BEIRUT: Tensions were running high in the northern Lebanese town of Bsharri on Sunday after a young man was shot dead by a sniper there on Saturday.

Haitham Touk, 36, was shot dead near Qurnat As Sawda, or Black Peak, the highest point in Lebanon and the Levant.

A second man, 50-year-old Malik Touk, was killed a few hours later as soldiers were combing the area in search of the sniper.

Political and religious figures moved quickly to try and prevent any violent spillover from the killings.

DUBAI: Former UK MP and two-time minister of state, the Right Honorable Alistair Burt, has admitted that “policy errors have been made” by the UK government that have affected its relationship with the Arab world, but that the region “remains of great interest and importance” to the country.

Appearing on the Arab News current-affairs talk show “Frankly Speaking,” Burt, who has served as UK minister for the Middle East, said that “the essential thing is that the long historical ties and the relationship between us means there will always be an interest and an involvement.”

JERUSALEM: Israel is not nearing an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser said, as talks between Tehran and Washington have sought to cool tensions.
Tzachi Hanegbi said it was still unclear what will come of talks Israel’s main ally the US has held with Iran in recent weeks in an effort to outline steps that could limit Tehran’s nuclear program and de-escalate tensions.
Nonetheless, no agreement would obligate Israel, which views a nuclear-armed Iran as an existential threat, Hanegbi told Channel 13 television.

BEIRUT: Hezbollah is refusing Israeli demands that it dismantle an outpost set up in the disputed hills of Kfarshouba on the border between Lebanon and Israel.

Amid a tense standoff between the militant group and Israel over the issue, Israeli warplanes violated Lebanese airspace at low altitude over the border towns of Bint Jbeil and Marjayoun on Saturday.

RIYADH: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation will hold an emergency open-ended meeting on Sunday to discuss the repercussions of burning a copy of the Qur’an in Sweden on the first day of Eid Al-Adha, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.

The meeting, which will be held at the OIC’s headquarters in Jeddah, was called following an invitation from Saudi Arabia — the chairman of the Islamic Summit in its current session and the OIC’s Executive Committee.