Israel

Lebanon struck for teen’s death in Hezbollah shelling

Israeli warplanes on Sunday attacked suspected Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, hours after the group shelled northern Israel, killing a 16-year-old and wounding five others, including an infant.

The boy was the first civilian killed in an attack by the guerrilla group in the area since Israel pulled out of southern Lebanon in May 2000, officials said.

The attacks came amid an increase in border violence the last few days following months of calm, raising fears of wider conflict with Syria and Lebanon. Earlier Sunday, Israel’s foreign minister warned those countries to restrain Hezbollah, or “we will have no choice but to defend ourselves.”

Tokyo

Tropical storm leaves eight dead, 12 missing

Three bodies were found overnight after a tropical storm hit Japan over the weekend, leaving at least eight people dead and a dozen missing, officials said early today.

Etau — rated a typhoon until it was downgraded Friday to a tropical storm — hit Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido early Sunday. It weakened further and was classified as a “tropical depression” as it moved off into the Pacific Ocean, according to the Meteorological Agency.

Twelve people were still missing early today.

Turkey

Bombs raise tensions before VIP wedding

A bomb explosion and the discovery of two other bombs and raised tensions Sunday, just hours before the wedding of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son in front of some 10,000 guests and dignitaries.

No injuries or damage was reported after the blast, but some 5,000 police, including sharpshooters on roofs near the wedding, were deployed.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, Albania’s Prime Minister Fatos Nano and Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul were among those attending the wedding of Bilal Erdogan, 22, and Reyyan Uzuner, the 17-year-old daughter of an Istanbul jeweler.

TV stations showed police using clubs and pepper spray to disperse protesters near the wedding who shouted slogans against the possible deployment of Turkish troops as peacekeepers in neighboring Iraq.