Saakashvili sworn in to new presidential term

? Mikhail Saakashvili was sworn in to a second presidential term Sunday, pledging to mend fences with Russia, push Georgia closer to the West and bring prosperity to the ex-Soviet republic troubled by a divisive election that opponents claim was rigged.

Tens of thousands of opposition activists, meanwhile, rallied in another part of the Georgian capital, pressing their demands for a recount of the Jan. 5 vote and demanding Saakashvili’s resignation.

After taking the oath of office in an elaborate ceremony outside parliament in the center of the Georgian capital, the 40-year-old U.S.-educated lawyer reached out to opposition leaders and called the country a unified force.

“Our strength is in our unity. We must unite and build our country together,” Saakashvili told the thousands who gathered for the ceremony. “We are going down different paths, but we have a common direction.”