From football to politics

Iraq's most famous footballer was sworn in Monday as a member of parliament, replacing a Sunni lawmaker who left politics to join the insurgency.
"I will work for all Iraqis and not for a particular side," said Ahmed Radhi, the scorer of Iraq's only World Cup finals goal to date, against Belgium in 1986.
Radhi will fill the vacancy left by the ejection of Abid-Nasir al-Janabi, a member of parliament's Sunni bloc, the National Concord Front, who appeared on television in June and announced his intention to become an insurgent.
"I will join the Sports and Youth Committee at the House of Deputies to serve sports activities in the country," said Radhi, one of the most popular figures in Iraq.
He left the war-torn country last summer and went to live for a while in the Jordanian capital Amman for security reasons after the head of Iraq's Olympic committee was kidnapped.
"Through my new job, I will seek to be active in seeking consensus between the political blocs inside the parliament," said Radhi, whose candidature was approved by unanimous vote.