ZAMBOANGA: Seven Muslim separatist guerrillas died after a foiled attack on a military outpost in the southern Philippines, a military spokesman said Sunday. Rebels of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacked the military in Datu Piang town in Mindanao late Saturday in an attempt to destroy artillery at the base, said Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Ponce. "Seven rebels were killed in the fighting, but there could be more as the MILF forces retreated with their wounded," said Ponce.Last week, the MILF bombed a bridge and burned houses in Mindanao as part of what they said were counterattacks against the military. Manila opened peace talks with the 12,000-strong MILF in 2001, but the negotiations collapsed in August last year after the Supreme Court struck down a deal that would have given the MILF control over large areas of Mindanao.
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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