PARIS: The son and husband of imprisoned Iranian women’s activist Narges Mohammadi on Friday paid tribute to the winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

“I am very, very proud of my mother, very happy,” said her 17-year-old son, Ali Rahmani, at a Paris news conference also attended by his father and twin sister.

He had not seen his mother in eight years, he added.

“This prize is an award for her struggle,” he said.

JEDDAH: The US and Turkiye held high-level talks on Friday to de-escalate growing tension in northeast Syria between the two NATO allies.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken a day after a US fighter jet shot down a Turkish combat drone that was targeting Kurdish forces backed by Washington. The Pentagon said the drone had been less than 500 meters from US troops, and was deemed a threat.

BEIRUT: A surge in Syrian refugees entering Lebanon has ignited anti-migrant hostilities in the country, with some municipalities calling for a boycott of Syrian-operated shops and the expulsion of undocumented workers.
In regions with Christian majorities, municipalities shut down Syrian-operated shops, demanding the government enforce Lebanon’s labor laws.
Amid concern over public hostility against Syrian refugees, the Lebanese Army organized a media tour of the northern border to examine illegal crossings in Wadi Khaled.

BEIRUT: Three prisoners died and 16 others were injured in Zahle prison in eastern Lebanon on Friday when inmates set fire to their cells in anger after an apparent escape attempt was uncovered.
Police said the blaze started in several cells on the second floor in the main prison after prison guards discovered a hole dug in a wall as part of a planned tunnel.
Following the discovery prisoners attempted to take several security staff hostage before setting fire to mattresses and blankets in their cells.

BEIRUT: The Lebanese army rescued more than 100 migrants Friday after their boat developed technical problems in the Mediterranean off the coast of the northern city of Tripoli, state-run National News Agency reported. No one was hurt in the incident.
The agency said the boat that was carrying 125 people, all of them Syrians except for one Lebanese, called for help after they faced problems while near the Palm Islands in Lebanese territorial waters. The boat was towed to port in Tripoli where some of the migrants received first aid, the agency added.