Baghdad  - Iraqi Parliamentary Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani announced his resignation on Wednesday after lawmakers engaged in a quarrel over the reporter who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush.

Al-Zaidi, who has worked for the Cairo-based al-Baghdadiya since 2005, faces the Iraqi Criminal Court for throwing his shoes at Bush during a press conference on Sunday as he shouted in Arabic: "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog."

Dubai  - Iraq signed on Wednesday a three-billion-dollar agreement with General Electric Energy for the provision of power generation equipment and services to the country.

Under the agreement, General Electric will provide heavy-duty 9E gas turbines, that are capable of supplying about 7,000 megawatts electricity, according to a statement by the company.

The Iraqi government plans to install these turbines all over the country to provide support for the electricity grid.

Baghdad - Montazer al-Zaidi, the TV reporter who threw his shoes at US President George W Bush, was not present in court when his trial opened Wednesday, al-Zaidi's brother said Wednesday.

Cited by Iraq's INA news agency, Durgham al-Zaidi said the defendant's three brothers and three lawyers were in attendance at the trial that is taking place in the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad.

In court, the officiating judge said he met with Montazer al-Zaidi privately and that he was "cooperative."

Baghdad - Most foreign troops will have to exit Iraq by mid-2009 under draft legislation approved Wednesday by the Iraqi government.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the measure must now be approved by the parliament before it can be implemented.

Aside from US troops, who will operate in Iraq through 2011 under a separate agreement, all foreign troops would be scheduled to leave Iraq no later than July 31, 2009, al-Dabbagh said.

The government would keep the right to ask some countries to extend their stay in Iraq for training missions, he added.

Washington, Dec 17 : A White House spokeswoman has said that Iraqi leaders will decide whether punishment is appropriate for the journalist who stunned observers by hurling two shoes at US President George W. Bush from close range.

"The president believes that Iraq is a sovereign country, a democratic country, and they will have a process that they follow on this. The president harbors no hard feelings about the incident," White House press secretary Dana Perino told reporters.

The surprising scene happened on Sunday in Baghdad during an unanticipated trip by Bush, The News reported.

London/Baghdad - British forces will leave Iraq by mid-2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on a surprise visit to Baghdad Wednesday.

He confirmed that the withdrawal would begin in the spring and that the bulk of the 4,000 British troops would have "completed their tasks" in the first half of 2009.

The announcement came in a joint statement released during Brown's talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

They said: "The role played by the UK combat forces is drawing to a close. These forces will have completed their tasks in the first half of 2009 and will then leave Iraq."