Rally draws 500,000 to mark Hariri’s death

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11338664/

BEIRUT, Lebanon - A crowd of 500,000 flag-waving Lebanese packed a square in central Beirut on Tuesday to mark the first anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

The turnout, reminiscent of huge protests after the Feb. 14, 2005, murder that forced Syria to bow to international pressure and leave Lebanon, looked set to give fresh impetus to the country’s anti-Syrian coalition that dominates the government after winning a general election in May and June.

Lots of cheques in the mail?

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1. Lebanon mourns al-Hariri one year on

Hundreds of thousands of flag-waving Lebanese have gathered in central Beirut to mark the first anniversary of the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, the former prime minister.

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Arriving at Freedom Square by bus, car or on foot, demonstrators chanted "No, no to the mukhabarat" in reference to the once-feared Syrian secret police, as loudspeakers played patriotic songs and Quranic verses.

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Al-Hariri said in an interview with Lebanese television: "We do not ask for a change of regime in Syria, but that it makes peace. We thank Syria for having ended the war in Lebanon but we will handle our own affairs now.

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However, in a sign of continuing divisions in Lebanon, the pro-Syrian Shia movement Hizb Allah and a major Christian leader, former general Michel Aoun, have refused to endorse the commemoration, saying it had been "politicised".

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C32CF3A7-3134-4556-9E12-F067E9564AEF.htm