New Afghan parliament to open on Jan 23

Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans to open his war-battered nation's parliament on January 23, one of his ministers said yesterday, after months of uncertainty due to disputes over election results.
"The president will inaugurate the parliament on January 23," Homayoun Azimi, Karzai's minister for parliamentary affairs, told AFP.
Azizi did not give details but a Karzai spokesman, Siamak Herawi, separately told AFP that the inauguration date had been delayed for three days due to a foreign visit by Karzai.