Cabinet Ministers

The military chief of staff today asked that several Cabinet ministers be fired for incompetence, piling further pressure on a government faced with a growing polarization between the left and right. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos said after a 90-minute meeting with Aquino that the military urged changes in her 9-month-old Cabinet.

Prime Minister Kamal Hassan Ali, under fire for failing to deal effectively with mounting economic and security problems, submitted his government's resignation Wednesday. President Hosni Mubarak immediately accepted it and asked a former finance minister, Ali Lutfi, to form a new Cabinet. The outgoing prime minister, formerly defense minister and armed forces commander in chief, announced the resignation of his 14-month-old government after Cabinet ministers met Wednesday night.

In a victory for reformist Premier Zhu Rongji, China's parliament on Wednesday endorsed a new-look Cabinet packed with technocrats who back his drive to remake a crumbling socialist economy into a 21st century powerhouse. The sweeping government shuffle put key economic portfolios in the hands of experienced managers in the mold of Zhu, who was elected premier Tuesday. Among the 29 Cabinet ministers were 22 newcomers, most relatively youthful and well-educated.

In a sweeping Cabinet shake-up apparently designed to ease the government's authoritarian image, President Chun Doo Hwan on Monday appointed a respected former foreign minister, who currently heads the South Korean intelligence agency, as prime minister.

South Korean President Kim Dae Jung named five new Cabinet ministers today in a political shake-up stemming from discontent over his North Korea policy. Those replaced included Unification Minister Lim Dong Won, who was in charge of the so-called sunshine policy of trying to engage the Communist North. On Thursday, North Korea agreed to Kim's proposal to resume long-stalled talks Sept. 15-18 in Seoul.

In an apparent effort to tighten his grip on power, Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin fired a pro-Communist Cabinet minister Tuesday and promoted a loyal police commander. The dismissal of First Deputy Prime Minister Vadim A. Gustov and elevation of Interior Minister Sergei V. Stepashin is yet another curb on Prime Minister Yevgeny M. Primakov, whose surge in popularity has appeared to irk the president.

The army in the black homeland of Transkei staged a coup today, ousting the recently elected prime minister and accusing her of corruption. Maj. Gen. Bantu Holomisa, the army commander, announced the coup in a broadcast on Radio Transkei. He declared martial law, suspended the constitution and outlawed political activity. Holomisa told the South African Broadcasting Corp. that there were no arrests during the takeover and that the ousted prime minister, Stella Sigcau, is "on leave."

An American visitor gaped at the newspapers displayed Wednesday on a street corner in Manila, shook his head and observed, "My God, you'd think this whole place is falling apart." "No Fear of Coup! But Defense Chief, Military Wary," the Philippine Star trumpeted. "Military Seeking a Stronger Hand," the Manila Chronicle warned. "Cabinet Quarrel Worsens!" the tabloid Tempo fairly screamed.

Prime Minister Tony Blair completed a Cabinet of Labor Party friends and allies here Saturday on his first full day in office, as the British government smoothly slipped into new leadership after nearly two decades of Conservative Party rule. There were few surprises as the 43-year-old Blair, getting down to work at 10 Downing St., filled the last posts in the 22-member Cabinet.

Russia's ever-erratic President Boris N. Yeltsin fired three Cabinet ministers Saturday, making good on a threat issued two days earlier to punish the "culprits" for last year's lackluster economic performance. But the 67-year-old head of state explained the firings of the three officials as a "transfer to other positions," throwing in doubt whether his action was punitive or preparatory to new promotions. Those fired from the nearly 50-member Cabinet were Transportation Minister Nikolai P.