Germany Gets New Iraqi Ambassador

Iraq's new ambassador to Germany Alaa Abdul Majid Hussain al-Hashimi has started work in Berlin, the German Foreign Ministry said Thursday. Al-Hashimi took up his post just two days after his German counterpart, Bernd Erbel, formally assumed his duties in Baghdad. The Iraqi ambassador arrives in time to welcome his president, Ghazi al-Yawar, who will be visiting Germany from September 9-12 and will meet with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. He is the first Iraqi ambassador in Berlin since the first Gulf War in 1991. Until now their relations have been maintained by lower level diplomats. Al-Hashimi, who studied architecture, was a member of a group opposed to former president Saddam Hussein. (AFP)