
23 killed in clashes in Lebanon in one week: security source
At least 23 people have been killed since Sunday in Syria-linked clashes between Sunni and Alawite residents of the Lebanese port city of Tripoli, a security source said on Friday.
Thursday was the bloodiest day yet in the clashes, with at least 11 people killed in 24 hours, the source told AFP.
At least 167 people have been wounded in the clashes pitting gunmen in the Alawite Jabal Mohsen neighbourhood against those in the adjacent Sunni Muslim Bab el-Tebbaneh district.
The violence is tied to the conflict in Syria, where a Sunni-led uprising is fighting to overthrow the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite.
The latest round of violence began as Assad's troops launched an assault against the rebel stronghold of Qusayr in Syria's central province of Homs.
The fighting in Tripoli, which has flared sporadically since the beginning of the Syria conflict in March 2011, has been largely confined to the two neighbourhoods.
Elsewhere in the city of 500,000 people, life has continued as normal to some extent, but with traffic lighter than usual and schools closed but most shops still open.
Inside Jabal Mohsen and Bab el-Tebbaneh, in the city's northwest, streets are abandoned, and some residents have fled their homes.
Troops have been deployed across the city since the outbreak, but neither their presence nor several meetings between top local leaders and security chiefs have managed to halt the fighting.
Today morning, the fighting appeared to have subsided, but it was unclear if that was a precursor to a restoration of calm, or simply the usual lull before fighting resumed in the afternoon.

Italy blocks Astra Covid vaccine export, risks backlash against EU

UK police won't probe journalist over 1995 Princess Diana interview

World’s first space hotel with artificial gravity expected to open in 2027
- With over 11,600 square metres of habitable space, the commercial station will have many features expected in a cruise ship.

Italy sees sharpest fall in energy demand since WWII due to pandemic: Report

Police request 60-day extension of Guard at US Capitol

Strong quake shakes New Zealand, but no damage reported and tsunami threat eases

White House says relief checks to go to most who got December payment
- Under the Senate bill, anyone earning up to $75,000 qualifies for the full $1,400 with the payment being cut off entirely at $80,000.

Waive Covid vaccine patents to benefit poor nations, activists say

Iraq beefs up security for pope amid rising violence, pandemic

‘If I lose, …’: PM Imran Khan’s emotional pitch ahead of trust vote this week
- Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan insisted that he wouldn’t abandon his campaign against corruption even if loses the trust vote.

New UK post-study graduate route to open for Indian students in July
- The UK has also extended concessions for students unable to travel to the UK after getting admission to British educational institutions because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was done due to the continuing disruption in international travel.

Wider Image: The man who saves forgotten cats in Fukushima's nuclear zone

French President Macron could still squeeze in a pension reform: Le Maire
- According to Le Maire, a pension reform to address the financial imbalances in the country’s system is still possible before voters head to the polls in April 2022.

Thai military denies involvement in network removed by Facebook
- Marking the first time it had taken down Thai accounts alleged to be linked to the government, Facebook said on Wednesday it had removed a Thailand-based network that included 77 accounts, 72 pages and 18 groups on Facebook and 18 accounts on Instagram, citing "coordinated inauthentic behaviour".
