Parties battle over vice-president post, while Maliki names eight ministers, but keeps security portfolios for now.
Top posts in key committees are doled out as the new legislature begins to take shape.
Iraq's most populist political party is proposing that 15 percent of oil revenues go directly to the country's poor, as domestic protests continue amidst a regional upheaval.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has reportedly agreed to support Kurdistan's oil contracts -- a significant step, but only one of many on the long path to reconciling a years-long dispute.
Iraq has taken its first steps towards exporting 100k bpd of oil from the Kurdistan region, though major issues are still unsettled.
The new Parliament has approved members to the energy committee, which could shepherd major legislation including the stalled oil law.
Kurdish exports will resume Feb. 1, but officials on both sides of the KRG-Baghdad divide are keeping quiet about the details.
From oil policy to politics to security, the events of a momentous 2010 have shaped the agenda for 2011. A briefing for the new year from Iraq Bureau Chief Ben Lando.
After four years of self-imposed exile in Iran, radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr returns to an Iraqi political scene where his clout has never been greater.
Abdul Karim Luaibi began his career as a deputy engineer for the South Oil Company, and now takes the helm of the Oil Ministry.
