Taiwan Security Bodies 'Paying Great Attention' to Hezbollah Beeper Explosions

People wait outside the office of the Taiwanese company 'Gold Apollo' in New Taipei City, Taiwan, 18 September 2024. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
People wait outside the office of the Taiwanese company 'Gold Apollo' in New Taipei City, Taiwan, 18 September 2024. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
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Taiwan Security Bodies 'Paying Great Attention' to Hezbollah Beeper Explosions

People wait outside the office of the Taiwanese company 'Gold Apollo' in New Taipei City, Taiwan, 18 September 2024. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
People wait outside the office of the Taiwanese company 'Gold Apollo' in New Taipei City, Taiwan, 18 September 2024. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Taiwan's national security team is "paying great attention" to the detonation of thousands of pagers targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, the island's defense minister said, after a Taiwanese firm was linked to the pagers' production.
Taiwan-based Gold Apollo said it did not manufacture the devices used in the attack, and that they were made by a Budapest-based company which has a license to use its brand.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Taiwan Defense Minister Wellington Koo said the government was closely watching developments.
"After the news came out, my understanding is that at present the relevant national security bodies are paying great attention to this," he said, without elaborating. Koo was speaking on Wednesday, in comments embargoed until Thursday.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel, which has not claimed responsibility for the detonations that killed nine people. The two sides have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the Gaza conflict erupted last October.
Israel, like most countries, does not have formal diplomatic relations with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, but the two maintain de facto embassies and have close, though unofficial, ties.
Taipei moved quickly to condemn the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian Hamas group, which triggered the Gaza war, and offered Taiwan's strong support and sympathy to Israel, Reuters reported.
Israel's envoy in Taipei said last year that Taiwan had been a "good friend" whose support Israel has appreciated, but China's response to the Oct. 7 attack has been "disturbing".
Koo, asked whether Israel had given Taiwan a heads-up about the explosions or whether the two had security or intelligence exchanges, said Taipei did not have that kind of a relationship with the country.
Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang, sitting next to Koo, said the public information from the company was that the pagers were not made by it.
When it came to international cooperation, Taiwan wanted the sort that helped maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait, he added.
"Not the kind that involves any possible provocative actions outside the region," Sun said.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Taiwan cabinet spokesperson Lee Hui-chih reiterated that pagers exported from the island "do not have a problem with exploding".
National security units are watching online rumors suspected of originating from abroad that seek to "maliciously" link Taiwan's government to the case, Lee added.
"This is not the case. I remind people to pay attention to fake online information," she said.



Syria's New Rulers Name Foreign Minister

Syrians wave the independence-era flag after Friday Noon prayers at the Umayyad Mosque in the capital Damascus on December 20, 2024. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Syrians wave the independence-era flag after Friday Noon prayers at the Umayyad Mosque in the capital Damascus on December 20, 2024. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
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Syria's New Rulers Name Foreign Minister

Syrians wave the independence-era flag after Friday Noon prayers at the Umayyad Mosque in the capital Damascus on December 20, 2024. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Syrians wave the independence-era flag after Friday Noon prayers at the Umayyad Mosque in the capital Damascus on December 20, 2024. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

Syria's new rulers have appointed a foreign minister, the official Syrian news agency (SANA) said on Saturday, as they seek to build international relations two weeks after Bashar al-Assad was ousted.
The ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step "comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability.”
No details were immediately available about Shibani.
Syria's de facto ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has actively engaged with foreign delegations since assuming power, including hosting the UN's Syria envoy and senior US diplomats.
Sharaa has signaled a willingness to engage diplomatically with international envoys, saying his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development. He has said he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.
The United States, other Western powers and many Syrians were glad to see groups led by Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) topple Assad.