Mr Gurule is carrying the names of 12 individuals and organisations that the Bush administration suspects of having helped finance al-Qaeda.

ECONOMIST: The hunt continues | The

They began in late December when Sunni demonstrators took to the streets in Anbar province, which borders Jordan and Syria, to protest al-Maliki's order to arrest the bodyguards of Finance Minister Rafaie al-Esawi, a Sunni.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The regulations were announced by Iraq's nominal finance minister, Kamel al-Gailani, but they bear the signature of Paul Bremer, who heads the American-run Coalition Provisional Authority, and the imprimatur of the American consultants it has hired to frame economic policies.

ECONOMIST: If it all works out, Iraq will be a capitalist's dream

Mohamed Ibrahim will head the Interior Ministry and Al-Mursi Al-Sayed Hegazy will run the Finance Ministry, MENA said.

CNN: Egypt to reshuffle 10 Cabinet ministries, state news says

Seven ministers will remain from the outgoing military-appointed cabinet - including Mumtaz al-Said, who will serve as finance minister, and Mohammed Kamal Amr, who stays on as foreign minister.

BBC: New Egyptian cabinet sworn in by President Mursi

Al-Sanea has made most of his fortune investing in construction and finance, particularly by securing contracting deals for the construction of residential and industrial buildings near Saudi Arabia's Al-Khobar region.

FORBES: Billionaire Al-Sanea Bets On HSBC

He kept the existing finance and foreign ministers and appointed a police general, Ahmed Gamal al-Din, as interior minister.

ECONOMIST: Politics this week

The EU, the US and others already train and finance the Somali security forces, as part of wider efforts to combat piracy and al-Qaeda in the Horn of Africa.

BBC: Displaced Somalis suffer cycle of sexual violence

Members of the al-Essawi's staff and guards were among those kidnapped from the ministry Thursday, the finance minister said.

CNN: 150 kidnapped from Iraqi finance ministry, minister says