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Syrian interim president Ahmed Ashgha on Saturday announced a new transitional government
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to succeed caretaker authorities in place since the December ouster of Bashar al-Assad
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The five-year transitional period will allow for a permanent constitution to be adopted and elections to be held
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I want to stress that this is a government of change and development, a government that bears responsibility of the people's hopes and aspirations for a bright and sustainable future
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We believe that hard and loyal work as well as cooperation among the people will be key to achieving these goals
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As president, Sharaat will enjoy broad powers, such as the ability to appoint Supreme Court judges and a third of the members of parliament
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But the new government also includes separated branches and an independent judiciary, systemic breaks from Assad's authoritarian state
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The composition of the new government has been widely seen as a test for whether Shara would extend any real power beyond his tight Islamist inner circle Indeed while Sharad did replace his brother as Minister of Health he retained his close allies
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to lead important ministries of defense, interior, and foreign affairs. But in a move towards diversity, Sharah's cabinet includes a Kurd and Al-Awhite and a Christian
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woman as Minister of Social Affairs. Our goal must be a sustainable and well-integrated social system that guarantees the just distribution of resources
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We will thrive with the presence of a people that stands together and says together
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we will come alive because this nation deserves to live. The announcement of an ethnically and religiously mixed government aims to convince Western countries
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to lift crippling economic sanctions imposed on Assad more than a decade ago
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go. According to the United Nations, 90% of Syrians live below the poverty line, and about 13 million of them are food insecure
