National 'unity' Cabinet announced after delay

Afghanistan's new Cabinet was unveiled on Monday after three months of wrangling following the election of President Ashraf Ghani and the formation of a "national unity government" in the wake of last year's fraud-mired election.

Ghani was inaugurated in late September after signing a power-sharing deal with his poll rival Abdullah Abdullah. The unity government deal was seen as saving Afghanistan from the risk of imminent civil war when both candidates claimed to have won the election in a standoff that fanned long-standing ethnic tensions.

But negotiations over ministerial posts brought politics to a stalemate and threatened to fuel the Taliban insurgency.