Syria's Assad to be sworn in, set out plans for new term
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BEIRUT - Syrian President Bashar Assad will be sworn in and set out his plans for a new seven-year term on Wednesday, state media reported, after his victory in an election that affirmed his grip on power more than three years into Syria's civil war.
Dismissed as a sham by Assad's opponents, the vote was held in June in areas of central and northern Syria that remain under state control. Large areas of Syria have fallen to an insurgency dominated by Islamists, including a powerful al-Qaeda offshoot known as the Islamic State that has also seized swathes of Iraq.
Assad is due to give a speech for the occasion that will set out his policy for the coming seven years, the Syrian presidency said in a statement on its official Facebook page.
