The Iraqi Parliament is Still Deadlocked on a new Prime Minister, but it did elect a new President today, though that post is much less powerful. Fouad Massoum, a veteran figure in the Payriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), will replace Jalal Talabani, head of the PUK, who recently retuned to Kurdistan after a lengthy recovery in Europe from a stroke.
The fact that there is serious talk of a Kurdish referendum on independence by the end of the year underscores the fragility of Iraq at the moment.
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