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Summary Kyrgyzstan's president has appointed a wealthy businessman nation's new prime minister.
Omurbek Babanov was formally assigned the position by decree Saturday, one day after the recently formed four-party governing coalition voted in parliament to approve a new streamlined Cabinet.President Almazbek Atambayev, who was elected in October, has vowed to conduct vitally needed economic reforms to ease poverty and improve crumbling infrastructure.The economically struggling ex-Soviet nation on Chinas mountainous western border hosts a U.S. air base crucial to operations in nearby Afghanistan and has been the focus of competition between Washington and Moscow for regional influence. --AP
