Tuesday, October 06, 2009 WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama called up Greece's next prime minister, George Papandreou, to congratulate him on his success in Sunday's elections, the White House said.Obama "wished all Greeks well who participated in the democratic process. The president reiterated the importance of the US-Greece relationship and said he looks forward to working with Mr Papandreou", according to a statement released by the White House. Papandreou's Socialist party won 44 percent of the votes, or 160 of 300 parliamentary seats, according to the interior ministry, which had counted 87 percent of the votes. Papandreou's victory was seen as an expression of voters' discontent over the conservative government's handling of the economic crisis and corruption. His father and grandfather also served as prime ministers in Greece over past decades.
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