King Abdullah of Jordan to form new government

Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Rifai resigned and King Abdullah asked Marouf Bakhit, a former prime minister, to form a new government.

Abdullah told Bakhit his main task will be to "take quick, concrete and practical steps to launch a genuine political reform process," the Royal Court said in an e-mailed statement. The process should put the country on the path "to strengthen democracy," and provide Jordanians with the "dignified life they deserve," the monarch said, according to Bloomberg.

The king sacked his government as a result of street protests and has asked asked ex-premier Marouf Bakhit to form a new governmentin Amman.

The protestors, like their fellow Arabs in the region, were going after the leadership for failure to tackle the concerns of the masses.

In the case of Jordan this relates primarily to a rise in fuel and food prices and slow political reforms. The call was for the resignation of Prime Minister Samir Rifai. The former Prime Minister's government had only been formed after parliamentary elections in November, NewsTime reports.