Egypt's interim president swears in new Cabinet
Following resignation of Egyptian military-backed government, new Cabinet sworn in. Earlier Saturday, son of Egypt's ousted president Morsi arrested in possession of hashish.
State television aired the ministers being sworn in live from the presidential palace, led by new Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehlib, the outgoing housing minister, a construction magnate who also held a senior position in the now-dissolved party of ousted autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
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The new Cabinet keeps Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi as the country's defense minister. The 59-year-old el-Sissi is widely expected to run for president in elections expected by April.
Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim, who oversees the country's police, also remains in place despite wide criticism of his performance in handling rising violence and for using heavy-handed tactics against dissent.
The reshuffle comes after the surprise resignation Monday of the Cabinet, including then-Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi.
The change of government before the presidential vote appeared orchestrated to curb rising criticism of the outgoing Cabinet, which was accused of failing to stem widening labor strikes and continued protests. It also would spare el-Sissi the disruption associated with forming a new one if he becomes president. Parliamentary elections are expected by the summer, after which a new government is likely to be formed.
El-Sissi overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July. This new interim government is the sixth since 2011. It's also the second interim government after Morsi's ouster.
Morsi's son was arrested Saturday, the MENA news agency, claiming police detained Abdullah Morsi, a 20-year old university freshman, after a police patrol found a suspicious car parked on the side of the road in el-Obour city, east of Cairo. Officers found two rolled hashish cigarettes in the car, the agency said.
Investigating police officer Lt. Col. Hazem Saad told the agency that Morsi's son confessed to possession of the hashish – said to be around 5 grams (0.18 ounces).
A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said the car's passengers were Morsi's son and a friend.
Abdullah's older brother, Osama, rejected the accusations, calling them fabricated. He said his brother just had been transferred to prosecutors and couldn't have confessed since there hadn't been an interrogation yet.
"This is an attempt to smear our image," Osama Morsi, a lawyer, told to The Associated Press. "Half the members of this government consume alcohol and they are now accusing Morsi's son of consuming a substance that alters consciousness."
On Saturday, the trial of Morsi on charges of inciting the murder of his opponents while in office resumed. During the hearing, prosecutor Ibrahim Saleh said investigators initially interrogated and held Morsi at a naval base in Alexandria, offering the first official confirmation of where the ousted leader spent the first four months following his July 3 ouster.
Morsi publicly appeared for the first time in November at the opening of this trial.
