Thousands gather to commemorate Hariri anniversary

Russian leader sees Obama flexible on missile defense:
LIMA: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday urged Barack Obama to drop US plans to install a missile defense shield in countries Moscow considers to be within its sphere.Speaking to reporters at an Asia-Pacific forum in Peru, the Russian leader held out hope of improved ties under the administration of the future U.S. president. Obama has yet to state his position on the George W. Bush administration's controversial plans to establish missile shield facilities in the Czech Republic and Poland.Asked if he saw a chance of a shift on the hot-button issue, Medvedev told reporters: "I think there are chances, because if the position of the current administration on this question looks extremely inflexible, the position of the president-elect looks more careful."US plans to place a missile defense radar in the Czech Republic and linked interceptor missiles in Poland have raised a storm of protest from Moscow, which has said it will place missiles in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, close to Poland, in response.Medvedev referred to the Obama team's refusal so far to state its position after Poland said the matter was already decided. "It shows at least our future American partners are thinking about this. They don't have a once-and-for-always prepared template for solving this problem," Medvedev said.

President's home attacked in Guinea-Bissau 'mutiny':
BISSAU: A gun battle Sunday at the residence of Guinea-Bissau's President Joao Bernardo Vieira left one suspected mutineer dead and several government soldiers wounded, officials said. The incident came just a week after elections intended to bring stability to the West African nation, one of smallest and poorest on the continent. "A group of soldiers last night tried to get hold of an arms depot in the president's residence," an official from the army's general staff said. "There was an exchange of gunfire." Three of the attacking soldiers were arrested, but others made off with some weapons including rocket launchers, a senior interior ministry official said. Two hours later, gunfire could be heard near the Mansoa barracks, one of the country's biggest, located 70 kilometres (45 miles) from the capital, witnesses reported.While authorities branded the pre-dawn attack as a mutiny, observers said it could also have been a failed attempt to seize power by one of the president's rivals. Internal administration minister Cipriano Cassama told media there had been signs in the last few days that something was being prepared. An army source on Sunday identified the suspected mastermind as a navy sergeant related to opposition leader Kumba Yala. "The leader of the operation, and he who is thought to be its mastermind, is Alexandre Tchama Yala, and our agents are actively searching for him," said the source in the army's general staff who spoke to media on condition of anonymity.

Bush plans to start library, Freedom Institute: wife
LIMA: Outgoing US President George W. Bush plans to open a presidential library in Texas and found a "Freedom Institute" to promote democracy, his wife Laura Bush confirmed to Peru's El Comercio daily."The president will build a library in Dallas -- where we will move to -- and a Freedom Institute," she said in an interview published Sunday, as her husband wrapped up his participation in a weekend summit in Lima by Asia-Pacific leaders."The institute will give us both the opportunity to work on issues that are very important to us," she said, according to the Spanish-language translation by the newspaper.Laura Bush, a former teacher, said she wanted to return to the field of education, as well as "working for human rights for women in Afghanistan."Bush, who joked during the APEC summit about his upcoming "forced retirement," is due to hand over power to his Democrat successor Barack Obama on January 20, 2009.US media have already quoted aides and Texas lawmakers on the plans for the presidential library -- in fact more of a museum, with documents and gifts accumulated during Bush's time in office -- and the Freedom Institute.

Somali pirates move Saudi tanker as Islamists warn of attacks:
MOGADISHU: Somali pirates who hijacked a Saudi Arabian supertanker moved the vessel from its location at the port city of Harardhere, after Islamist militias threatened to attack them and rescue the ship, a tribal elder said. The Islamic Courts Union warned the pirates to leave Harardhere, Ali Elmi, a local elder in the town, said in a phone interview today. The tanker was taken out to sea and its destination isn’t clear, he said. Al-Shabaab, a separate Islamist group, also said it would attack the pirates if they don’t free the ship. Somali pirates were holding the Sirius Star, laden with 2 million barrels of oil worth about $110 million, near Harardhere, which is controlled by the Islamists. The vessel was hijacked with its 25-strong crew on Nov. 15, about 420 nautical miles (833 kilometers) off Somalia. The pirates demand a $25 million ransom. The ICU warned yesterday that it will take action against pirates responsible for the “major crime” of seizing the supertanker, which belongs to Saudi Arabia’s state-owned shipping line, Vela International Marine Ltd. Al-Shabaab told the pirates holding the Saudi tanker to release it or face armed conflict, Sheikh Abdulaahi Osman, a commander of the group in Harardhere, said by phone today.

Obama to announce his top economic team today:
CHICAGO: President-elect Barack Obama on Sunday prepared to announce his top economic team as he worked on a stimulus plan designed to lift the country out of its worst financial crisis in decades.With top Democrats talking about a package in the hundreds of billions of dollars, a top aide to Obama hinted the campaign promise to repeal the tax cuts for the wealthy might be delayed.Obama went to his daily workout at the gym on Sunday but otherwise stayed out of sight as he prepared for the announcement a 11 a.m. CST (12:00 p.m. EST) on Monday of the people who will lead his administration's efforts to revive the economy.The names for the two top jobs became known over the weekend -- Timothy Geithner, 47, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, as treasury secretary, and Lawrence Summers, 53, a former treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton, as director of the National Economic Council.The two Clinton-era veterans have worked closely together and command wide respect in financial markets. In fact, when word leaked out about Geithner on Friday, U.S. stock prices rallied more than 6 percent.In addition, Peter Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget Office, is expected to be tapped soon by Obama as the White House budget director.Obama has called for an aggressive two-year economic stimulus package that would include middle-class tax cuts and spending on projects like roads and bridges. He said he wants it soon after taking office on January 20.Although he will not be president for two more months, Obama's team was working with Democrats in Congress to fashion a plan they can tackle quickly.Obama has not put a price tag on the package. In October, he mentioned $175 billion as a figure but the economy has worsened a great deal since then and leading congressional Democrats were talking much bigger numbers on Sunday.