Iraqi president faces pressure to pick PM

Baghdad - Iraq's capital and south have been gripped by four months of anti-government protests demanding snap elections.

Pressure mounted on Iraq's political elite on Friday to nominate a new premier, after a stern sermon from the country's top Shia authority and a call for fresh protests by firebrand cleric Moqtada Sadr.
Iraq's capital and south have been gripped by four months of anti-government protests demanding snap elections, a politically independent prime minister and an end to corruption.
Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani piled on the pressure in his weekly Friday sermon, urging parties to "accelerate the formation of a new government".

• MENA