Top Iraq Cleric Says Lack of New Government 'Regrettable Failure'

The Iraqi parliament's inability to agree on a new government in its first session was a "regrettable failure", Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said in a Friday sermon delivered by his aide. Sistani intervened a week ago in Iraq's political crisis by urging lawmakers at their opening session to put aside disputes and form a new government to tackle an insurgency spearheaded by an al Qaeda splinter group that could fracture the...

© La Voix de l'Amérique - vendredi 4 juillet 2014