Iraq names ex-Najaf governor Zurfi as premier

BAGHDAD: Iraqi president Barham Saleh named Adnan Zurfi, the former governor of the Shiite holy city of Najaf, as the new prime minister Tuesday, the second attempt to find a head of government in recent months.

Zurfi, a 54-year-old lawmaker, has 30 days to form his cabinet which he must then put to a vote of confidence in Iraq’s notoriously divided parliament.