Tuesday, June 09, 2009 LONDON: British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown faced down critics in his Labour party Monday, admitting weaknesses but pledging to change in a confrontation likely to win him some respite after a week of turmoil.After seven turbulent days which saw the resignation of 11 ministers, reports of an attempted coup and historic drubbings in local and European elections, Brown promised to fight on but said Labour must reunite. "I have my strengths and I have my weaknesses. I know there are some things I do well, some things not so well," he told a weekly meeting of Labour MPs.But he said: "You solve the problem not by walking away but by facing it and doing something about it." Labour was beaten into third place in Thursday's European elections, behind the main opposition Conservatives and the once fringe anti-Europeans the UK Independence Party (UKIP), in a humiliating defeat for the ruling party.The closed-door meeting on Monday night was the first time Labour MPs could confront Brown about the results, but while several former ministers called on him openly to quit, a reported rebellion failed to materialise.
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...
Comments