MUMBAI: The only surviving suspected gunman in last year's terrorist attacks in Mumbai would be tried as an adult, which means he could face the death penalty, the presiding judge said.The defense lawyer representing Mohammed Ajmal Kasab said his client was 17 at the time of the November attacks and should be tried by a juvenile court. But Indian medical experts declared that Kasab is at least 20 after examining his teeth and X-rays of his bones. Judge M.L. Tahiliyani, who was presiding over his trial, ruled Saturday that the medical tests were enough to prove Kasab was an adult at the time of the attacks. Prosecutors say Kasab, a Pakistani, was one of 10 attackers responsible for killing 166 people and wounding 304 more during the three-day siege of India's financial capital. Nine other suspects were killed during the attacks. He will face the death penalty if convicted. Had he been tried as a minor, Kasab would have faced a maximum of three years in prison.
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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