Syria's Assad appoints new prime minister after defection

BEIRUT - Syrian President Bashar Assad appointed Health Minister Wael al-Halki as the country@@@s new prime minister on Thursday, after the defection earlier this week of Prime Minister Riyad Hijab.
Halki, born in 1964, is from the southern province of Deraa where the 17-month-old uprising against Assad erupted. He replaces caretaker premier Omar Ghalawanji who was appointed hours after Hijab@@@s defection.
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