Outgoing Tunisia PM Jebali rules out being reappointed: party bsh/mh/sma

TUNIS, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali said on Monday that Tunisia's main political parties had failed to form a cabinet of technocrats after the country was thrown into turmoil by the assassination of an opposition politician. "The initiative of a cabinet of technocrats did not receive full political consensus and failed...but work is continuing with all parties in order to form a government which has the agreement of most of the political parties," Jebali told a news conference.

Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali announced on Friday that talks on the formation of a new government of technocrats had been rescheduled for Monday, after he met the leaders of the main political parties. "There has been some progress on all the points raised... That is why we have decided to continue the discussions on Monday," Jebali told reporters. He said a previous Saturday deadline for the announcement of his planned new cabinet, intended to extricate the country from of its worst political crisis since the revolution, had been cancelled and no new date set.

TOP STORIES ----------- SEOUL - North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on Tuesday in defiance of U.N. resolutions, drawing condemnation from around the world, including from its only major ally, China, which summoned the North Korean ambassador to protest. - - - - WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will give his State of the Union address on Tuesday with an eye on the political calendar as time ticks down on his bid to advance an agenda that will help shape his White House legacy.