Saturday, July 11, 2009 LONDON/L'AQUILA: Britain said eight soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan, its worst death toll in a 24-hour period.Five troops on foot patrol were killed by two blasts, the highest death toll in a single attack. Britain has now lost 184 soldiers in Afghanistan since it joined the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, more than the 179 deaths during its campaign in Iraq that began in 2003. Fifteen soldiers, including four officers, have been killedin the past 10 days in the fight against Taliban insurgents. On the other hand, the head of Britain's military insisted the Taliban were losing the fight in Afghanistan, as London reflected Saturday on one of the most tragic days for its troops in decades. Air Chief Marshal Jock Stirrup admitted it was "tough going" in Afghanistan after eight soldiers were killed within 24 hours, taking the British military death toll higher than in Iraq.
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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