Egypt: Army Appoints New PM To End Bloodshed

Egypt's military rulers have asked former prime minister Kamal al Ganzouri to form a new cabinet as protesters demand the army hand over to a civilian administration, Egyptian TV stations report.

Previously prime minister from 1996 to 1999 under ousted former president Hosni Mubarak, Mr Ganzouri agreed to lead a so-called national salvation government after a meeting the head of the ruling army council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.

His adminstration will replace the military-appointed cabinet of Essam Sharaf, which resigned en masse on Sunday amid widespread criticism over its perceived subservience to the ruling generals.

The announcement came after the army council apologised for the deaths of protesters frustrated with military rule in clashes with police in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square.

"The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) presents its regrets and deep apologies for the deaths of martyrs from among Egypt's loyal sons during the recent events in Tahrir Square," it said on its Facebook page.

The scene in the square was calm on Thursday after Muslim clerics negotiated a truce between the two sides, but the protesters have stayed put and were continuing to call for the military to move aside.

A million-man march has been called for "the Friday of the last chance" and a labour rights group has urged a general strike to back the protests.

The violence has threatened to delay parliamentary elections due to begin on November 28, but a ruling council member confirmed that the polls would go ahead as planned.

"We will not delay elections. This is the final word," General Mamdouh Shaheen said.

The military council originally promised to return to barracks within six months of the fall of Mubarak, but then set a timetable for elections and drawing up a new constitution that would have left it in power until late next year or early 2013.

As the protests flared earlier this week, Field Marshall Tantawi pledged to hold a presidential vote in June, accelerating the move to civilian rule.