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Photos show displaced Lebanese sheltering in Beirut as the war escalates

Beirut, LEBANON (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese displaced by the escalating war between Israel and Hezbollah have poured into Beirut, seeking refuge wherever space is available.

Families from southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of the capital known as Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah has its main operations and support base, are now living in makeshift tents along the Beirut corniche, in classrooms turned into shelters, a sports stadium and even inside hospitals.

Entire communities have been uprooted, forced to flee their homes as airstrikes and evacuation orders have emptied villages and neighborhoods. The sudden influx into Beirut has transformed public spaces and strained limited resources.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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