Moscoso Assumes Presidency of Panama 　　The 54-year-old Mireya Moscoso was sworn in as the new president of Panama on September 1, becoming the first female president of the country. 　　In front of around 25,000 viewers in the National Stadium, among whom some 40 special guests came from other countries, Moscoso pledged to respect the Constitution and fight against the poverty which affects thousands of Panamanians. 　　Moscoso took over a country in a better shape financially than its Central American neighbors to the north and Colombia to the south. 　　Panama with less than 3 million people has had a 4 percent economic growth this year. The country's development is backed up by 2 billion US dollars in foreign investments. 　　The Latin American country gets more than 500 million dollars in tolls every year from the famous Panama Canal. 　　However, President Moscoso will have a difficult time supervising the handing over of the Inter-Oceanic Canal to Panama at the end of this year, in addition to fighting the poverty which is an everyday part of life in Panama. (Xinhua) WorldNews 1999-09-03 Page6 Full Story in Chinese