Lebanon

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters blocked roads and burned tires across Lebanon for a second day on Friday, demanding the demise of a political elite they say looted the economy to the point of breakdown.

The nationwide protests, Lebanon’s biggest in years, brought ordinary people from all sects and walks of life to the streets. They carried banners and chanted slogans calling on the government to resign.

BEIRUT (AP) — The latest on Turkey’s invasion of northern Syria (all times local):

03:15 a.m.

Australia has ruled out retrieving dozens of Australian women and children from refugee camps during the cease-fire in Syria.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said Friday the situation remained too dangerous to send Australian troops or officials into the war-torn nation.

Dutton says he is hopeful the cease-fire will lead to lasting peace.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Kurdish-led authority in northeast Syria called for a corridor “to evacuate dead and wounded civilians” from Ras al-Ain town which Turkish forces have pushed into.

It said in a statement that people were trapped in the Syrian border town, urging foreign powers including the U.S.-led coalition and Russia, to intervene to get them out.

BEIRUT, Oct 15 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, slammed Israeli policies of contradicting all international laws, treaties and customs, a statement by the president’s office said.

“Israel violates other states’ sovereignty, occupies the Golan Heights, while declaring Al-Quds as its capital and occupying Palestinian territories,” Aoun said, during an event in the capital Beirut.

Aoun also referred to Israel’s violation of international laws as a dangerous indicator of what is being prepared for the region.

BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian fighters vowed to kill “pigs” and “infidels,” paraded their Kurdish captives in front of cameras and, in one graphic video, fired several rounds into a man lying on the side of a highway with his hands bound behind his back.

They are part of the self-styled Syrian National Army, the shock troops in Turkey’s offensive against U.S.-allied Kurdish forces who were abandoned last week after President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of American troops from northern Syria.

BEIRUT (AP) — The latest on Turkey’s offensive in Syria (all times local):

08:15 a.m.

Australia’s foreign minister says Turkey is solely responsible for the escape of Islamic State group fighters from custody in Syria.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne was commenting in the Australian Senate after hundreds of Islamic State families and supporters escaped from a holding camp on Sunday amid fighting between Turkish forces and the Kurds.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria said 785 foreigners affiliated with Islamic State managed to escape a camp where they were being held following Turkish shelling on Sunday.

In an apparent reference to Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, the administration said in a statement that “mercenaries” had attacked the camp where “Daesh elements” - a reference to Islamic State - in turn attacked camp guards and opened the gates.

BEIRUT (AP) — As Turkey’s military incursion into Syria continues, President Donald Trump is telling reporters the U.S. has only two choices: Hit Ankara hard with financial sanctions or send in U.S. troops to stop the fighting between Turkish and Kurdish forces.

Trump says Turkey knows he does not support the invasion.

But he also says he doesn’t think the American people want to send troops there. He is telling reporters, “I hope we can mediate.”

Earlier Trump tweeted a third option: “Mediate a deal between Turkey and the Kurds!”

BEIRUT (Reuters) - A senior Kurdish official warned on Thursday that Islamic State militants could break out of prisons in northeast Syria as fighting intensifies between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkey.

Badran Jia Kurd told Reuters the number of security forces guarding the IS detainees would have to be reduced as the Turkish forces step up an offensive that got underway on Wednesday.

“This attack will definitely reduce and weaken the guarding system for those Daesh militants in the prisons,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

BEIRUT (AP) — The latest developments on Turkish offensive in Syria (all times local):

6 a.m.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he’s worried Turkey’s campaign in Syria will lead to the resurgence of the Islamic State group.

He told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday that he was “deeply concerned” about Turkey’s actions and has expressed to the Turkish and U.S. governments his concerns about the safety of civilians and the Kurdish people.