Maoist ex-rebels have been sworn in as ministers in Nepal's interim government as part of a landmark peace pact that ended a decade-long insurgency in the Himalayan nation.
Earlier, Nepal's Parliament re-elected Girija Prasad Koirala as prime minister of the new government.
The inclusion of the former rebels is part of a peace process that began last year when the Maoists agreed to give up their armed campaign to rid Nepal of its constitutional monarchy and join an interim government.
The agreement on the formation of a joint government was reached late Friday in a meeting involving Koirala, leaders of the seven ruling coalition parties, and Prachanda, the leader of the former rebels who goes by a single name.
More than 13,000 people were killed before a cease-fire was declared in April 2006 following the weeks of mass pro-democracy protests that forced King Gyanendra to restore Parliament, which he had usurped 14 months earlier.
Since a November peace agreement was signed, the rebels have locked up their weapons, confined their fighters in UN-monitored camps and joined Parliament.
The interim government is to hold elections later this year for a special assembly that will rewrite the Constitution and decide whether Nepal will continue to have a king.
AP