Security officials in Egypt said suspected Islamic militants on Sunday blew up a natural gas pipeline in the restive norther part of Sinai Peninsula.

Paris has said it will deploy 600 additional troops to the border zone between Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. French forces are also seeking to train local fighters who Paris says are unprepared to take on jihadi groups.

Lebanon’s protests have drawn protesters from all religious sects. But Hezbollah, the Islamist militia and political party, and its ally, the Amal Movement, have tried to smother demonstrations by Shiites.