In Iraq, Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani is being sworn in today as Iraq’s new president. Talabani told reporters his presidency shows that “all Iraqis are equal before the law”. He said, “It means that there is no discrimination, that all Arabs, Kurds and other nationalities have the same rights.” Also being sworn in today are Talabani’s two deputies: the Sunni Ghazi Yawer, who had been serving as interim president; and Shiite Adel Abdul Mahdi, who is the country’s former finance manager.