Iraq's prime minister-designate has announced he has formed a cabinet, after three months of political negotiations.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari told reporters that the three-member presidential council approved his proposed list of cabinet members. He did not reveal any names but said it includes representatives of all the country's major groups. The list will go to the 275-member National Assembly for a vote of approval on Thursday.
Many Iraqis have expressed frustration with the delay in forming a new government after January's historic elections.
Meanwhile, gunmen have killed a member of Iraq's parliament, Lamia Abed Khadduri, outside her Baghdad home, Wednesday. She was a member of the coalition headed by former interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
And in a separate development, Romania has asked the kidnappers of three Romanian journalists in Iraq for more time. The kidnappers have threatened to execute the three, Wednesday, unless Romania withdraws from Iraq.