Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr announced today that he will order his Shiite Mahdi Army to continue its ceasefire by another six months, giving Iraq a chance to continue its fragile recovery.

IRAQ’s ruling Shi’ite Islamist parties struck a last-minute deal to patch up differences yesterday and agreed to register as a united bloc for December 15 polls where they face a new Sunni Arab alliance.