Syria's Assad sworn in for new seven-year term as president

A still image taken from video shows Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaking as he is sworn in for a new seven-year term at the presidential palace in Damascus July 16, 2014. REUTERS/Syria TV via Reuters TV

BEIRUT (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad was sworn in for a new seven-year term on state television on Wednesday after an election victory that underlined his grip on power more than three years into Syria's civil war. The presidential election, dismissed as a sham by Assad's opponents, was held last month in areas of central and northern Syria that remain under state control. (Writing by Tom Perry, editing by John Stonestreet)