After marathon talks, Prime Minister 'Isām Sharaf became close to finishing a cabinet reshuffle and referring the new lineup to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).

Sharaf faced several problems in his consultations to form a cabinet, most notably the objections by the April 6 Movement, which calls for sacking him as prime minister, in addition to unprecedented refusals by figures to assume government posts.

Fifteen ministers in the incumbent government are said to be retaining their posts in the new one, while 14 were relieved, including the deputy prime minister Yahyá al-Jamal and the ministers of foreign affairs, finance, higher education, health, communications, antiquities, trade, transport and local development.

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