Ex-aviation minister to form new Egypt government

Embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has appointed a former civil aviation minister, Ahmed Shafiq, as the new prime minister.

The former fighter pilot, Shafiq has been tasked with forming the country's new cabinet. The president also named intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as his first vice-president.

Anti-government protests continued for the fifth day on Saturday in Egypt with crowds of tens of thousands demanding President Hosni Mubarak step down after three decades in power.

Mubarak, 82, has rejected calls from protesters to resign and dismissed the country's government, pledging to form a new one and bring in democratic reforms.

The former IAEA chief and current Egyptian opposition leader, Mohamed ElBaradei, called Mubarak's speech 'disappointing' and urged him to step down to stop violence in the country.

Some 1,000 people tried to storm the Interior Ministry's building on Saturday and police opened fire on the crowd, Al Jazeera reported.

Some 100 people have been killed and over 1,000 injured in the riots, which have been ongoing in the Arab country despite the curfew imposed by the authorities.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Egyptian authorities earlier on Saturday to take measures to ensure the safety of Russian tourists in the riot-hit Arab country.

Lavrov sent a message to his Egyptian counterpart raising hope that the "leadership and society will show high national responsibility and do everything necessary to stabilize the situation."

CAIRO, January 29 (RIA Novosti)

21:06 29/01/2011

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