Saturday, October 17, 2009 LONDON: Around 20 Muslim protesters protested much-criticised far-right Dutch MP as arrived for a meeting in British parliament on Friday.Geert Wilders, who faces prosecution in his homeland for anti-Islam remarks, came to London after winning an appeal earlier in the week against a ban on him entering Britain. Scores of police formed a barrier between a group calling itself "Islam in the UK" and Wilders' car as the protesters waved banners reading 9and shouted "Wilders go to Hell" and "Muslims rise up". Wilders was barred in February because British ministers said his presence would threaten community harmony and public safety. He had planned to speak to the media on a green outside the Palace of Westminster but was forced to hold it inside a nearby parliamentary office on advice of police. He is in London at the invitation of UK Independence Party peer Lord Malcolm Pearson to discuss showing his film "Fitna" in parliament, which insults the Koran, comparing with Nazis. Wilder faces prosecution in Amsterdam for inciting hatred and discrimination. "It is ridiculous that the UK government thought that my presence would in any way lead to violence," he said. "This man is an enemy of Islam and of Muslims and the British government is well aware of this and this just gives rise to so-called extremism," one protester," Abu Muaz, told Reuters. On Tuesday, Britain's Asylum and Immigration Tribunal overturned the ban on him entering the country following a challenge by Wilders. A Home Office spokesman on Friday said, "We are disappointed by the court's decision. The government opposes extremism in all its forms." He said that authorities will monitor Wilders during his stay in the UK, which could affect future decisions on whether to allow him entry.
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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