Friday, June 05, 2009 COLOMBO: Amnesty International on Friday urged the UN Security Council to probe war crimes allegations against Sri Lanka, ahead of a briefing to the world body by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.The London-based rights watchdog said the Security Council should also demand full humanitarian access to state-run camps where up to 300,000 people, who fled Sri Lanka's war zone, are being held. Ban was to brief the council later Friday on his recent visit to the island. Amnesty called for an international, independent inquiry into the allegations of war crimes that have been levelled against both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger rebels. "Alternatively, the UN secretary general should establish such an investigation under his own mandate," Amnesty said.
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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