Protesters in Egypt Staging Mass Rally

Egypt’s military installed a new prime minister today, as crowds gathered in Tahrir Square for another big protest. The new prime minister, Kamal Ganzouri, has held the job once before, from 1996 to 1999. Though he reportedly had a falling out with the Mubarak regime, protesters still instantly rejected the 81-year-old, shouting “We don’t want him,” reports Al Jazeera reports (see video). “The security council wants someone they can control, and Ganzouri is their man,” one protester told CNN.

Ganzouri will hold power until at least January, when a new parliament, selected in the upcoming election, is sworn in. His appointment comes a few days after the previous prime minister and his government quit. Protests calmed down yesterday after soldiers erected a barbed-wire barrier to separate them from police, but protesters are planning to make themselves heard today, in what’s been billed as a “last chance” event. A Guardian reporter says the crowd is now about 15,000 strong. (More Egypt stories.)