Yemen's new PM says cabinet to be announced in days

SANAA, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's newly-appointed Prime Minister Mohamed Basindwa said Tuesday that his cabinet will be formed within days.

"The new government will be announced within days," Basindwa briefed reporters at a press conference here.

"The new government's priority will be meeting the urgent economic needs of the Yemeni people, including making fuel, electricity and cooking gas available," he said.

"We plan to set up fund for reconstruction and development projects, and we have requested assistance from countries in the Gulf," Basindwa added.

Basindwa, chief of the opposition National Council, was assigned Sunday by Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to form an interim government, a day after Hadi declared Feb. 21, 2012 as the date for the early presidential elections in line with a deal on the power transfer in Yemen initiated by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) .

The new national unity government will be formed with equal participation of the opposition coalition and the ruling party in accordance with the GCC deal.

Officials of the ruling party said the new cabinet is expected to be announced by Thursday, and a military committee will be consensually formed to remove the military presence of rival forces in the capital Sanaa and other major cities.

Meanwhile, thousands of protesters marched Tuesday in Sanaa and the southern province of Taiz, calling for prosecuting President Ali Abdullah Saleh for "criminals he committed against them," according to witnesses.

On Nov. 23, Saleh signed the UN-backed GCC deal in Riyadh and transferred power to Hadi in return for immunity from prosecution.