 New government formed in Syria April 14, 2011 - 21:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has formed a new government under recently-appointed Prime Minister Adel Safar. The president appointed Safar prime minister when the previous government of Naji al-Otari resigned on March 29 after protests in a number of cities. About 200 people have died in protests, which broke out in mid-March against President Assad's rule. The unrest is seen as the biggest challenge to Assad, who inherited power from his father in 2000. Human rights campaigners say hundreds of people across Syria have been arrested, including opposition figures, bloggers and activists, BBC reported. Safar was agriculture minister under former Prime Minister Otari. Intelligence official Ibrahim al-Shaar was named interior minister and Mohammad al-Jililati, head of the Damascus Stock Exchange, was appointed finance minister, Reuters news agency said, quoting the official government list.   Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Latest news Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims  Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide.Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed.Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham).Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |
