A blinding sandstorm in Baghdad forced the postponement of a meeting scheduled by Iraqi political leaders to discuss issues blocking agreement on a new constitution, President Jalal Talabani’s office announced.

Iraq’s newly-elected parliament chose Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani as its new interim president today, reaching out to the nation’s long-repressed Kurdish minority and taking one of the final steps toward forming Iraq’s first democratically elected government in 50 years.