Libya to name new govt within 10 days: PM

Libya's de facto rulers won expressions of support from Washington, the African Union and South Africa on Tuesday and its new flag flew for the first time at the United Nations.

"I expect the government to be announced in the next week to 10 days maximum," Jibril said after a G8 conference on aiding Arab countries' transition to democracy taking place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

"I'm not bothered by the time consumed to bring about a national consensus," he said.

Discussions in Libya to set up a more inclusive interim government have fallen apart before. The National Transitional Council (NTC), still based in the eastern city of Benghazi, has faced questions about whether it can unify a country divided on tribal and local lines.

Libya's new rulers are trying to dislodge well-armed Gadhafi loyalists from several towns and have yet to start a countdown toward writing a constitution and holding elections.

Jibril said among the considerations the interim leaders were debating were the number of ministries in the new government and whether they would be in Tripoli or divided between eastern and western Libya.

He said there would be some democratic improvements to make the OPEC member state more transparent.

"With this government comes other structures such as an international tendering body to add some sort of transparency and some credibility to the work of the government," he said.

The African Union, which frequently has been criticised for its ponderous reaction to events on its doorstep, said on Tuesday it was ready to support the NTC.

South Africa, the continent's pre-eminent economic power which has a major say in AU policy, also said it would recognise the NTC, ending a long-standing relationship with Gadhafi; Kazinform cites China Daily.

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