Sunday, June 28, 2009 TEHRAN: Eight Iranian employees of the British embassy in Tehran have been detained on accusations of involvement in post-election unrest in the Islamic Republic, a local news agency reported on Sunday. "Eight local employees at the British embassy who had a considerable role in recent unrest were taken into custody," the news agency said, without giving a source. "This group played an active role in provoking recent unrest," the news agency said. Iran has accused Western powers -- Britain and the United States in particular -- of inciting street protests and violence that rocked the country after its disputed June 12 presidential election. Britain has rejected the accusations. Last Tuesday, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain was expelling two Iranian diplomats after Iran forced two British diplomats to leave.
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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