Iraqi PM al-Maliki shuns parliament

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has apologised for failing to appear in front of the country’s parliament on Monday. This follows calls by several political parties in Iraq last week, which summoned al-Maliki and several military to appear before the parliament in order to discuss the country’s deteriorating security situation. Iman al-Moussawi, an MP for the Sadrist Party, told Arabstoday that Speaker of the House Osama Najafi read out an apology from the PM during a parliamentary session on Monday, saying he was very busy “managing the security situation.” Moussawi also pointed out that in the apology al-Maliki urged the leaders of opposition parties to discuss the security situation, in his absence, in a bid to “find a suitable solution.”