Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has appointed former Communications Minister Ahmed Nazif to be the country's new prime minister. The 52-year-old computer expert has also been asked by Mubarak to form a new government. Former Prime Minister Atef Obeid and 32 ministers resigned after an emergency cabinet meeting late on Friday. The reshuffle was widely expected as Mubarak has been facing calls for major political and economic reform in Egypt. **Modernisation*** Correspondents says the choice of Nazif, who has been given the task of modernising Egypt's technology infrastructure, reflects a trend of appointing technocrats to high-profile political posts. In his first appointment, Ahmad Abu-Ghayt, the head of Egypt's delegation to the United Nations in New York, has been named as foreign minister. Mubarak's decision came just days after his return from a two-week trip to Germany for back surgery. Mubarak has been Egypt's president and major powerbroker for more than two decades since his predecessor, Anwar Sadat, was assassinated in 1981. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. AP