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'I need my salary': anger as Lebanese banks reopen

Depositors scuffled and long lines formed at Lebanese banks Monday as they partially reopened after a week-long closure following a slew of heists by customers desperate to access their money.

But most banks remained shut, welcoming only a handful of depositors on appointment, and there was anger from those seeking to withdraw frozen funds desperately needed to weather a crushing economic crisis.

At a closed Beirut branch of Fransabank, dozens of soldiers, internal security forces members and customers had queued for hours.

A policeman is stopped by security guards from entering a bank in the Lebanese port city Sidon on September 26 as banks reopened to depositors with scheduled appointments only

Tens of thousands of Jewish pilgrims in Ukraine despite war

Tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews gathered in the Ukrainian city of Uman for their annual pilgrimage, officials said Sunday, despite authorities asking them to skip the trip because of the war.

Every year, Hasidic Jewish pilgrims come to Uman in central Ukraine from across the world to visit the tomb of one of the main figures of Hasidic Judaism for the Jewish new year celebration of Rosh Hashanah.

"This is the most important day of the year to be able to connect with God. And this a great place to do it," one pilgrim, Aaron Allen, told AFP.

Thousands of Jewish pilgrims flocked to Uman despite please from local officials to stay away

Police clash with Iran protesters in London and Paris

Police clashed with demonstrators trying to reach Iran's embassies in London and Paris on Sunday.

French police used tear gas and employed anti-riot tactics to prevent hundreds of people protesting in the capital from marching on Tehran's diplomatic mission, AFP reporters and eyewitnesses said.

In London, police said they made 12 arrests and five officers were "seriously injured" as demonstrators tried to break through barriers protecting Iran's UK embassy.

A woman holds a banner reading 'This is the image of my people. Carry the voice of the Iranians' during a demonstration in support of Iranian protesters in Paris on Sunday

UAE agrees to supply Germany with gas, diesel as Scholz tours Gulf

The United Arab Emirates agreed Sunday to supply natural gas and diesel to Germany as part of an "energy security" deal to replace Russian supplies.

Emirati industry minister Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber called it a "landmark new agreement" that "reinforces the rapidly growing energy partnership between the UAE and Germany", at a signing attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the UAE's state news agency WAM reported.

Scholz signed the deal while on a Gulf tour that took him to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar hunting for new energy sources.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan received German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Abu Dhabi, a stop on a Gulf tour that saw him travel to Saudi Arabia and Qatar to secure new energy sources

Germany's Scholz cites energy supply 'progress' on UAE visit

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday his country was determined to never again rely on a single energy supplier and touted "progress" in gas projects while visiting the United Arab Emirates.

The German leader is touring the Gulf in the hope of sealing new energy deals to replace Russian supplies and mitigate the energy crisis resulting from Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

"We have made progress on a whole series of projects here in terms of the production and purchase of diesel and gas," Scholz told reporters in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, here with UAE Minister of Climate Change Mariam Almheiri touring a mangrove park in Abu Dhabi, is visiting the Gulf to secure energy supplies

Iran Oscar-winning director urges 'solidarity' with protesters

Iran's two-time Oscar winning director Asghar Farhadi on Sunday urged people worldwide to "stand in solidarity" with protesters following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police.

A wave of unrest has rocked Iran since the death of 22-year-old Amini, and Farhadi praised the "progressive and courageous women leading protests for their human rights alongside men".

"They are looking for simple yet fundamental rights that the state has denied them for years," Farhadi said, in a video message on Instagram.

Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi at the Cannes Film Festival in France, on May 28, 2022

Israel troops kill Palestinian driver in alleged car-ramming

A Palestinian driver was killed by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank Saturday after what the army called an "attempted ramming attack" but Palestinians said was a traffic accident.

The army said soldiers and police opened fire on a vehicle after the driver "attempted to run them over" during a patrol outside Nablus, in the northern West Bank.

It said Israeli forces "neutralised" the attacker.

The Palestinian foreign ministry identified the driver as Muhammad Ali Hussein Awad, 36, from the West Bank town of Beit Ijza, near Jerusalem.

Israeli troops are pictured at the scene in the occupied West Bank where a Palestinian driver was shot dead after what the army called an "attempted ramming attack" but Palestinians said was a traffic accident

France's TotalEnergies injects further $1.5 bn into Qatar gas

France's TotalEnergies on Saturday signed a new $1.5 billion deal to help expand Qatar's natural gas production as Europe scrambles to find new energy sources to replace Russian supplies.

But TotalEnergies chairman Patrick Pouyanne and Qatar Energy Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi expressed surprise at reports that Germany was resisting 20-year contracts -- insisting that Europe must agree longer contracts to guarantee supplies.

France's TotalEnergies is to pump $1.5 billion dollars into exanding gas output from Qatar's huge North Field, adding to more than $2 billion already announced in June

Germany's Scholz in Saudi Arabia on Gulf energy hunt

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday visited Saudi Arabia and held talks with its crown prince at the start of a two-day Gulf tour, in the hope of sealing new energy deals.

Scholz, accompanied by a sizeable industry delegation, flew in to Jeddah on the Red Sea where he met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, de facto ruler of the country.

The German chancellor hopes to agree new energy partnerships with the oil- and gas-rich Gulf states, following the loss of supplies from Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) shakes hands with Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz at al-Salam Palace in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah

Lebanon migrant ship death toll rises to 94

Seventeen bodies were recovered Saturday after a boat carrying migrants from Lebanon sank off Syria's coast, raising the overall toll to 94, Syrian state television said, in one of the eastern Mediterranean's deadliest such episodes.

The toll has repeatedly ratcheted higher since the first bodies were found on Thursday. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, described the shipwreck as a "heart-wrenching tragedy" and the search for those still missing continued beyond nightfall.

Lebanese men look towards the sea near the Arida border crossing with Syria