BANGKOK: Renewed gunfire erupted Monday at the scene of anti-government protests in Bangkok where dozens of people were wounded in earlier clashes with the army, foreign news agency reported. Gunshots have been heard in Thailand's capital and soldiers are firing water cannons at anti-government protesters as violence escalates in Bangkok. Red-shirted protesters have retreated slightly after soldiers moved in midday Monday to the area around Victory Monument, a major traffic circle in Bangkok.The clash comes after as soldiers tried to quell anti-government protests that have swelled, calling for the country's prime minister to resign. Earlier, in a different part of the city, soldiers sprayed automatic weapon fire into the air and threw tear gas to clear protesters blocking roads at a major intersection.
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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