World in brief: Sharks active at popular area

No one could even remember a shark attack along this resort-studded stretch of Mexican coast popular with surfers and Hollywood’s elite. Many of the large predators had been pulled from the ocean by fishermen. So when sharks attacked three surfers in less than a month, two fatally, it was unthinkable.

The latest attack came Saturday, when a shark chomped down on the arm of surfing enthusiast Bruce Grimes, an American expat who runs a surf shop in Zihuatanejo.

Grimes and a handful of other surfers were out on dark, choppy waters when he felt something lift his board. He managed about five strokes before teeth sank into his arm. “Shark!” he screamed, wresting his arm back. Grimes made it to shore, escaping with a few gashes.

“There wasn’t any time to panic,” he said. “I thought: ‘Don’t want to die. Don’t want to lose my arm.’ “

Only later did the 49-year-old Florida native learn a local surfer had been killed by a shark at a neighboring beach the previous day. Less than a month before that, a visitor from San Francisco was killed while surfing another nearby beach.

Beirut, Lebanon

Prime minister wins new term

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora won a new term Wednesday with the backing of a pro-U.S. coalition, angering the Hezbollah-led opposition that had pressed for a change in leadership.

Siniora was named anew to the government’s most powerful executive position just three days after former army chief of staff Michel Suleiman was elected president and assigned to name a government following an agreement meant to end a 19-month political crisis.

Siniora’s victory appeared to catch the opposition off guard. Syrian- and Iranian-backed factions and most analysts said they believed the majority pro-U.S. coalition known as the March 14 movement would nominate parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri, leader of the country’s Sunni Arab community.

Although opposition leaders said they would abide by the decision of the pro-government camp, Hezbollah’s television channel, Al Manar, attacked the prime minister as having brought the country to “political, economic and social catastrophe,” noted that he received the approval of only 68 out of 127 lawmakers and warned of political instability in the next government.