BEIRUT: Bassam Mawlawi, Lebanon’s caretaker interior minister, said on Wednesday that his country “will not allow the random Syrian presence.”

He claimed that “a large percentage, exceeding 30 percent, of various and major crimes are committed by Syrians in Lebanon” and “cooperation” is required “to preserve our environment and our country’s identity.”

His comments came against the backdrop of growing concern in Lebanon about the increasing numbers of Syrian refugees crossing the border.

GENEVA: Four Western countries floated a proposal Wednesday for the United Nations’ top human rights body to appoint a team of experts to monitor and report on abuses and rights violations in war-wracked Sudan.
Britain, Germany, Norway and the United States are leading the call for the Human Rights Council to name a three-person fact-finding mission to look into possible crimes against refugees, women and children, and others in Sudan.

TUNIS: Tunisia’s public prosecutor detained Abir Moussi, a prominent opponent of President Kais Saied, after she was arrested at the entrance to the presidential palace on Tuesday, lawyers said, the latest arrest targeting Saied’s political rivals.

“Moussi was detained for 48 hours in charges of processing personal data, obstructing the right to work, and assault intended to cause chaos,” lawyer Aroussi Zgir said.

Authorities were not immediately available to comment.

PORT SUDAN, Sudan: Paramilitary artillery that struck a mosque and other civilian buildings in the Sudanese capital killed 10 people on Tuesday, local activists said.
It is the latest incident in which multiple civilians have been killed in Khartoum during nearly six months of war between Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his former deputy, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

RAS LAFFAN, Qatar: Qatar’s state-owned energy giant began construction Tuesday on a project to expand production from the world’s biggest natural gas field through an export terminal on the country’s northeast coast.

There has been mounting demand for Qatari gas as European consumer nations have scrambled to replace lost Russian deliveries since President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale war on Ukraine early last year.