Iraqi PM 'will not seek third term'

Iraqi state TV is reporting that prime minister Nouri Maliki will not run for a third time when his current term is up in 2014.

The Shiite premier’s political bloc fell two seats short of a majority in parliamentary elections last year and he narrowly kept his job by pulling support from allies in months of closed-door negations after the vote.

The announcement came a day after the premier’s decision to return half his annual pay to the government treasury to ease disparities between rich and poor Iraqis.

That move appeared calculated to insulate Mr Maliki from the anti-government unrest spreading across the Middle East.