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Death Penalty for 11 in India Train Burning Case

An Indian court sentenced 11 Muslims to death Tuesday after finding them guilty of setting a train fire that killed 60 Hindu nationalists nine years ago and triggered one of India's worst outbursts of communal violence.

Judge P.R. Patel last week convicted 31 Muslims of being part of a criminal conspiracy that led to the deaths of 60 people when a Sabarmati Express train coach packed with Hindu pilgrims was set on fire in western Gujarat state in 2002.

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Massive Anti-regime Protest in Sanaa as Saleh Blames U.S., Israel for Revolts

Vast numbers of protesters poured into a square in Yemen's capital Sanaa Tuesday for a massive anti-regime rally, as President Ali Abdullah Saleh blamed the U.S. and Israel for a wave of Arab revolts.

Protesters crowded three streets leading to a square near Sanaa University, where students and pro-democracy demonstrators have been camped for more than a week.

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March 14 Mulling to Hold Cedar Revolution Anniversary on March 13

Caretaker Minister Michel Pharaon did not confirm a media report on Tuesday that the March 14 forces would celebrate the sixth anniversary of the Cedar Revolution on March 13.

Until now, no decision has been made if the anniversary of March 14 would be held on the 14th or the 13th of March, Pharaon told Voice of Lebanon radio station.

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The Netherlands: No Guesses over Release of Indictment or Who Will be Accused

Dutch Ambassador to Lebanon Hero de Boer stressed that justice must take its course on the national and international scenes regarding the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

He told the daily An Nahar in remarks published on Tuesday that the Netherlands cannot “make guesses over the release date of the indictment” in the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri or over who will be accused in the crime “as these are matters that would severely affect our credibility.”

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Berri Defends Hizbullah’s Arms and Challenges Hariri

Speaker Nabih Berri snapped back at Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri saying a country’s “capital would collapse if there is no presence of strong arms on its border.”

“This is exactly what happened in 1982,” Berri told As Safir daily in remarks published Tuesday. “Hadn’t the resistance planted its seeds in the infamous Khalde battle, Israel wouldn’t have gradually pulled out.”

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Britain Blocks Gadhafi’s Attempt to Withdraw 1.4 Billion Dollars

Britain announced that it had foiled a plan by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to move Libyan banknotes worth 1.4 billion dollars (1 billion Euros) out of Britain.

"The Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) intervened to block the departure of 1.4 billion in notes destined for Libya," British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday.

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Miqati’s Circles: Hariri’s Attack on Hizbullah’s Arms Aimed at Torpedoing National Dialogue

Premier-designate Najib Miqati’s circles accused Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri of holding Miqati responsible for his alliance’s boycott of the new cabinet at a time when Hariri had already made up his mind not to participate in the government.

The circles drew question marks over Hariri’s speech on Monday in which he said March 14 waited for answers from Miqati for a month over its demands on the international tribunal and arms.

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Ban Urges Lebanese Officials to Prevent Supporters from Using Arms

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon lamented that the latest confrontation between March 8 and 14 forces was accompanied by “sectarian” and “inflammatory” remarks.

In his 15th report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, Ban said Lebanon has been witnessing a political crisis over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

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Iran Navy Chief Brushes off Reports that Ships Carried Arms for Hizbullah

Iran's navy chief, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayari, has said that Tehran's dispatch of two warships to the Mediterranean last week was not aggressive in aim.

"The Iranian strategy is to reinforce its defensive capacities. We do not harbor aggressive intentions against other countries," Sayari said at a press conference in Damascus on Monday.

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Iran Opposition Says Mousavi, Karroubi Held, Judiciary Denies

Iranian opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi and their wives have been arrested and put in a Tehran jail, their websites said Monday in reports swiftly denied by a judicial official.

The two had been under house arrest after judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani said earlier this month they had committed "treason" and MPs demanded they be hanged.

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