Iraq elects president, to choose PM amid US pressure to cut Iran ties

Iraq’s parliament will meet on Tuesday to elect the country’s new president, who will then appoint a prime minister, which is expected to be Nouri al-Maliki after he was endorsed by the Levantine country’s largest Shiite bloc. By convention, a Shiite Muslim holds the post of prime minister, the parliament speaker is Sunni and the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd. Parliamentary speaker Haibat al-Halbussi announced on Sunday that the new parliament will convene on Tuesday to elect a...