Bomb greets new president

Fresh bloodshed marked today's appointment of Iraq's first president since Saddam Hussein.

A car bomb exploded at the headquarters of the Kurdish party in Baghdad, yards from the "green zone" compound where a ceremony was taking place to choose the new Iraqi cabinet.

An Iraqi policeman said he saw at least 25 bodies, but US officer Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Campbell said only three were confirmed dead and 20 wounded.

The explosions came within minutes of the naming of Sheik Ghazi Yawar as president, and indicated the dangers his sovereign government will face when it takes over on 30 June.

In his first public comment Mr Yawar threw down the gauntlet to Washington by calling for the transfer of "full sovereignty" to Iraq. "We the Iraqis look forward to being granted full sovereignty through a Security Council resolution to enable us to rebuild a free, independent, democratic and federal unified homeland," he said.

Downing Street welcomed the announcement and said the leaders would take the country to independence and democracy. Tony Blair's official spokesman said they would form the most representative government the country had ever had. He added: "Nobody pretends this isn't a bumpy road but it is a road that leads to democracy."

A senior Bush administration official also hailed the new Iraqi government, and said the Coalition Provisional Authority would remain sovereign until 30 June to help the new leadership phase in.

Mr Yawar, a secular Sunni Muslim from Mosul, speaks fluent English. He wears traditional Arab clothes and enjoys some support from the Kurdish and Sunni minorities.

Although the post of president is largely ceremonial - prime minister Iyad Allawi will wield the main executive power - Mr Yawar will have a high profile.

He has already criticised the American occupation, saying the blame for the country's deteriorating security lies as much with the ineptitude of US forces as the Iraqi insurgency.

His appointment followed political jousting with US officials who made it clear they would prefer a more compliant figure, Adnam Pachachi, 81, who turned it down at the last moment.