Iraq bloc to end parliament boycott
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/01/201212919171985232.html
The largest political alliance in Iraq's government has said that it would end its boycott of parliament.
The decision by Iraqiya on Sunday, backed by much of the country's Sunnis and some secular Shias, could ease an ongoing political crisis in the government of Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's Shia prime minister.
While lawmakers will return to parliament when it reconvenes on Tuesday, Iraqiya spokesperson Maysoon al-Damluji said the Iraqiya's ministers will not attend a cabinet meeting on the same day to protest arrests and prosecution of Sunni officials.
Iraq's political crisis erupted last month after the Shia-led government issued an arrest warrant against the Sunni vice president Tareq al-Hashemi on terrorism charges and sidelined one of his deputies who criticised al-Maliki. In protest, Iraqiya lawmakers and ministers boycotted parliament and cabinet sessions, bringing government work to a standstill.