IRAQ: Iraq's new government is finally taking shape and could be unveiled this week, negotiators said yesterday, signalling a compromise among sectarian and ethnic factions to rally behind Shia strongman Nuri al-Maliki.
Guerrillas killed 19 people in one incident in Baghdad yesterday - gunmen shot five men police said were members of the Mehdi Army Shia militia and then set off a car bomb in the same bus garage that killed a further 14 people and wounded more than 30.
Senior negotiators from most groups involved in efforts to form a national unity government said Mr Maliki could name his cabinet as early as tomorrow, four days ahead of a constitutional deadline set a month ago. One surprise could be the nomination of controversial former exile Ahmad Chalabi to the vital security post.