Monday, June 08, 2009 TOKYO: North Korea is warning ships to stay out of waters off its eastern port of Wonsan for three weeks from Wednesday, the Japan Coast Guard said, raising concerns Pyongyang is planning more missile tests. North Korea is alerting vessels by radio not to enter an area that measures 100 by 263 kilometres (60 by 165 miles) at its widest points from June 10 to 30 between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm, a coast guard spokesman said Monday. "We have acknowledged the information and soon afterward issued the same warning to those who may travel in this region," the spokesman said. The news came amid increasing speculation that North Korea is preparing to test-fire several medium-range missiles from its southeast coast.
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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