NEW DELHI: Suspected Maoist rebels killed five people, including four policemen, returning from election duty in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, police said Friday. The policemen and one election official had been guarding polling stations in the state when a landmine ripped through their jeep late Thursday night near the town of Muzaffarpur, 70km (43 miles) from the state capital Patna. Bihar, a hotbed of Maoist activity, was one of several parts of India to vote Thursday in the second stage of month-long general elections in which security forces have been on heightened alert for rebel attacks."Police have launched a combing operation in the area against the Maoists," said additional director general of police Neelmani, who goes by one name. Maoist attacks on polling stations during the first phase of voting last week claimed at least 19 lives, including 10 paramilitary troopers and five election workers. Polling in Bihar, which sends 40 members to India's 543-seat national parliament, has been staggered over four phases to ensure adequate deployment of security personnel. India's Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of neglected tribal people and landless farmers.
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