Lebanon on edge after deadly protests
CBSN
Beirut — A day of mourning has been declared in Lebanon after at least 7 people were killed and dozens injured in protests in the capital Beirut on Thursday. The country, once called the "playground of the Middle East," is already in the midst of a devastating economic crisis, with nearly three quarters of its population living in poverty.
During Thursday's deadly clashes, gunmen used rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons on the streets of the capital, echoing the carnage of the country's deadly civil war three decades earlier. Mariam Farhat, a 45-year-old mother of five, was among those killed, the Associated Press reported.
"We started screaming, she was taken on a stretcher but did not reach the hospital," Farhat's mother-in-law told the Associated Press. She said her youngest daughter did not know her mother had been killed. "She is five years old. How is she going to understand?"
Noumea — France's president held a flurry of meetings with local representatives in the restive Pacific territory of New Caledonia on Thursday, urging calm after deadly rioting, and vowing thousands of military reinforcements will stay in place to quell what he called an "unprecedented insurrection."
Kathmandu — Nepali climber Phunjo Lama on Thursday reached Mount Everest's summit in 14 hours and 31 minutes, smashing the record for the world's fastest ascent of the mountain by a woman. Climbers usually take days to reach the top of the 29,032-foot mountain, spending nights on its different camps to rest and acclimatize.
New Delhi — Indian justice officials have changed course amid outrage over the bail terms set for a teenager accused of killing two people while driving a Porsche at high speed while drunk and without a license. The 17-year-old son of a wealthy businessman had been ordered to write a 300-word essay and work with the local traffic police for 15 days to be granted bail — a decision that was made within 15 hours of his arrest.
Zurich — A woman jogger was killed by a naked man who was screaming and attacking people in a lakeside park in Switzerland, police said Wednesday. The attack happened Tuesday evening in Mannedorf on Lake Zurich, around 12 miles southeast of Switzerland's biggest city, the Zurich cantonal police said.
Norway, Ireland and Spain said Wednesday they are recognizing a Palestinian state in a historic move that drew condemnation from Israel and jubilation from the Palestinians. Israel immediately ordered back its ambassadors from Norway and Ireland and appeared ready to do the same with its ambassador to Spain.