Iraqi president communicating after stroke

AN Iraqi doctor says President Jalal Talabani, recovering from stroke in a German hospital, will be OK to return home but the German doctors will decide.

A DOCTOR who oversees Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's medical care says the president is able to speak and understand people around him as he recovers from a stroke he suffered over two months ago.

In an interview on Sunday Dr Najmaldin Karim described the improvement in the president's health as encouraging and "a good development".

Karim oversees Talabani's medical care when he is in Iraq, although the president is currently in Germany for treatment.

Karim says he is hopeful Talabani will be able to return to Iraq, but acknowledged that any decision rests with the doctors treating him in Germany.

Talabani was rushed to a hospital on December 17 for what officials described as a serious stroke. He was later moved to Germany. Few details have been released about his condition.