World Notes Sudan

The word in Khartoum last week was reconciliation: with the Sudanese people, with former enemy Libya and with antigovernment rebels in the south. The ruling military council, which took over after the ouster of President Gaafar Nimeiri last month, appointed a 15-man Cabinet, all but two of them civilians. The military will continue to wield power until elections, which the council has pledged will be held in a year's time.

The council also renewed diplomatic relations with Libya last week, having already asked Libyan exiles hostile to Strongman Muammar Gaddafi to leave the country. In return, Gaddafi, who has supported the 10,000 Sudanese rebels led by former Army Colonel John Garang, urged them to make peace with the new ; government in Khartoum. But the council has so far been unable to achieve a reconciliation with Garang, who said his rebels would continue to fight until the government is entirely in the hands of civilians. His intransigence may lessen, however. Said a Western diplomat in Khartoum: "There is already a lot of dismay by southerners who would like to give the new government a chance."