Clashes erupt in Lebanon

October 12th, 2009 BEIRUT - A Hezbollah official was killed late Monday when a bomb left behind from the 2006 war with Israel exploded near his house, Lebanese police said. Saeed Nasser, a Hezbollah official in southern Lebanon, died in the blast in the village of Tayr Filsi on the southern bank of the Litani river, police said.

October 12th, 2009 Explosion in south Lebanon building kills 1BEIRUT — An explosion went off Monday in a building in southern Lebanon that might have been used as a weapons depot, killing at least one person, security officials said. The blast occurred in the village of Tayr Filsay near the port city of Tyre, about six miles (10 kilometers) from the border with Israel, the officials said.

September 21st, 2009 Clarification: Lebanon-Israel storyBEIRUT — In a story Aug. 14 on the anniversary of the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, The Associated Press reported that 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon during the month-long conflict.

September 11th, 2009 Lebanon official: 2 rockets fired toward IsraelBEIRUT — A senior Lebanese military official says two rockets have been fired toward Israel from inside Lebanon. The official says the rockets were fired Friday from the town of Qlaileh, near the Lebanese port city of Tyre.

September 11th, 2009 NEW YORK - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the firing of two missiles into Israel Friday, saying the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon will investigate the incident. He called on all parties to exercise restraint.

September 1st, 2009 NEW YORK - Germany has taken charge of the UN maritime task force (MTF) deployed off the coast of Lebanon following the Israel-Lebanon war in 2006, WAM news agency reported. The naval force has been deployed at the request of the Lebanese government to secure the country's territorial waters, according to the report Monday.

August 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Observers believe that the power struggle in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) could erupt again following the announcement of its new chief after the banned outfit admitted, after weeks of denial, that Baitullah Mehsud had indeed been killed in US drone strike earlier this month. The TTP may have announced the name of its new leader, but observers believe the infighting would continue in the banned outfit.

July 12th, 2009 KOLKATA - A dispute among students over the duration of the tiffin break in a school erupted in clashes in Naoda in Berhampur subdivision of West Bengal's Murshidabad district where four people died in clashes and police firing since Friday, police said. After two people died in clashes between two groups in Jhaubona village, two were killed in police firing that followed, state Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh told IANS.

June 28th, 2009 BEIRUT - At least one woman was killed and three wounded Sunday when clashes erupted in Beirut between followers of the Western-backed ruling majority and those of the Hezbollah-led opposition, Lebanese police said. Clashes erupted with machine-gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades launched between followers of Prime Minister Saad Hariri and those loyal to Shia House Speaker Nabih Berri in the populated areas of Aiyshe Bakar and Mar Elias, the police said.

June 11th, 2009 JERUSALEM - The Obama administration has said that its Middle East peace plan will not be restricted to only about peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but will also include both Syria and Lebanon. US Special Middle East envoy George Mitchell disclosed this on Wednesday, on the eve of trips to both Beirut and Damascus.

May 9th, 2009 Lebanon arrests 5 suspected of spying for IsraelBEIRUT — Authorities arrested five people in southern Lebanon on Friday for allegedly spying for Israel as part of the two countries' long-running espionage battle, security officials said. At least seven others accused of spying have been arrested in recent weeks in what appears to be part of a stepped-up campaign against those suspected of gathering information on Hezbollah militants for Israel.

May 5th, 2009 BEIRUT - The UN is trying to persuade Israel to withdraw its troops from Ghajjar village in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese government source said Tuesday. 'Members of the Lebanese and Israeli armies along with a senior UN official will meet Wednesday at the Naquora crossing point to discuss the issue of Ghajjar village,' the source said.

March 24th, 2009 BEIRUT - A Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) official and four of his bodyguards were killed Monday when a roadside bomb targeted their convoy near a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon, Lebanese army and Palestinian sources said. Kamal Medhat, assistant to PLO representative in Lebanon Abbas Zaki, was killed in the blast near the Miyeh Miyeh camp on the outskirts of the port city of Sidon.

January 16th, 2009 BEIRUT - Visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concerns over the firing of Katyusha rockets from Lebanon into Israel. 'I am concerned for the situation in the south, any additional aggression threatens the stability of UNSCR 1701.

January 5th, 2009 BEIRUT - French President Nicolas Sarkozy, due to arrive in Beirut on Tuesday, promised to exert more effort to resolve lingering issues between Lebanon and neighbouring Syria. 'Lebanon and Syria are now cooperating to restore relations based on trust and mutual respect,' Sarkozy was quoted by Lebanese televisions Monday.