PB turns down federal budget

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi Presidential Board (PB) on Thursday declined to endorse the 2009 federal budget, according to al-Iraqiya TV. “The PB, composed of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Vice Presidents Adel Abdulmahdi and Tareq al-Hashimi, did not approve the 2009 federal budget,” according to an urgent news report by al-Iraqiya network. The Iraqi parliament had passed on March 5, 2009 this year’s budget by an absolute majority of members. The budget was 69.1 trillion Iraqi dinars ($58.5 billion) after it was cut by 5 trillion Iraqi dinars. AmR (P) 1