Hostage-takers
Jul. 13th, 2006 01:30 pmBeirut, at least until yesterday, was a fairly safe destination; I know at least one of my friends-list readers and the sister of another have been there and enjoyed it greatly. The FCO has always advised against travel to the Bekaa valley, but otherwise reckoned Lebanon was a fairly safe place to visit.
The Israelis have just bombed Beirut airport, blockaded Lebanon's ports, and made moves to close the land border. The diplomatic language is getting quite heated: the French foreign minister is using terms like 'disproportionate act of war'. I wonder how many British civilians they have started to hold hostage? (though I assume that Bashar al-Assad will graciously allow the stranded Westerners to leave by way of Damascus).
I think now is a good time for me to stop reading the news and concentrate for this afternoon on reading the documentation for the company's new software release.
The Israelis have just bombed Beirut airport, blockaded Lebanon's ports, and made moves to close the land border. The diplomatic language is getting quite heated: the French foreign minister is using terms like 'disproportionate act of war'. I wonder how many British civilians they have started to hold hostage? (though I assume that Bashar al-Assad will graciously allow the stranded Westerners to leave by way of Damascus).
I think now is a good time for me to stop reading the news and concentrate for this afternoon on reading the documentation for the company's new software release.