WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush on Monday pardoned 14 people and commuted the sentences on two others, leaving the door open for more clemency measures in the two months he has left in office, the White House said. There were no high-profile personalities among the pardoned people who had been convicted of drug, environmental, animal endangerment, tax and fraud offenses, according to a list published by the Justice Department. It is customary for US presidents to issue a flurry of last-minute pardons in the waning weeks of their tenure. Including Monday's announcements, Bush has pardoned 117 people and commuted the sentences of eight others since he took office in January 2001, the White House said."The President carefully considered recommendations for pardons and commutations on a case-by-case basis and made his determinations," said White House spokesman Carlton Carroll. "He will continue to review clemency requests," he added.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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