Tuesday, November 10, 2009 KATHMANDU: Maoist activists on Tuesday blocked all roads in and out of Nepal's capital Kathmandu in the latest stage of a two-week protest against the government. Riot police stood on guard as hundreds of activists waving Maoist flags rallied at the main entry and exit points to the capital.Nepal's Maoist-led government fell in May after the president halted their attempt to sack the head of the army, and the party is holding a fortnight of nationwide protests against the new administration. The Maoists, who fought a 10-year civil war against the state before winning landmark elections in 2008, want the president to apologise for preventing the army chief's removal -- a move they say was unconstitutional. Their protest will continue on Thursday and Friday with a blockade of government buildings in the capital. They initially threatened to shut Kathmandu airport, but backed down under international pressure.
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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