Tuesday, October 06, 2009 ATHENS: The New Democracy Party of Greece's Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has conceded defeat in the general elections, handing power to the opposition Socialist party. With 87 percent of votes counted, the PanHellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) party is leading with 44 percent of the ballot, compared with New Democracy's 34 percent, according to figures announced by the Interior Ministry late on Sunday. The margin, which indicates a victory for PASOK, is the largest seen in a Greek vote in decades. This could mean 160 seats for the Socialists in Greece's 300-seat Parliament, while the ruling party would receive only 93 seats, officials said, CNN reported.
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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