New Egypt premier pledges to push change

CAIRO, March 4 (UPI) -- Egypt's new prime minister was welcomed in Cairo's Tahrir Square Friday and promised to carry the revolution forward.

Essam Sharaf, who was appointed by the military council Thursday after the opposition demanded that Ahmed Shafiq go, was carried to the podium by protesters and was cheered by thousands as he endorsed their agenda, al-Masry al-Youm reported.

He hailed the revolution that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak and said he prayed he would be worthy of his new job.

Protesters chanted during the speech that they still want a new constitution, the disbanding of the security forces and a judiciary committee to replace the attorney general. Soldiers ushered Sharaf out of the square as people lit fireworks.

Sharaf was transport minister from July 2004 to December 2005, when he resigned after a deadly train crash and returned to the faculty of Cairo University.