Ghani sworn in as Afghan president

Ashraf Ghani has been sworn in as Afghanistan’s president in a ceremony at the presidential palace in Kabul. It comes after six months of deadlock amid a bitter dispute over electoral fraud and a recount of votes. Under a United States-brokered unity deal Mr. Ghani takes over the presidency and runner-up Abdullah Abdullah can nominate a figure with prime-ministerial powers, the BBC reports. The Taliban has described the deal as a “U.S- orchestrated sham” but Mr. Ghani hailed it as a “big victory.” Mr. Ghani took an oath to abide by the constitution at the swearing-in ceremony attended by up to 100 dignitaries. He said he would work for long-term peace, promised to tackle corruption and said constitutional changes were needed. In his long first speech after being sworn in as the new Afghan president, Ghani promised reform, development, an end to poverty, measures against corruption, and a clean-up of the judiciary.