In plot twist, Iraqi Shiite cleric announces retirement

BAGHDAD (AP) — An influential Shiite cleric whose followers have been staging a sit-in outside Iraq’s parliament announced his resignation from politics and the closure of his party offices on Monday.It is unclear how Muqtada al-Sadr’s latest announcement will affect an already unprecedented and destabilizing political crisis that has plagued Iraq since federal elections last year. His supporters are holding an ongoing sit-in outside the parliament building for over four weeks.