Lebanese police traded gunfire with smugglers and Syria arrested Lebanese fishermen Sunday in new tensions on their borders, reflecting increasing acrimony between the two countries since Syria was forced to end its decades-long domination of its smaller neighbor.
In another surprise move, Damascus said it wants Lebanon to compensate the families of Syrian workers killed during a wave of anti-Syrian sentiment after the Feb. 14 assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Syrian media reports have said up to 35 Syrians were killed in Lebanon following Hariri's death, but there has been no official Syrian or Lebanese confirmation of the number and Lebanese unofficial estimates put the number at much less.
The Lebanese and Syrian governments always touted their nations' brotherhood during the years of Syrian control. But the slaying of Hariri, which many Lebanese blamed on Syria, opened a wave of anger at Damascus. Syria was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in April, and since then anti-Damascus politicians have gained control of parliament.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa tried Sunday to try to calm the bitterness, meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad and the foreign minister in Damascus. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak also spoke with Assad by telephone.
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
Former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said if US President Joe Biden had ended his re-election bid sooner, the Democratic Party could have held a competitive nominating process to choose his replacement. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said in an interview on Thursday published by the New York Times the next day. “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary,” she said. Pelosi said she thought the Democratic candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, “would have done
Farmer Liu Bingyong used to make a tidy profit selling milk but is now leaking cash — hit by a dairy sector crisis that embodies several of China’s economic woes. Milk is not a traditional mainstay of Chinese diets, but the Chinese government has long pushed people to drink more, citing its health benefits. The country has expanded its dairy production capacity and imported vast numbers of cattle in recent years as Beijing pursues food self-sufficiency. However, chronically low consumption has left the market sloshing with unwanted milk — driving down prices and pushing farmers to the brink — while
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