FRANCE PRESS

BENGHAZI, Libya: The birth of a new government in Libya, due Sunday, was put off indefinitely amid disputes over portfolios and as Moammar Gadhafi diehards put up stiff resistance in their remaining strongholds.
National Transitional Council No. 2 Mahmud Jibril said that last-minute haggling had delayed the announcement of the new government line-up before reluctantly announcing to the media that the unveiling would be postponed indefinitely.

Progress by NTC fighters hoping to crush the last pockets of resistance in Gadhafi bastions also appeared stalemated, as the loyalists in his hometown of Sirte and Bani Walid refused to yield.
“The announcement of a new transitional government has been postponed indefinitely in order to finalize consultations,” Jibril told reporters.

But in an apparent effort to put on a brave face, Jibril said much has been achieved to mete out several portfolios, adding that he expected consultations on the rest to be “over quickly.”
“But I believe that an essential part of these consultations was done today.”
The administration will also look into getting women and young people to play a major role in a new government as deputy ministers and directors general of ministries, he added.

Jibril, a former Gadhafi regime official, has stood accused by colleagues of failing to consult enough with long-standing grass roots opposition groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood.
Jibril himself was expected to retain his post as interim premier, while Ali Tarhuni was touted to be named vice president in charge of economic affairs.TURN TO PAGE 10FROM PAGE The defense portfolio was expected to go to Osama al-Juwili and oil to Abdel Rahman bin Yezza.

On the battle front, Gadhafi diehards in his hometown Sirte and in Bani Walid stood their ground as NTC combatants tried to break their morale by preparing for a new multi-pronged advance.
NTC military spokesman Ahmad Omar Bani said he expected Gadhafi forces in Sirte and Bani Walid to be defeated in a “matter of days,” and military commanders said they had gained some ground.

“We are now 38 kilometers from Sirte,” Mustafa bin Dardaf, a commander with the Zintan Brigade, told AFP on the eastern front.
Earlier, an AFP correspondent reported that new regime forces advancing from the east had come under rocket and machine-gun fire from Gadhafi loyalists.