Lebanese troops pounded Islamist militiamen in a Palestinian refugee camp yesterday, the second day of the bloodiest internal fighting since the civil war that has now killed 55 people and raised deep concerns about Lebanon's fragile security.
Nine Palestinian civilians were killed in the shelling of the Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon, where soldiers battled militants from the shadowy Fatah al-Islam group, a camp medic said.
Plumes of thick black smoke rose from the camp, which has been turned into a war zone by ferocious gunbattles yesterday between soldiers and Fatah al-Islam, a group accused of links to al-Qaeda and Syrian intelligence services.
Lebanese leaders vowed they would take "all necessary measures" to restore order after the fighting that left 46 people dead on Sunday alone, while the international community appealed for an end to the violence.
As warships patrolled nearby coastal waters, troops were locked in heavy exchanges of artillery and machinegun fire with militants in Nahr al-Bared, where buildings have been burnt or destroyed.
Officials are fearful for the plight of refugees.
"We are deeply concerned about the developing humanitarian crisis, particularly the danger to civilian lives," UN Palestinian refugee agency director Richard Cook said.
Doctors have describing seeing bodies strewn on the streets of the Nahr al-Bared, which like all other refugee camps in Lebanon remain outside the control of the government and in the hands of Palestinian factions.
"The electricity has been cut, there's not much water and the camp's bakeries are shut," said Hajj Rifaat, an official from the mainstream group Fatah, which denies any links with Fatah al-Islam.
Also see story:
Bomb plot suspect killed in Lebanon
RESILIENCE: Deepening bilateral cooperation would extend the peace sustained over the 45 years since the Taiwan Relations Act, Greene said Taiwan-US relations are built on deep economic ties and shared values, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday, adding that strengthening supply chain security in critical industries, enhancing societal resilience through cooperation and deepening partnerships are key to ensuring peace and stability for Taiwan in the years ahead. Greene made the remarks at the National Security Youth Forum, organized by National Taiwan University’s National Security and Strategy Studies Institution in Taipei. In his address in Mandarin Chinese, Greene said the Taiwan-US relationship is built on deep economic ties and shared interests, and grows stronger through the enduring friendship between
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
‘COMING MENACINGLY’: The CDC advised wearing a mask when visiting hospitals or long-term care centers, on public transportation and in crowded indoor venues Hospital visits for COVID-19 last week increased by 113 percent to 41,402, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, as it encouraged people to wear a mask in three public settings to prevent infection. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said weekly hospital visits for COVID-19 have been increasing for seven consecutive weeks, and 102 severe COVID-19 cases and 19 deaths were confirmed last week, both the highest weekly numbers this year. CDC physician Lee Tsung-han (李宗翰) said the youngest person hospitalized due to the disease this year was reported last week, a one-month-old baby, who does not