CHECHNYA: The Russian Interior Ministry's branch in Chechnya says rebels planted explosive device killed two police officers and a civilian.It says in a statement that the explosion occurred Wednesday near the village of Belgatoi in the Vedeno region in southern Chechnya's mountains. Investigators believe the explosive device was attached to a vehicle the victims were riding in.The Kremlin last month formally ended a federal counter terrorism operation in Chechnya, which has seen two bloody separatist wars in the past 15 years. But insurgents continue to stage sporadic attacks on troops and authorities in Chechnya despite increased stability under Kremlin-backed regional President Ramzan Kadyrov.
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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