Cairo: Egypt's military ruler on Saturday held
talks with presidential hopefuls Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr
Mussa whose names have been touted by protesters as possible
leaders of a new government.
Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi met separately ElBaradei,
the former head of the UN nuclear watchdog, and Mussa, the
ex-head of the Arab League, the official MENA agency said, as
protesters demanding the end of military rule remained camped
out in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
Yesterday, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces,
which is headed by Tantawi, said it had tasked Kamal
al-Ganzuri -- who served as prime minister under ousted
president Hosni Mubarak-- to form a new cabinet.
But the appointment failed to satisfy the demands of
protesters in Tahrir who reject anyone from the Mubarak era,
or appointed by the military without full powers.
A sit-in in Tahrir entered its eighth day on Saturday,
with protesters vowing to stay put until their demands for
change are met.
At least 42 people have died in the clashes that erupted a
week ago, and over 3,000 have been injured.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, November 26, 2011, 23:05