In news from Iraq, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari has lashed out at growing US pressure to block him from serving a second term as prime minister. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad has asked Iraqi Shiite politicians to seek the withdrawal of al-Jaafari’s nomination for a second term. In an interview with the New York Times, al-Jaafari said: “[There’s] concern among the Iraqi people that the democratic process is being threatened.”