San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Syrian leader sworn in amid ravages of war
President Bashar Assad was sworn in Saturday for a fourth sevenyear term in the wartorn country, pledging to overcome the impact of Western economic sanctions and retake territory still out of his control after 10 years of fighting.
The swearingin ceremony was held at the presidential palace and attended by clergymen, members of parliament, political figures, army officers and other supporters.
Assad’s reelection in May in a landslide was never in doubt. It was described by the West and Syria’s opposition as illegitimate and a sham.
In power since 2000, his new term starts with a country still devastated by war and sliding deeper into a worsening economic crisis. Accused by European and the U.S. governments for most of the war’s atrocities, Assad has faced widening sanctions that also target his close aides and state institutions.
Assad is supported by Iran and Russia, which sent troops and assistance that have propped him up throughout the war. U.N.led talks to end the conflict have failed to make any progress.
Buoyed by military victories, Assad called on Syrians in exile to return, saying they were “misled by the illusion” of a rebellion against his rule. Nearly half of Syria’s prewar population is either displaced or living in neighboring countries or Europe as refugees.
Diplomats snub acting ruler
A key group of international diplomats on Saturday appeared to snub the man currently running Haiti by urging another politician, the designated prime minister, to form a government following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph has been leading Haiti with the backing of police and the military despite the fact that Moise had announced his replacement a day before the president was killed. Joseph and his allies argue that the designated successor, Ariel Henry, was never sworn in.
The statement backing Henry was issued by the Core Group, which is composed of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the U.S., France, the European Union and representatives from the United Nations and the Organization of American States.
The group called for the creation of “a consensual and inclusive government.”
The group also asked that “all political, economic and civil society actors in the country fully support authorities in their efforts to restore security.”
Moise was killed on July 7 by gunmen who raided his private home in an attack that authorities say involved Haitians, HaitianAmericans and former Colombian soldiers.
Government rallies backers
Cuban officials rallied tens of thousands of supporters in the streets on Saturday — nearly a week after they were stunned by the most widespread protests in decades.
President Miguel DiazCanel— accompanied by 90yearold former President Raul Castro — appeared on the seafront Malecon boulevard that had seen some of the largest protests against shortages and the political system the previous weekend.
He made an impassioned speech blaming unrest on the U.S. and its economic embargo as a crowd waved Cuban flags and those of the July 26 Movement that Fidel Castro led during Cuba’s revolution.
Havana has been returning to normal in recent days, but mobile internet service — which authorities cut last Sunday — remains limited.
The protests began Sunday when thousands of Cubans marched along the Malecon and elsewhere to protest food and medicine shortages, power outages and some even calling for political change. Smaller protests continued Monday and Tuesday.
The marches turned violent with police clashing with protesters, patrol cars being destroyed, shops looted, windows broken, stones thrown and violent arrests and injuries.
Condo collapse victim IDd
Another victim was identified in the collapse of the condominium tower that killed at least 97 people, authorities said Saturday.
The MiamiDade Police Department said Theresa Velasquez, 36, died in the June 24 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo. Her body was recovered July 8. She was the 95th fatality identified in the collapse, police said. The Miami Herald reported previously that Velasquez was a Los Angeles executive for the Live Nation event promotion company. She had flown to Miami to visit her parents at the tower in Surfside. Both parents, Julio and Angela Velasquez, also died.
The recovery effort at the condo site is slowly winding down, with perhaps one more body still buried in the rubble. Work is now shifting toward determining what caused the oceanfront condo to fail.
A judge is also considering what should be done with the building site. An outright property sale, government purchase for construction of a memorial or a combination of both are among the suggestions.