Assad makes rare public appearance

Syria’s state television showed President Bashar Assad visiting a Damascus power station on May Day. File photo

Syria’s state television says President Bashar Assad has made a rare public appearance, visiting a Damascus power station on May Day the day after a powerful bomb hit the capital.

The Wednesday broadcast showed brief clips of Mr. Assad speaking to workers at what it said was the Umayyad Electrical Station in the Tishrin Park district.

At least 14 people were killed in the blast. It was the second attack in the heart of the capital, Assad’s seat of power, in two days.

The television showed Mr. Assad, looking confident and wearing a dark business suit, shaking hands with workers.

It also showed Mr. Assad standing in a garden talking with the workers, who encircled him.