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Iraqi President ‘Responding Well’ To Treatment


Iraqi President Jalal Talabani
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani
The office of Iraq's ailing president says he is responding well to treatment in Germany after suffering a stroke.

A statement on January 5 describes Jalal Talabani’s health situation as "reassuring."

Talabani, 79, was flown to Germany for treatment more than two weeks ago.

A report on January 4 in the French newspaper “Le Figaro” quoted Kurdish political sources as saying the president was "clinically dead" in a Berlin hospital.

Talabani's office called the report "totally baseless."

The Iraqi presidency is a largely ceremonial role.

But Talabani’s hospitalization has injected more uncertainty into the country's political future, as protest rallies grow in Sunni areas against the Shi’ite-led government.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP

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