Tens of thousands of demonstrators packed Cairo’s Tahrir Square after days of deadly clashes, demanding the military rulers step down and rejecting their choice of new prime minister

Tens of thousands of demonstrators packed Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday after days of deadly clashes, demanding the military rulers step down and rejecting their choice of new prime minister.
  
Ahead of elections due to start on Monday despite the political turmoil, Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) tasked Kamal al-Ganzuri, 78, a premier under ousted president Hosni Mubarak, to head a new cabinet.
  
"Previous cabinets over the past 60 years were given many powers by the president of the republic," Ganzuri told reporters in his first public statement after his appointment. He had been granted "much more powers" than past premiers, said Ganzuri, who served as Mubarak's prime minister between 1996 and 1999.
  
In a later television address, Ganzuri said he would formalize his government "before the end of next week" and would allocate some portfolios to younger people.
  
But protesters in the square quickly rejected his appointment, saying he was not the man to lead a transition to democracy.

Hundreds of demonstrators in the square branched off to the nearby cabinet offices to block Ganzuri from entering the building, chanting "revolution" and "Ganzuri is a former regime leftover."

Washington called for a quick transfer to civilian rule. "The United States strongly believes that the new Egyptian government must be empowered with real authority immediately," White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement.
  
UN leader Ban Ki-moon renewed calls for the military rulers to ensure a "peaceful transition" after talks by telephone with Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of Egypt's military council. "He deplores the loss of life and the high number of injured.