Finance, foreign ministers survive British cabinet reshuffle

LONDON (AFP) - British Prime Minister David Cameron reshuffled his ailing coalition government on Tuesday, but kept unpopular finance minister George Osborne and foreign minister William Hague in their jobs.

While most of the cabinet big hitters emerged unscathed, Mr Cameron promoted culture minister Jeremy Hunt, who has battled calls to resign over his closeness to Rupert Murdoch's media empire, to the health ministry.

Addressing one of the pressing issues in his in-tray as parliament returns to work after the summer break, Mr Cameron sacked transport minister Justine Greening, who was seen as blocking the expansion of Heathrow airport.

Ms Greening becomes international development minister while Patrick McLoughlin takes over her transport brief, as the government faces increasingly urgent calls for an expansion of airport capacity in London.