Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Wednesday he will not sign an implementation order for Tareq Aziz, the former deputy of Dictator Saddam Hussein sentence to death last month for crimes alongside humanity."No, I will not sign the execution order for Tareq Aziz, since I am a socialist," Talabani told French television France 24 in a consultation."I feel sorry for with Tareq Aziz because he is an Iraqi Christian. in addition he is an old man who is over 70," he said.Iraq's high court passed a death sentence on Aziz, once the worldwide face of Saddam's government, in October over the harassment of Islamic parties in Iraq throughout Saddam's rule.Full story
President Obama on Friday praise Iraq’s steps to form a new government as “one more landmark in the the past of modern Iraq,” even as a long-overdue power-sharing accord frayed from the outset.Iraq’s new assembly open at last on Thursday, nearly eight months after the country’s election, with member re-electing Jalal Talabani as president. Mr. Talabani then formally chose Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki for a second term in office, charitable him 30 days to form a cabinet of ministers.The session’s intended comity was marred, on the other hand, when Mr. Maliki’s chief rival, Ayad Allawi, and his supporters walked out in complaint, leaving the ultimate fate of the accord unclear.Full story
