President Jalal Talabani issued a decree Friday that orders
Iraq’s new parliament to hold its first session on March 19, his chief of staff told The Associated Press. “The president of the republic has called for parliament to hold its first session on March 19,” spokesman Kamran al-Karadaghi said. There still was no resolution of the bitter dispute over a new term for Shiite Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, prompting Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdish region of Iraq, to issue a statement saying the country was in political “crisis.” Full Story
