Iraq finally passes 2013 budget

Iraqi parliament passed the $118 billion 2013 budget, despite a boycott by members from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and the Iraqiya bloc. The cabinet had approved the budget in October but ongoing differences between the political factions scuttled attempts by lawmakers to pass the draft in previous occasions. The budget only allocates to Kurdistan a fraction, $650 million, of the oil revenue requested by the semi-autonomous region, deepening the dispute between the central government and the Kurdistan region.