Norway, Taiwan, Lebanon devastated by deadly violence, fire

Over the course of just hours, dozens of people were killed in Norway, Taiwan and Lebanon due to violence and fire on Wednesday and Thursday. The video above shows clips from three different deadly events.

The most unusual and notable of the events happened in Norway, where a man used a bow and arrow and possibly other weapons to kill five people and wound three others. On Thursday, authorities confirmed the attack was terroristic in nature.

“There is no doubt that the act itself appears to be an act of terror, but it is important now that the investigation continues and that we can establish the motive of the charged person,” Norwegian Police Security Service Chief Hans Sjoevold said. The charged person has been identified as 37-year-old Danish citizen Espen Braathen. He was arrested about a half-hour after authorities were alerted about the attack.

In addition to that violence, a deadly event happened in Taiwan, where at least 46 people died, and another 41 people were hurt in a massive building fire Thursday morning. Witnesses said they heard something that sounded like an explosion in the lower floors of the mixed commercial/residential building at about 3 a.m. local time. Firefighters weren’t able to get the fire out until about four hours later.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known. A Taiwanese newspaper reported investigators were focusing on a first-floor tea shop where the fire had started, and police were looking into a resident who reportedly fought with his girlfriend the previous day. They had not ruled out arson, according to the newspaper.

Meanwhile in Lebanon, six people died and dozens more were wounded when gunfire broke out during a protest in Beirut. The protest, organized by the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its Shiite allies, was against Judge Tarek Bitar. Bitar is leading the investigation into the massive port explosion that killed 215 people in Beirut last August. Hezbollah and its allies accuse the judge of singling out politicians for questioning, most of them allied with Hezbollah.

Christian Lebanese Forces mobilized supporters Wednesday evening after hearing about the protest. In a statement Thursday, the two Shiite groups said their protesters came under fire from snipers deployed over rooftops. Among the six Shiites killed were two Hezbollah members. It was not immediately clear who started the shooting.