Iraqi legislators approve Maliki as P.M.
BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 22 (UPI) -- Iraq's Parliament ratified the selection of Jawad al-Maliki as prime minister on Saturday, ending a four-month political deadlock.
Members of Parliament also approved Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, as president and Mahmoud al-Meshhedani, a Sunni, as speaker, dividing the top leadership posts among the country's three major factions, The New York Times reported. Their deputies were also confirmed.
Maliki, under Iraq's constitution, has 30 days to select a cabinet.
The new prime minister promised an end to the divisions that have contributed to the deaths of hundreds of Iraqis in recent weeks.
"We are going to form a family that will not be based on sectarian or ethnic backgrounds," he told reporters at a news conference.
Saturday's voting followed weeks of stalemate as Sunni and Kurdish leaders refused to accept former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and he refused to step aside. Following recent negotiations, Jaafari finally gave up.
Political leaders met for 30 minutes with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad before the final vote.
"It's all been cooked, all the ingredients are there," he said when he emerged. "The temperature is just right."
Ex-CIA official: Bush ignored intel on WMD
WASHINGTON, April 22 (UPI) -- A retired CIA official tells CBS News the Bush administration ignored information that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction.
Tyler Drumheller, who retired last year, told "60 Minutes" the administration ignored credible information from a high-ranking source in Iraq, Foreign Minister Naji Sabri. Drumheller said when the information was given to President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other top administration officials, they were excited at first but quickly lost interest.
"The group that was dealing with preparation for the Iraq war came back and said they were no longer interested," Drumheller said. "And we said 'Well, what about the intel?' And they said 'Well, this isn't about intel anymore. This is about regime change.'"
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said in the past that Sabri was only a single source. Drumheller said the administration was willing to rely on single sources, when the sources were saying what officials wanted to hear.
Young officers debate blame for Iraq
WEST POINT, N.Y., April 22 (UPI) -- Public criticism of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld by retired generals has opened debate at the U.S. Military Academy and in command posts and mess halls.
One Army colonel enrolled in a Defense Department university said an informal poll among his classmates indicated about 25 percent believed Rumsfeld should resign, and 75 percent believed he should remain, The New York Times reported.
Many officers who blame Rumsfeld do not fault President George W. Bush -- in contrast to the situation in the 1960s, when both President Lyndon Johnson and Defense Secretary Robert McNamara drew criticism over Vietnam.
An Army major in Special Forces criticized both Bush and Rumsfeld.
"I believe that a large number of officers hate Rumsfeld as much as I do, and would like to see him go," he said.
"I feel conflicted by this debate, and I think a lot of my colleagues are also conflicted," said an Army colonel completing a year of training at one of the military's advanced schools.
Nepal protesters ignore king's curfew
KATHMANDU, Nepal, April 22 (UPI) -- Police opened fire on protesters who defied a daytime curfew Saturday, streaming into Kathmandu by the tens of thousands.
The Maoist movement joined the demonstrators in rejecting King Gyanendra's offer of a partial restoration of democracy, the BBC reported.
"The sea of people on the streets proves that the Nepali people want to get rid of the feudal regime forever," they said in a statement.
Police shot and wounded at least four protesters. Many were seen bloodied and injured as police beat them away from the streets leading to King Gyanendra's palace, and tactics included the use of tear gas.
Opposition groups have formed a coalition against Gyanendra -- enlisting the support of India, the European Union and the United States -- and carrying out an economy stopping strike.
Fourteen protesters have been killed by police, including at peaceful rallies, on the orders of Gyanendra.
Tanks blocked roads and helicopters monitored the protests from above on Saturday. In late afternoon, the king ordered cell phone service providers to suspend service to prevent the opposition from organizing demonstrations, The Hindu reported.
Nagin leads in New Orleans; runoff likely
NEW ORLEANS, April 22 (UPI) -- Mayor Ray Nagin was the top vote getter in a field of 21 as New Orleans voters turned out for their first post-Katrina election Saturday.
Nagin had about 35 percent of the votes cast, followed by Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu with 29 percent and businessman Ron Forman with 20 percent, the New Orleans Times Picayune said. Unless someone wins at least 50 percent of the vote, a runoff must be held between the two top vote getters.
Landrieu is the brother of U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and son of a former New Orleans mayor, while Forman has won respect by reviving the Audubon Zoo, creating a major park and cluster of tourist attractions.
Turnout was reportedly high, even though 60 percent of New Orleans residents are living elsewhere -- some of them scattered hundreds of miles away. Voters used absentee ballots, went to satellite polling places and traveled by bus caravan from Georgia and Texas.
Polls were open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., with 16,000 voters requesting absentee ballots.
CNN reports there are 298,000 registered New Orleans voters and anyone living outside the city was eligible unless he or she registered to vote elsewhere.
