The US Senate has confirmed ambassadors to 16 countries including Malta. The position in Malta has been vacant since Douglas Kmiec stepped down following criticism from a State Department office.

The new ambassador will be Abercrombie-Winstanley, whose last ost was Deputy Coordinator in the Office of the Coordinator for Counter-terrorism at the State Department. She was also Director of the Office of Egypt and the Levant in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affair among other positions, nearly all related to the Middle East.

She joined the Foreign Service in 1985 after serving as a Presidential Management Fellow at the United States Information Agency.

The Senate also confirmed ambassadors to India, Barbados, Cambodia, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Haiti, Kosovo, Latvia, Libya, Nicaragua, Panama, Togo, Tunisia and Uruguay.

Also approved were a number of other senior officials who have been working without Senate confirmation including Roberta Jacobson, named the assistant secretary of state in charge of Latin America.

"We're very pleased that these individuals can now begin their work in earnest. And we also will continue to work with Congress on the remaining nominees," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.

The Senate did not move on the nominations for ambassadors to Ecuador and El Salvador or on Carlos Pascual, the former US ambassador to Mexico who has been named special envoy for international energy affairs.

The long delays in Senate confirmation recently led Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to urge ambassadors, who traditionally step down with the end of an administration, to stay until their replacements are in place.

Powell, the new US ambassador to India, has previously served as US envoy in Pakistan and Nepal and holds the prestigious rank of career ambassador.

US presidents have often chosen political appointees instead of career diplomats for India to highlight the importance of the relationship.