News Pictures Of The Week - 2009, October 1(Nuri al-Maliki)

BAGHDAD, IRAQ, OCTOBER 1: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki reads a speech during a meeting for his "State of Law Coalition", a political alliance for the upcoming Iraqi elections, on October 1, 2009 in Baghdad, Iraq. Al-Maliki's Shiite-led coalition joins with Sunni parties and clans from around the country in preparation for the January 16 vote. A coalition of 40 different groups it also includes some Kurdish and Christian parties from the north of the country. Al-Maliki rejected joining a Shiite faction coalition and put together a rival movement which places emphasis on secular policies and reconciliation with Sunnis after years of sectarian bloodshed.

( - Photo by Muhannad Fala'ah/Getty Images Europe)