Shots hit Lebanon defense minister's car
BEIRUT -- Two bullets hit the car of Lebanon's caretaker defense minister on Thursday as he was driving in a convoy near Beirut, a senior security official said. No one was hurt.
In a brief statement, Defense Minister Maurice Sleem confirmed the shooting, which occurred in the Beirut neighborhood of Hazmieh, but did not provide further details.
An investigation was underway to find out if the minister was targeted, a senior Lebanese official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
In a separate development in the nearby suburb of Ghobeiry, a funeral was held Thursday for a member of the militant Hezbollah group killed the previous day when his truck overturned on a mountain road in the Christian town of Kahaleh.
The truck was carrying Hezbollah munitions and after it crashed, clashes erupted at the scene.
A second person, a resident of Kahaleh, was also killed in the shootout. The man's family claimed he was an innocent passer-by but a poster erected in the town showed him holding an AK-47 rifle.
Videos circulating on social media purported to be from Wednesday's fighting showed exchanges of fire between two groups of men in civilian clothing. The Lebanese army said it is investigating.
Hundreds of Hezbollah supporters attended the funeral, firing bullets into the air, a traditional gesture to honor fallen troops, and waving Hezbollah flags.
Al-Qaida suspected in south Yemen attack
SANAA, Yemen -- A suspected Al-Qaida attack in southern Yemen killed a military commander and three soldiers from a secessionist group on Thursday, security officials and an eyewitness said.
Commander Abd Al-Latif al-Sayyid and the three soldiers from the Security Belt Forces, a fighting group loyal to Yemen's secessionist Southern Transitional Council, were killed in an explosion while traveling in a convoy through southern Abyan province, the three officials and witness said.
They blamed al-Qaida's branch in Yemen -- known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula -- for the attack but provided no further details. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The separatist council is backed by the United Arab Emirates and controls most of Yemen's south. It is at odds with the internationally recognized government, and has repeatedly called for the south Arabian country to be split into two like it was between 1967 and 1990.
AQAP has not claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack but is active in Abyan province and regularly carries out ambushes against Yemeni forces. AQAP is seen as one of the more dangerous branches of the terror network.
17 die, 30 lost as Burmese boat capsizes
BANGKOK -- A boat carrying minority Rohingya migrants from Burma capsized in the Bay of Bengal, leaving at least 17 people dead and about 30 missing, a rescue official said Thursday.
About 55 people were on the boat when it left Buthidaung township in the western state of Rakhine last weekend, said Byar La, general secretary of Shwe Yaung Metta Foundation.
Eight people survived the weekend accident in the sea near Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine, he said. The boat was headed for Malaysia and the exact time and cause of the capsizing were unknown, he said.
Byar La said 17 bodies, including 10 women, were recovered along the shore in Sittwe, about 210 miles west of the national capital, Naypyitaw, between Monday and Wednesday.
The eight survivors were taken away by Burma's security forces, he said.
Burma is often called Myanmar, a name that military authorities adopted in 1989. Some nations, such as the United States and Britain, have refused to adopt the name change.
British man killed in S. African protests
CAPE TOWN, South African -- A British man was killed amid violent protests in the South African city of Cape Town after the vehicle he was riding in drove into the midst of some of the unrest.
The 40-year-old man was sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle when he was shot in the head, South African police said. Two other passengers and an infant were also in the vehicle. The passengers were taken to a hospital for medical treatment, police said.
South African police said they opened a murder case over the shooting, which happened last week in the Nyanga township near the Cape Town International Airport and was confirmed by police on Thursday.
At least five people have been killed in a week of protests in South Africa's second-largest city and most popular tourist destination. The protests were sparked by a dispute between minibus taxi drivers and city authorities.
At least 120 people have been arrested, Police Minister Bheki Cele said, after several shootings, armed robberies and the looting and torching of vehicles, including city buses.
The protests began last Thursday after minibus taxi drivers called a weeklong strike in response to what they said were heavy-handed tactics by police and city authorities in impounding some of their vehicles.
Lebanese soldiers, top left, standing on their military truck cover boxes that were moved from an overturned truck, right, in the Christian town of Kahaleh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. A truck reportedly carrying weapons for the militant Hezbollah group overturned on a mountain road near the Lebanese capital and was followed by a shooting that left a few people dead, security officials and Hezbollah said. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese soldiers stand guard next to an overturned truck, right, in the Christian town of Kahaleh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. A truck reportedly carrying weapons for the militant Hezbollah group overturned on a mountain road near the Lebanese capital and was followed by a shooting that left a few people dead, security officials and Hezbollah said. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese soldiers stand next to an overturned truck, in the Christian town of Kahaleh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. A truck reportedly carrying weapons for the militant Hezbollah group overturned on a mountain road near the Lebanese capital and was followed by a shooting that left a few people dead, security officials and Hezbollah said. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese soldiers load boxes on their military truck after they remove them from an overturned truck, in the Christian town of Kahaleh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. A truck reportedly carrying weapons for the militant Hezbollah group overturned on a mountain road near the Lebanese capital and was followed by a shooting that left a few people dead, security officials and Hezbollah said. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A Lebanese soldier stands on a military truck, as he covers boxes that were moved from an overturned truck, right, in the Christian town of Kahaleh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. A truck reportedly carrying weapons for the militant Hezbollah group overturned on a mountain road near the Lebanese capital and was followed by a shooting that left a few people dead, security officials and Hezbollah said. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)