Iraqi parliamentary speaker hospitalised after fainting

Baghdad: A Sunni speaker was hospitalised on Monday after fainting during a debate on the disputed northern city of Kirkuk, Iraq's parliament said.

Mahmoud Al Mashhadani is now in stable condition after suffering a sharp drop in blood pressure, the office of the speaker said.

Al Mashhadani fainted after opening a session on a draft provincial elections law that is blocked in parliament because of disagreement over a power-sharing formula in Kirkuk.