Iraqi official: Parliament approves 3 key Cabinet ministers

Iraq's deputy parliament speaker says the legislature has approved three Cabinet ministers whose posts have been vacant since the formation of the government in October. Hassan al-Kaabi told The Associated Press that the parliament approved Najah al-Shammari for defence minister, Yassin al-Yassiri as interior minister and Farouq Amin Othman for the post of the justice minister. The three were sworn in on Monday.

Al-Kaabi said the election of education minister has been postponed as the current candidate didn't get enough votes. In October, Iraq's parliament voted to confirm Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi's new government while leaving the four Cabinet posts unfilled, underscoring the discord plaguing Iraqi politics.

Abdul-Mahdi had earlier proposed others for the posts but his proposals were rejected by other groups until an agreement on the new names was reached.