Friday, September 11, 2009 WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed at White House, the deputy supreme commander of the United Arab Emirates armed forces, the White House said.The two "discussed ways to deepen the strong political, security and economic relationship" between the United States and the UAE, as well as ways to "bolster regional security, and advance Israeli-Arab peace efforts," the White House said in a statement on Thursday.Obama and the Crown Prince also discussed civil nuclear cooperation, including the administration's support for the US-UAE Agreement for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation.
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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