Beirut plunged into chaos after Israel demands ‘evacuation’ of southern suburb

BEIRUT, Mar 5 (THE AFRICAN PORTAL) – Roads out of Beirut’s densely packed southern suburb were choked with traffic Thursday after the Israeli military told residents to leave their homes or risk losing their lives. Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned that the suburb of Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold, would soon share the fate of the devastated Gaza city of Khan Younis. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.

Vandalism, arson & looting occur as Gambians protest blackout in Greater Banjul

GPRTU, GRTCC: No increase in public transport fares yet

Zelenskyy says war looks set to go on winter

Bahrain says an Iranian missile hit a state-run oil refinery

It said the fire was extinguished and the refinery was still working. There were no reports of casualties.

Erdogan tells Macron Turkey seeking return to negotiations on Iran

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron by phone that Turkey is ‌making ⁠intensive efforts to ‌strengthen the ground for diplomacy ⁠and a return to negotiations on Iran, Erdogan’s ‌office said.

“Erdogan said that the ‌prolongation of conflict in Iran would be a source of instability for both the region and the world,” the statement said, adding that conflict in the region necessitated increasing defence cooperation ⁠among NATO allies.

Sri Lanka evacuates crew of second Iranian ship

Sri Lanka evacuated 208 crew members of an Iranian navy vessel, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said, a day after a US submarine struck and sank another Iranian frigate.

He said Sri Lanka’s navy will also take over the second vessel and shift it to the northeastern port of Trincomalee for safe keeping amid fears that could be target for attack.

Trump says he needs to be involved in selecting Iran’s next leader, Axios reports

US President Donald Trump told Axios on Thursday ‌that ⁠he needs to ‌be personally involved in selecting ⁠Iran’s next leader.

“Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to ‌me. We want someone that will ‌bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Axios quoted Trump as saying in an interview.

“I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela,” Trump said.

Iranian officials had said they were close to naming slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s successor, and that the leading candidate was his son Mojtaba, a powerful hardliner whose selection would be a strong gesture of defiance.

Credit: France24