Kamal al-Ganzouri appointed Egypt's new prime minister

Egypt's ruling military council said in a statement that it had appointed Kamal al-Ganzouri as the country's new prime minister on Friday and charged him with forming a cabinet, RIA Novosti reports on Friday.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) on Thursday requested 78-year-old al-Ganzouri, who served as a prime minister in 1996-1999, to head the country's new government, the news agency informs.

Prime Minister Isam Sharaf's government stepped down earlier this week after deadly clashes between police and protesters unhappy with the delay in the transition to civilian rule following February's overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak.

SCAF chairman Mohamed Hussein Tantawi announced on Tuesday that parliamentary elections would be held on November 28 and presidential elections by the end of June 2012.