Kamal al-Ganzuri appointed new Egypt PM: state TV

CAIRO: The head of Egypt’s ruling military council has tasked Kamal al-Ganzuri, 79, who was premier under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, to head the new cabinet, state television announced on Friday. “Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi has decided to appoint Kamal al-Ganzuri the new prime minister, granting him full powers,” the television sai...

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White House asks for speedy transfer of power in Egypt

WASHINGTON: The transfer of power to a civilian government in Egypt must be “just and inclusive” and take place “as soon as possible,” the White House said on Friday. “Most importantly, we believe that the full transfer of power to a civilian government must take place in a just and inclusive manner that responds to the legitimate aspirations of the Egyptian people, as soon as possible,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said in a statement. The remarks came as a private Egyptian television channels reported that the ruling military council had tasked former Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzuri with forming a new cabinet. Ganzuri headed the government from 1996 to 1999 under ousted president Hosni Mubarak. Egypt’s ruling...

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Karzai puts former Afghan central banker back in charge

KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has nominated a former central bank governor to take up the post again, his office said on Friday, nearly six months after the incumbent left saying he feared for his life because of his role investigating a banking scandal. The proposed new central bank head, Noorullah Delawari, has decades of experience as a commercial banker in the United States before returning to Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban government in 2001. He helped re-launch the country’s currency, the Afghani, after years of war in which many different regimes and leaders had issued their own competing versions of coins and banknotes. He served as central banker from 2004 to 2007 and was also a founder, president...

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Thousands in Cairo’s Tahrir ahead of new mass rally

CAIRO: Thousands of Egyptians streamed into Tahrir Square on Friday ahead of a new mass rally to demand the end of military rule, capping a week of protests and deadly clashes just days before the first polls since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. “Last Chance Friday… stability or chaos,” ran the headline of the flagship state-owned daily Al-Ahram. The call for protest comes amid uncertainty over who will lead the next government; after privately-owned television channels reported that former premier Kamal al-Ganzuri had been given the job. There was no immediate official confirmation but Al-Ahram said on its website that Ganzuri had agreed to lead a government of national salvation. Ganzuri is an economist who served as prime minister under...

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Nineteen killed in south Iraq bombings: officials

BASRA: Three bombs exploded on Thursday in the south Iraq port city of Basra, killing 19 people, including high-ranking army and police officers, and wounding at least 65, security and medical officials said. A roadside bomb and a motorcycle bomb exploded simultaneously at about 6:40 pm (1540 GMT) in a market in central Basra, an interior ministry official said. Following a common pattern in Iraq, a third roadside bomb went off as people gathered at the scene, according to the official, who put toll at 19 killed and 67 wounded. An army brigade commander and a high-ranking police officer were among the dead, while police and soldiers were also wounded in the blasts, the official said. Riyadh Abdelamir, the head of the Basra health directorate,...

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