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Iraq president names deputy speaker new prime minister
Mideast Iraq Werm
Iraqis chant pro-government slogans and display placards bearing a picture of embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki during a demonstration in Baghdad Monday. - photo by Associated Press
BAGHDAD — Iraq's new president on Monday snubbed the powerful incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and nominated the deputy parliament speaker to form the new government, raising fears of more infighting in the government as the country faces the threat of Sunni militants in the north. In a televised address, Fouad Massoum gave Haider al-Ibadi, who was selected by a coalition of Shiite political parties, 30 days to form a new government and present it to parliament for approval. The ceremony came hours after the embattled al-Maliki delivered a surprise speech at midnight accusing Massoum of blocking his reappointment as prime minister and carrying out "a coup against the constitution and the political process."
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