October 20, 2009 JAKARTA: Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was sworn in as Indonesia's president today after winning an historic second five-year term. The former General and servant of a dictator swore on the Koran to uphold the constitution during a ceremony in the national assembly in Jakarta, the capital that was watched throughout the vast archipelago of 234 million people. "By Allah I swear I will adhere to the constitution as faithfully as possible, and will commit myself to the country and the people," the 60-year-old President said.Yudhoyono's election win in July, with promises of economic growth and political reform, confirmed the remarkable political stability which has developed in Indonesia under his leadship, eleven years after the fall of the longstanding dictator, Suharto. He defeated Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) leader Megawati Sukarnoputri, the former president, and the Golkar Party's Jusuf Kalla to become the first Indonesian leader to be re-elected. His centrist Democratic Party won the most seats in parliament in April general elections just eight years after it was founded.
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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