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.
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the US that include Chinese technology or equipment. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats.” The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
The US Department of Education on Tuesday said it opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Michigan (UM) while alleging it found “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures” in a review of the university’s foreign reports, after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the US. As part of the investigation, the department asked the university to share, within 30 days, tax records related to foreign funding, a list of foreign gifts, grants and contracts with any foreign source, and other documents, the department said in a statement and in a letter to
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