Beirut - LBN
Beirut, Lebanon, Oct 10, 2024 (AFP) -State media said two Israeli strikes hit the central area of Lebanon's capital on Thursday, the third such attacks on Beirut since Israel escalated its air campaign last month.
Israel has repeatedly pounded southern Beirut suburbs, the bastion of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, for more than two weeks but strikes have rarely hit in the city's centre.
"The Israeli enemy launched a strike in Beirut, targeting a building near the Khatam al-Anbiya complex in Nweiri, with another strike targeting the Ras al-Nabaa area near the al-Amiliyah building," the National News Agency said.
It earlier said ambulances had rushed to the targeted sites.
An AFP journalist in Beirut heard three loud explosions.
AFP live footage showed two plumes of smoke billowing in between densely-packed buildings where lights were still on in the windows.
Earlier this month, Israel carried out a deadly air raid in Beirut, hitting an emergency services rescue facility run by Hezbollah, killing seven workers, the service said.
On September 30, an Israeli drone strike on a building in Beirut's busy Cola district killed three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the leftist armed group said.
Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and its foe Israel have been exchanging near-daily cross-border fire for nearly a year in fallout from the Gaza war.
But since September 23, Israel has escalated its air strikes on targets in Lebanon, killing more than 1,200 people and forced more than one million to flee their homes, according to official figures.
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Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit central Beirut
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Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit central Beirut
Global Logistics Forum announces key partners on eve of inaugural event
RIYADH: Shipping firm MAERSK, aviation conglomerate Saudia Group and delivery company Aramex have been confirmed as key partners of the Global Logistics Forum, set to take place in Riyadh from Oct. 12-14.
The event, hosted by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services, will serve as a platform for uniting partners to enhance supply chain efficiency, resilience, sustainability, and profitability, according to a press release.
The inaugural forum will host 10,000 attendees and see more than 120 speakers, including world leaders, ministers, business chiefs, and experts in the logistics sector contributing to the event.
The event comes as Saudi Arabia places an increased focus on its logistics industry, in line with the Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy.
The sector is surging, with a 76 percent increase in new businesses registered in the second quarter of 2024, making logistics the fastest-growing sphere in the Kingdom.
Rumaih bin Muhammad Al-Rumaih, the Kingdom’s vice minister of Transport and Logistic Services, said the forum marks a key waypoint on the journey of the global industry.
“From the food we eat, to the gifts we give, and to everything in between, our modern world depends on the global logistics network.
“At the Global Logistics Forum, we will set the future direction for this most critical industry.
“We are proud to share the many global and regional logistics leaders who are partnering with us for the inaugural GLF, recognizing the importance of this moment to share the future map of global logistics.”
Ibrahim Al-Omar, director general of Saudia Group, said that being a Presenting Partner for the event in Riyadh is testament to his company’s commitment to Saudi Vision 2030.
“This forum is a pivotal moment for Saudia Group to engage with global leaders and contribute to the Kingdom's ambition of becoming a leading logistics hub. Our participation underscores our dedication to fostering innovation and collaboration in the logistics sector," he added.
Group CEO of Aramex, Othman Aljeda, said that the company “was thrilled to embark on this collaborative journey with the Global Logistics Forum.”
He added: “Earlier this year, Aramex opened a new regional hub in Riyadh, and our partnership at GLF will ensure that we are contributing our expertise and supporting Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 by fostering greater collaboration, operational excellence, and sustainable growth in the region's logistics sector."
The Global Logistics Forum will also serve as a “launching pad” for MoUs between industry leaders in global logistics, formalizing a more connected sector, and in turn ensuring a more resilient and efficient network of global connectivity, according to a release.
Lebanon PM urges UN resolution on ceasefire with Israel
- Lebanon’s foreign ministry would ask the UN Security Council to issue a resolution calling for a ‘full and immediate ceasefire’
BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday urged the United Nations to pass a resolution calling for an “immediate” ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
In a televised address, Mikati emphasized his government’s commitment to deploy the army on the border with Israel as part of a cessation of hostilities, and said Hezbollah agreed on the matter.
Mikati said Lebanon’s foreign ministry would ask the UN Security Council to issue a resolution calling for a “full and immediate ceasefire.”
He said his government was committed to “the full application of Resolution 1701,” which was adopted in 2006 and called for the Lebanese army and peacekeepers to be the only armed forces deployed in the south of the country.
Lebanon is committed to “the deployment of the army in the south and the bolstering of its presence along the border,” he said.
“Hezbollah is in agreement on this issue,” he added.
A government source had previously said that Hezbollah informed Lebanese authorities it had accepted a ceasefire with Israel on September 27, the day an Israeli strike killed its leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Previously, the Iran-backed militant group had said it would only accept a truce if there was also one with its Palestinian ally Hamas in Gaza.
Mikati also condemned attacks on the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon as a “crime,” with peacekeepers targeted two days in a row by Israeli forces, according to Lebanese official media and the foreign ministry.
A year of hostilities has killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon and forced more than one million people to flee, according to Lebanese authorities.
Beijing sends team to Pakistan to join probe into Karachi bombing that killed two Chinese
- Two Chinese nationals among three people were killed and 10 others injured in the bomb attack near the Karachi airport on Oct. 6
- Pakistan fully dealing with the aftermath, investigating the attack and nailing down the perpetrators, Chinese foreign ministry says
ISLAMABAD: China has sent an inter-agency working group to join an investigation into last week’s bomb attack in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi that killed two Chinese nationals, Chinese state media reported, citing a foreign ministry spokesperson.
