The World : Sudan to Get New Cabinet

Sudan’s Prime Minister Sadek Mahdi, bowing to pressure, said he will form a new government in an effort to end nearly six years of civil war. A new Cabinet could be announced as early as today, a government spokesman said. Mahdi, who had threatened to resign after being given an ultimatum two weeks ago by the military, held a press conference in Khartoum after signing a “national peace declaration” with rival political leaders and several key trade unions. Under the “peace declaration,” the new government must endorse a tentative pact signed Nov. 16 between the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army and the Democratic Unionist Party, the second-largest party after Mahdi’s Umma Party. The pact also calls for an immediate cease-fire and an end to the state of emergency.