Iraq parliament agrees key positions after deal

Iraq's parliament approved key leadership positions today in the first step towards forming a new government, after a breakthrough deal that returns Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to office.

Al-Maliki and his top rival Ayad Allawi, who had hoped to take the prime minister's post at the top of a Sunni-backed coalition, sat next to each other in the chamber in an apparent sign of unity after an eight-month political fight over the formation of the government.