MANAMA: A US Navy submarine and a US amphibious vessel collided in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday slightly injuring 15 sailors and creating a fuel spill of around 25,000 gallons, the US Navy said."The collision between USS Hartford (SSN 768) and USS New Orleans (LPD 18) occurred at approximately 1:00 am local time (2030 GMT on Thursday)," the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said."Fifteen sailors aboard the Hartford were slightly injured and returned to duty. No personnel aboard New Orleans were injured," it added.The New Orleans' fuel tank ruptured, causing the spill of diesel fuel.Both ships are operating under their own power, and the overall damage to both vessels is being evaluated, the statement added.The Strait of Hormuz, less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) at its widest point, separates Oman from Iran and is the gateway into the oil-rich Gulf.An estimated 40 percent of the world's crude oil passes through the strait on the way to market.Both the submarine and the ship are on regularly scheduled deployments to the US Navy Central Command area of responsibility, the navy said.Ships from the Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, patrol a 7.5 million square mile (19.4 million square kilometre) area of eastern Africa, the Middle East and Southwest Asia.
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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