Tuesday, June 02, 2009 SYDNEY: A strong 6.5-magnitude quake shook Vanuatu in the South Pacific on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said. The quake struck at a depth of 39 kilometres (24 miles) about 45 kilometres west of the capital Port-Vila at 1:17 pm local time (0217 GMT), it said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii said the quake was not expected to generate a destructive tsunami. A 5.1-magnitude quake hit earlier Tuesday in nearly the same location. Vanuatu sits on the so-called Pacific Rim of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.
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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