Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi has been spearheading a campaign against a 16-year tradition of portfolio quotas and for consensual democracy. Allawi, according to MP Hussein Arab, has been holding consultations with political blocs to push back against the agenda of quotas as he embarks on his mission to form a new government. Mohammad al-Khalidi, head of the "Bayariq al-Khair" bloc in parliament, paints another picture of this very ...
![The traditions of Ashura, a holy day Shi'ite Muslims will observe Sunday, started in the Middle East and spread to Iran and South Asia, where they have been practiced for centuries. [atlasshrugs]](/sites/default/files/styles/d08_traditional/public/im/iraq/ashura.jpg?itok=twpgvhlW "The traditions of Ashura, a holy day Shi'ite Muslims will observe Sunday, started in the Middle East and spread to Iran and South Asia, where they have been practiced for centuries. [atlasshrugs]")
