Six makeshift bombs exploded in a mixed Sunni-Shiite area of west Beirut overnight, causing damage but no casualties, a security official said yesterday.
The blasts occurred in Corniche al-Mazraa, an area that was the scene of violent sectarian clashes in May, during fierce fighting between political rivals that killed 65 people and sent Lebanon to the brink of civil war.
Windows in shops and cars were shattered in the majority Sunni Muslim area, but no injuries were reported.
Two similar bombs were defused by the Lebanese army near a church in the village of Lassa, north of Beirut, the security official said.
Security concerns are running high in Lebanon ahead of national reconciliation talks between rival political leaders scheduled for today, following the killing of a pro-Syrian politician in a car bombing last Wednesday.
The national dialogue, being chaired by Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, is expected to focus on the divisive issue of weapons held by the powerful Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah.
Controversy over Hezbollah’s arsenal intensified after its fighters captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid in July 2006, sparking a deadly 34-day war that devastated Lebanon.
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
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