AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan's King Abdullah appointed Omar al-Razzaz to form a new government after the resignation of prime minister Hani Mulki on Monday, a ministerial source said. The move was apparently aimed at defusing big protests over tax hikes that are part of an IMF-backed economic reform programme.
* Razzaz is a Harvard-educated economist who served with the World Bank in both Washington and the region and is familiar with the economic challenges that faces Middle East countries blighted by high debt and bloated bureaucracies such as Jordan.