POWER HANDOVER 'TODAY'
The handover of power in Iraq is to be brought forward to today.
A formal announcement will be made later today, Tony Blair said.
The informal announcement was made by Iraq's foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari.
The handover of power to an interim Iraqi government was supposed to take place on June 30.
Mr Zebari said the deteriorating security situation in the country was one of the reasons why the date had been brought forward.
"We will challenge these elements in Iraq, the anti-democratic elements, by even bringing the handover of sovereignty before June 30 as a sign we are ready for it," he said.
He added: "We have made some very good progress in terms of the new security council (in Iraq) and the return of sovereignty to the Iraqi people to take away the level of occupation we have suffered a great deal from.
"There are many Iraqis who are standing up to the challenge. We are here to seek more help and assistance, training and equipment."
http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1140761,00.html
On to Iran!