LONDON: A large fire in London's historic legal centre sent flames soaring above the skyline of the capital today.London Fire Brigade (LFB) said the fifth floor and roof of Breams Buildings were alight but everyone had been safely evacuated without injury. The office block, off Chancery Lane, houses a number of barristers' chambers as well as the asylum and immigration tribunal.Twelve fire engines and 60 firefighters attended the blaze after LFB received a call at about 3.30pm. City of London police cordoned off Chancery Lane at the junction with Fleet Street, and stopped traffic from entering. An LFB spokesman said there were reports of cylinders involved in the fire, and the roof area of the building had been under refurbishment.Breams Buildings was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1885 and was the home of Birkbeck College for a 65-year period that included the second world
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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