Lebanon
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UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman also issue Lebanon travel warnings

Bahrain has called on its citizens to leave Lebanon "for their own safety" hours after Saudi Arabia did the same without giving a reason.

Another Gulf nation, Qatar, meanwhile called on Qataris in Lebanon to “observe caution and vigilance, stay away from the areas that are witnessing the current incidents, and abide by the instructions issued by the competent local authorities.”

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Lebanon minister walks back comments that irked aid donor Kuwait

Caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam has sought to clarify comments condemned by Kuwait over aid money to rebuild Beirut's grain silos that were destroyed in the devastating port blast three years ago.

The oil-rich Gulf state in 2020 said it was ready to rebuild the storehouses, which Lebanon had constructed decades ago with a loan from Kuwait.

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Mikati reassures on security after embassies' travel warnings

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has followed up with the caretakers ministers of foreign affairs and interior on the warnings issued by the embassies of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Germany for their citizens in Lebanon, Mikati's press office said.

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Clashes damage may delay school year at Ain el-Helweh camp

Damage to the school complex in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp from recent clashes between factions could delay the start of the school year for some 6,000 children, a United Nations official said Friday.

The concern arose after heavy street battles broke out Sunday in Ain el-Helweh between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and Islamist groups Jund al-Sham and al-Shabab al-Muslim. The clashes erupted after Fatah accused the Islamists of gunning down a Fatah military general, Abu Ashraf al Armoushi, in the camp.

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Lebanese Muay Thai fighter clenches victory on August 4, dedicates win to port victims

Muay Thai star Abdallah Ondash showed typical Lebanese fighting spirit to earn a great comeback win on his debut at world-famous martial arts organization ONE Championship, dedicating his win to the victims of the Beirut Port blast.

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Hundreds march on port blast anniversary as France, US voice stances

Lebanon marked three years since one of history's biggest non-nuclear explosions rocked Beirut with hundreds of protesters marching alongside victims' families Friday to demand long-awaited justice.

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UNRWA says Ain el-Helweh remains volatile, urges end to hostilities

UNRWA has called for a cessation of fighting in the Ain el-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon after the fighting left 13 killed and dozens injured.

“The situation remains very volatile … Thousands were forced to flee their homes that have been damaged or destroyed,” UNRWA said in a statement.

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Lebanon marks 3 years since catastrophic Beirut port blast

Lebanon on Friday marks three years since one of history's biggest non-nuclear explosions rocked Beirut. Yet nobody has been held to account as political and legal pressures suspend the investigation.

On August 4, 2020, the massive blast at Beirut's port destroyed swathes of the Lebanese capital, killing more than 220 people and injuring at least 6,500.

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3 years after port blast, intrigue foils probe and even death toll is disputed

Three years after Beirut's massive port blast, attempts to prosecute those responsible are mired in political intrigue, the final death toll remains disputed and many Lebanese have less faith than ever in their disintegrating state institutions.

As the country marks the anniversary Friday, relatives of some of those killed are still struggling to get their loved ones recognized as blast victims, reflecting the ongoing chaos since the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion. The blast killed at least 218 people, according to an Associated Press count, wounded more than 6,000, devastated large swaths of Beirut and caused billions of dollars in damages.

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Nasrallah: Those who blocked truth in port case are the ones who politicized it

Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday expressed sympathy with “all those who were wounded in the Beirut port blast on August 4,” 2020, lamenting that “from the very first moment after the port explosion, some malicious TV stations said that Hezbollah was behind blowing up the port.”

“Those who blocked the truth in the port blast case are the ones who politicized this case. The real reason behind the loss of the truth in the Beirut port explosion is some parties’ linking of the case to regional events,” Nasrallah added, in a televised address commemorating late Shiite cleric Sheikh Afif al-Nabulsi.

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