Assad sworn in for 3rd term

Syrian President Bashar Assad has been sworn in, marking the beginning of his third seven-year term in office.

State TV broadcast what it said was a live ceremony on Wednesday from the presidential palace in Damascus during which Assad took the oath of office.

Assad was seen placing his hand on Islam’s holy book, the Quran, pledging to honor the country’s constitution in front of a large audience of parliament members and Muslim and Christian clergymen.

Assad was re-elected last month in a landslide victory amid a civil war. He won 88.7 percent of the ballots cast in the first multicandidate elections in decades.