Three men were killed in Lebanon on Monday as tensions over scarce fuel supplies descended into violence involving knives, guns and a hand grenade, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Lebanese have faced months of severe fuel shortages that have prompted long queues at petrol stations and plunged the country into long periods of darkness.
The shortages have been blamed on smuggling, hoarding and the inability of authorities to secure deliveries of imported fuel.
The crisis worsened when the government reduced subsidies on fuel during a deepening financial crisis that began in 2019.
The situation is very hard, and we can’t handle it much longer
Fadi Abu Shakra,
spokesman for fuel distributors
The Lebanese currency has plummeted and now sells at 20,000 pounds to the dollar on the black market, while the official rate is fixed at 1,500 pounds to the dollar.
The price of about 3.8 litres of fuel has increased by more than 220 per cent in the past year, leading to panic and a thriving black market.
The fuel crisis has turned violent before, with motorists clashing at petrol stations after long waits and when fuel ran out.
But the latest deaths reflect growing frustration over a problem that has only grown worse.
Two men were killed when a gunfight erupted over a deal about a fuel sale in the north of the country, the National News Agency reported.
The violence started in the area of Beddawi and extended to Bab Al Tibaneh in the city of Tripoli, it reported.
The men exchanged fire apparently after a disagreement and at one point a hand grenade was thrown, the agency reported.
Troops fanned out and were stationed around the local hospital. There was heavy gunfire during the men’s funerals.
The person responsible for the deaths handed himself into authorities, local media reported.
The other death happened after a fist-fight broke out at a petrol station in Bakhoun, a village in the northern Danniyeh region.
A man was shot in the melee and was taken to a hospital in the nearby town of Zgharta, where he died of his wounds, the agency reported.
The gunman handed himself in to authorities.
“The situation is very hard, and we can’t handle it much longer,” Fadi Abu Shakra, a spokesman for fuel distributors, told Al Jadeed TV.
Lebanon's national electricity company, dependent on imported fuel, has expanded a rolling power cut system, delivering only about one hour of electricity a day to homes and businesses.
This prompted private generator operators to turn off their engines to ration the consumption of fuel, plunging entire areas into darkness for hours.
Hospital officials said they had been unable to secure diesel, putting some medical centres at risk of closure.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
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UAE v Zimbabwe A
Results
Match 1 – UAE won by 4 wickets
Match 2 – UAE won by 5 wickets
Match 3 – UAE won by 25 runs
Match 4 – UAE won by 77 runs
Fixture
Match 5, Saturday, 9.30am start, ICC Academy, Dubai
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
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Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.