Two Chinese nationals among three people were killed and 10 others injured in the attack near the Karachi airport on Oct. 6, according to Pakistani and Chinese authorities. The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Chinese nationals were targeted by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday that Beijing quickly sent an inter-agency working group to Pakistan as part of its response to the attack on a Chinese convoy of the Port Qasim coal-fired power plant that killed and injured Chinese personnel, Chinese state-run CGTN news channel reported.
“After arriving in Islamabad on October 8, the working group immediately joined the Embassy in Pakistan and the company concerned in the emergency response,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by the English-language news channel.
“The working group met intensively with heads of Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, and military, police and intelligence departments, and asked the Pakistani side to properly handle ensuing matters, make every effort to save the injured, conduct thorough investigations, bring all the perpetrators to justice, and step up security measures to ensure the safety and security of Chinese personnel, institutions and projects in Pakistan.”
Pakistan strongly condemned the attack and is fully dealing with the aftermath, investigating the incident and nailing down the perpetrators, according to the spokesperson. Islamabad has said it will further strengthen security measures and make all-out efforts to protect Chinese interests in Pakistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week met Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong and assured him of personally overseeing investigation into the militant attack and promised that those responsible would be brought to justice.
The Chinese ambassador expressed confidence in the Pakistani government’s “effective investigation, prompt identification of the responsible terrorists, and their swift punishment,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Sunday’s attack is the latest by the BLA, the most prominent of a number of separatist groups fighting for independence for Pakistan’s gas-and-mineral-rich Balochistan province, where a low-lying insurgency has been ongoing for the past two decades. Baloch militants blame the Pakistani state for exploiting the province’s resources, a charge denied by state authorities.
The BLA also accuses Beijing of helping Islamabad exploit the province and has attacked Chinese interests and projects in the past, in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. It has previously killed Chinese citizens working in the region and attacked Beijing’s consulate in Karachi.
In March this year, a suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they headed to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in the country. In 2022, three Chinese educators and their Pakistani driver were killed when an explosion ripped through a van at the University of Karachi.
IMF demand on special economic zones to dissuade China investments in Pakistan — Bloomberg
- IMF has asked Pakistan to refrain from providing incentives such as tax breaks and subsidies to any new or existing SEZs
- Pakistan has been wooing investors through special tax incentives, including exemptions on taxes and customs duties
ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund has asked Pakistan to stop setting up any industrial zones that offer incentives for investment, Bloomberg reported on Friday, a dictate that could undermine Islamabad’s efforts to attract more Chinese industries into the South Asian country.
The IMF’s condition comes as part of the approval of a new $7 billion bailout package last month and as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tries to convince Chinese companies to shift more industries into Pakistan to give fresh momentum to projects under its Belt and Road Initiative. The country had planned to build at least nine special economic zones (SEZs) under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project that are at various stages of development.
“The authorities will refrain from providing incentives such as tax breaks and subsidies to any new or existing special economic zones,” Bloomberg reported, quoting an IMF report from Oct. 10. “This will help provide a level playing field for investment.”
The lender has asked Pakistan to offer a level playing field to businesses to attract investments without undermining the country’s tax base, according to Nathan Porter, IMF’s mission chief for Pakistan.
The country has provided protection or concessions to sectors that were low in productivity, he said in a briefing last month, which was why Pakistan hadn’t been able to achieve the kind of sustainable growth rates many of its regional peers have.
“The demand from IMF is expected to immediately hit a new export processing zone that the government plans to build at the site of Pakistan Steel Mills in Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital,” Bloomberg said.
Pakistan authorities, after securing the 37-month loan from the IMF in September, are working to invite about 100 major Chinese industries to invest in the textile parks that Ruyi Shandong Group will start building in its southern Sindh and central Punjab provinces later this year.
The Sharif government has been wooing investors through offering special tax incentives, including exemptions from paying taxes and customs duties on imported goods, to businesses set up in such industrial zones.
China has built major infrastructure and energy projects in Pakistan to push its flagship CPEC corridor project that has helped the nation but left it burdened by huge debts.
Iranian president says Israel, backed by West, is ‘killing innocent people’
- Masoud Pezeshkian: ‘I would like to say to Israel: stop killing innocent people. Stop bombing residential buildings, people who have nothing anyway’
MOSCOW: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday that Israel should “stop killing innocent people,” and that its actions in the Middle East were backed by the United States and the European Union.
Pezeshkian was speaking to a Russian state TV reporter on the sidelines of an international meeting in Turkmenistan.
Israel in recent weeks has sharply escalated its assault on Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, including by killing its top leaders, sending ground troops into southern Lebanon and bombing the capital Beirut.
An Israeli strike late on Thursday in the heart of Beirut killed 22 people and injured more than 100, Lebanese authorities said.
Israel says the operations in Lebanon aim to allow tens of thousands of its residents to return home after being forced to leave northern Israel due to Hezbollah rocket fire over the past year.
Hezbollah is firing at Israel in support of its ally Hamas, which triggered Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza following an Oct. 7 attack on communities in southern Israel.
“I would like to say to Israel: stop killing innocent people. Stop bombing residential buildings, people who have nothing anyway,” said Pezeshkian, accusing Israel of violating every kind of international agreement.
“It does this because it knows that the US and the European Union are behind it,” he said.
The Middle East remains on high alert for further escalation in the region, awaiting
Israel’s response to an Iranian missile strike on Oct. 1.
