LOS ANGELES: A moderate, 4.7-magnitude earthquake shook southern California Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey, with no immediate reports of injuries or damage.The tremor hit 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) underground, centered some three miles (four kilometers) from Bombay Beach, which is on the Salton Sea, a large lake in the Salton Sink desert basin, the USGS reported.The town is some 90 miles (144 kilometers) west of San Diego. Geologists say an earthquake capable of causing widespread destruction is 99 percent certain of hitting California within the next 30 years.A study published last year said a 7.8 magnitude quake could kill 1,800 people, injure 50,000 more and damage 300,000 buildings.A 6.7 earthquake in Los Angeles in 1994 left at least 60 people dead and caused an estimated 10 billion dollars in damage, while a 6.9 quake in San Francisco in 1989 claimed 67 lives.
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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