BEIRUT: French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has urged the swift election of a new Lebanese president after a second vote in parliament to pick a successor to incumbent Michel Aoun failed.
Lebanon “today cannot risk a power vacuum,” Colonna said at the end of a short visit to the country, urging its leaders to live up to their responsibilities.
Electing the next president is up to the Lebanese alone, she stressed, saying that the international community was looking forward to seeing the election process completed.

LONDON: At least 23 children have been killed in a brutal crackdown by the Iranian regime on protests that erupted following the death last month of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody, according to Amnesty International.

A report released by the rights group said the children, the youngest of whom was just 11 years old, were killed by Iranian security forces in the last 10 days of September.

NEW YORK: Kuwait has restated its support at the UN for the ending of the Israeli occupation of all the Palestinian territories.
In a statement before the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly, the country’s diplomatic attache of the permanent delegation to the UN, Mohammed Al-Sawagh, renewed his country’s firm stance on Palestinians gaining their political rights, including that of self-determination.

ANKARA: Turkey’s interior minister says a blast inside a coal mine in northern Turkey has left 14 workers dead.
Suleyman Soylu said at least 28 others were rescued with injuries from the coal mine in the Black Sea coastal province of Amasra.
Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said the explosion is likely to have been caused by firedamp, a reference to flammable gases found in coal mines.
The explosion has left over 20 injured, the Turkish health minister Fahrettin Koca said earlier.

GAZA CITY: The sixth annual Red Carpet Human Rights Film Festival in Palestine got underway on Thursday, providing a platform for local and international productions with a humanitarian message.

This year’s event will see 43 features and documentaries being screened at three venues in the Gaza Strip and one in the West Bank. They were selected from about 300 submissions received via the FilmFreeway International platform, which provides filmmakers from around the world with access to major festivals.