Iraqi Parliament Removes Speaker

Speaker al-Mashhadani shortly after his selection as speaker on April 22, 2006 (epa) June 11, 2007 -- Iraq's parliament has voted to remove its speaker because of what deputies said was his rude behavior.

Mahmud al-Mashhadani had been involved in frequent shouting matches with other lawmakers, and colleagues had complained he was being disrespectful.

Members of parliament said the final straw came on June 10, when a Turkoman lawmaker accused al-Mashhadani's bodyguards of heavy-handedness.

Al-Mashhadani will be replaced by another member of the Iraqi Accordance Front, the main Sunni political bloc.

(Reuters, AP, AFP)

Searching For A Way Forward

A boy looks out from his Baghdad home (AFP)

LOOKING BEYOND AL-MALIKI: RFE/RL Iraq analyst Kathleen Ridolfo led an RFE/RL briefing about the changing political landscape in Iraq, focusing on efforts to gain the upper hand in the event that the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki falls.