Saudi Arabia orders citizens out of Lebanon
BEIRUT — Saudi Arabia ordered its citizens to leave Lebanon on Thursday, escalating a bewildering crisis between the two Arab nations and raising fears that it could lead to an economic crisis or even war.
The order came after Saudi Arabia had stepped up its condemnations of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite militia that is the most powerful political and military force in Lebanon, and asserted that Lebanon had effectively declared war on Saudi Arabia.
The developments plunged Lebanon into a state of national anxiety, with politicians, journalists and even parents picking up their children at school consumed with the question of what could come next.
While analysts said a war was unlikely — because Saudi Arabia was not capable of waging one and Israel did not want one now — they worried that with so many active conflicts in the region, any Saudi actions that raised the temperature increased the risk of an accidental conflagration.
IS loses last stronghold
BEIRUT— A Syrian war monitor says Islamic State militants have withdrawn from their last stronghold following a government offensive.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says government forces and allied troops, including Iraqi fighters, are combing Boukamal, a strategic town on the border with Iraq, on Thursday after IS militants withdrew.
Syrian pro-government media say Syrian troops had clashed with remnants of IS militants in the town after they entered it late Wednesday. On Thursday, they declared the town totally free of the militants.
The fall of Boukamal means remaining IS militants are currently holed up in small towns and villages along the border with Iraq and in the Syrian desert.
Russian doping scandal
MOSCOW— President Vladimir Putin is suggesting that a recent flurry of Russian sports doping allegations could be an American attempt to interfere in next year’s Russian presidential election.
On Thursday, four Russian cross-country skiers were found guilty of doping at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. In all, six Russian skiers have been found guilty by an International Olympics Committee commission.
“In response to our alleged interference in their elections, they want to create problems during the election of the president of Russia,” Mr. Putin said Thursday.
Russian officials have consistently denied involvement in efforts to interfere with or influence last year’s U.S. presidential election, including the hacking of Democratic National Committee emails. They also reject complaints that the Kremlin funded Sputnik news agency andthe RT satellite television channel act as government propaganda arms.
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Dozens more people have been taken into custody by Saudi authorities, the kingdom said Thursday, bringing to 201 the number detained in a sweep that investigators say has uncovered at least $100 billion in corruption.