KABUL, January 09, SPA -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai presented a second slate of nominees to fill his Cabinet on Saturday after parliament rejected 70 percent of his first picks. Last week lawmakers rejected 17 of 24 nominees. Second Vice President Karim Khalili announced 16 ministerial candidates, including 15 to replace those rejected the first time plus Karzai"s pick to head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zalmay Rasoul, a longtime national security adviser. That post was not part of his first submission. He did not submit names to replace Ishmail Khan, who currently is the minister of water and energy, who had been rejected in the first vote. He also did not submit a name for telecommunications. He said nominees for those portfolios would be announced soon. «I request that all the lawmakers think about the national interest of the country, the current situation of the country and the desires of the Afghan people and make a good decision,» Khalili said as he read the names to parliament, according to the Associated Press. --SPA 15:19 LOCAL TIME 12:19 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/736087