A group of Iraqi Shiite political parties that includes Iran-backed militias has contested the outcome of the weekend's first parliament session after October elections.
The issue will be taken to the country’s Supreme Federal Court, a politician told The National.
The move by the Co-ordination Framework could further prolong the process of forming a new government, which officially started with Sunday’s session when the legislative body convened and re-elected the speaker and his two deputies.
Iraq could see tough days and all will lose
Abu Ali Al Askari,
paramilitary commander
Shortly after starting, the session was briefly adjourned when a quarrel erupted between the two main Shiite rivals, the Co-ordination Framework and the Sadrist Bloc, over the mechanism of announcing the largest bloc.
Constitutionally, once the largest bloc is announced, it is tasked with forming the new government.
Whether constitutional process will go ahead remains to be seen.
The eldest member of parliament who served as the acting speaker fell ill in the middle of the heated discussion and was taken to hospital.
The session was later resumed and led by the second eldest member, a move rejected by politicians of the Co-ordination Framework who walked out from the session.
They said that the eldest member, who is constitutionally required to chair the session, was absent and that it could not be resumed without him.
Politician Alia Nussayif said that the State of Law, the largest party inside the Co-ordination Framework, was contesting the outcome in court. She refused to provide more details.
Since the election results were announced in November, the Sadrist Bloc, sponsored by the populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, and the Co-ordination Framework have been at loggerheads and failed to reach a deal over the formation of the new government.
The Sadrists performed well during the vote, winning 73 seats in the 329-seat parliament, making the bloc the clear winner.
They are followed by Taqadum, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammed Al Halbousi, who won 37 seats.
Former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law bloc was third, with 33 seats. The Kurdistan Democratic Party took 31 seats while the Kurdistan Alliance led by its rival, the PUK, and the Iran-backed Fatah Alliance each won 17 seats.
At Sunday’s session, the Sadrists teamed up with Sunnis and the KDP to re-elect Mr Al Halbousi and two deputies, a Sadrist and a Kurd linked to the KDP.
Warning of violence
“I hold Sunnis and Kurds accountable for making a rift between the Shiites,” Ms Nussayif told a local TV station affiliated to a powerful pro-Tehran Shiite militia late on Monday.
“That rift could lead to blood, God forbid,” she said, before warning both Sunnis and Kurds that the “fire will catch them” if confrontations among Shiites erupted.
These threats were echoed by Abu Ali Al Askari, a spokesman for the Iran-backed Kataeb Hezbollah armed group, who issued a warning that “Iraq could see tough days and all will lose”.
Shortly before adjourning the session on Sunday, Mr Al Halbousi opened the door for presidential nominations, the second step in forming the government. It is customary for the president to be Kurdish.
According to the constitution, parliament has 30 days from the first session to elect the president, who will then ask the largest bloc to form a government within 15 days.
The main Kurdish parties, the KDP and the PUK, have yet to agree on a nominee but senior KDP official Fadhil Mirani hinted in statements in local media that the post will stay in PUK hands.
Iraq held early elections on October 10 in response to one of the core demands of a nationwide, pro-reform protest movement that erupted in 2019.
The elections were the fifth parliamentary vote for a full-term government since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
MATCH INFO
Serie A
Juventus v Fiorentina, Saturday, 8pm (UAE)
Match is on BeIN Sports
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
If you go:
Getting there:
Flying to Guyana requires first reaching New York with either Emirates or Etihad, then connecting with JetBlue or Caribbean Air at JFK airport. Prices start from around Dh7,000.
Getting around:
Wildlife Worldwide offers a range of Guyana itineraries, such as its small group tour, the 15-day ‘Ultimate Guyana Nature Experience’ which features Georgetown, the Iwokrama Rainforest (one of the world’s four remaining pristine tropical rainforests left in the world), the Amerindian village of Surama and the Rupununi Savannah, known for its giant anteaters and river otters; wildlifeworldwide.com
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
