In Iraq, the country’s new parliament ended two months of deadlock and elected Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani to serve in the mostly ceremonial post of Iraqi president. A Shiite and Sunni were named as his two deputies. The three will serve on the presidency council. Tomorrow they are expected to name Shiite Ibrahim al-Jafaari to be prime minister. Jafaari–who is seen as a conservative Islamist–will then have two weeks to try to put together a government. The Iraqi Parliament is still deadlocked over who should head the coveted oil and defense ministries. For the Kurds, the election of Talabani marks a historic occasion. For decades Talabani has been one of the most prominent Kurdish leaders. At the age of 18 he joined the central committee of the Kurdish Democratic Party. In 1975 he helped found a rival political party — the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. Two years ago the United States appointed him to the Iraq Governing Council.