Iraq govt formation falters again

Acting Parliament Speaker Adnan Pachachi, who was to have made an announcement at the press conference, said discussions on holding the session which were supposed to conclude this morning are continuing.

Pachachi said he had expected Parliament to meet at the end of next week. The deadlock has been focused on PM Ibrahim al Jaafari, who is resisting pressure from both rivals and senior members of his dominant Shi8217;ite Alliance.

The Alliance has engaged in a series of talks aimed at ending the crisis, which has left a political vacuum and prompted the US and the UK to urge feuding Iraqi leaders to bury their differences.

Technically the 8216;8216;first8217;8217; session was not adjourned earlier this month, a legal ploy that gives parliament an open-ended timetable to elect a speaker, which the constitution says should happen at the first session. Once the speaker is chosen, the new constitution sets a 30-day timetable for forming a government, though there is dispute over whether this should apply to the first parliament.

Zarqawi associate captured in Baghdad

BAGHDAD: Iraqi forces have captured the prime suspect in last year8217;s kidnapping of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, the US military said in a statement on Thursday.

Mohammed Hila Hammad Obeidi, also known as Abu Ayman, was arrested in southern Baghdad on March 7 but the announcement was delayed pending DNA tests to verify his identity, the US command said in a statement. 8212;AP