All posts tagged: Lebanon

Trump Says US Has ‘Total Control’ Over Strait of Hormuz

Trump Says US Has ‘Total Control’ Over Strait of Hormuz

Published by Sam Flores

Aug 12 (Reuters) – ⁠U.S. ⁠President Donald ⁠Trump on ​Wednesday said the ‌United States in ‌is ⁠control ⁠of the Strait of Hormuz. “The ​U.S.A. has total control ​over the Strait ⁠of Hormuz. ⁠I ⁠THINK WE ​WILL KEEP IT! Our ​Naval ⁠Blockade is being called, by ⁠everyone, “A WALL OF STEEL,” and there ⁠is nothing Iran can do about it,” he wrote on his Truth Social ⁠platform. (Reporting by David Ljunggren and Ryan Patrick Jones; ​Editing by ​Caitlin Webber) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters. Source link

Lebanon passes long-sought amnesty law, a day after death penalty repeal | Crime News

Lebanon passes long-sought amnesty law, a day after death penalty repeal | Crime News

Published by Sam Flores

The legislation will ‘exceptionally’ reduce certain prison terms, says Lebanon’s parliament speaker. Published On 12 Aug 202612 Aug 2026 Lebanon’s parliament has approved a general amnesty law that is expected to benefit thousands of convicted prisoners, detainees and wanted people. The legislation passed Wednesday in a “show-of-hands vote”, reported Lebanon’s official National News Agency. It is the first law of its kind since 1991. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The office of the country’s parliament speaker said the law would “exceptionally” reduce certain prison terms. Long demanded by numerous Lebanese political factions, the amnesty law aims to reduce overcrowding in prisons, where many inmates await trial for years. However, it has faced backlash from some family members of Lebanese soldiers and servicemen killed in attacks, who fear the perpetrators could receive undue leniency. Lebanese authorities did not immediately announce the number of people who would be freed or receive reduced sentences under the law, which comes a day after Lebanon’s parliament also formally abolished the death penalty. According to Imad al-Hout, one …

Lebanon abolishes death penalty in Middle East first

Lebanon abolishes death penalty in Middle East first

Published by Sam Flores

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s parliament on Tuesday (Aug 11) abolished the death penalty, making the country the first in the Middle East to formally end the practice. Lebanon had not carried out an execution since 2004, but sentences were still being issued, the latest being on Monday, and Amnesty International said at least 85 people were still on death row by January. Capital punishment typically applied to major crimes like murder, terrorism and espionage, among others. The most severe crimes will now be given life sentences with hard labour, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency. Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who was at the parliament, called the abolition “historic”, and said the spectre of capital punishment had previously prevented Beirut from obtaining the extradition of suspects from countries where it has been outlawed. Independent lawmaker Firas Hamdan celebrated the move in a post on X, thanking “everyone who contributed, for over more than two decades, to reaching this moment”. The move was also hailed by the United Nations, with rights chief Volker Turk calling on Lebanon’s neighbours …

Lebanese soldiers injured while Israeli troops intrude on southern town | Israel attacks Lebanon News

Lebanese soldiers injured while Israeli troops intrude on southern town | Israel attacks Lebanon News

Published by Sam Flores

Soldiers disarm unexploded ordnance in Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, near where residents say Israeli forces built an earth barrier. Published On 8 Aug 20268 Aug 2026 Three Lebanese soldiers have been wounded while trying to defuse unexploded ordnance in the southern village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah, the Lebanese army said. Hours earlier on Saturday, the village mayor and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israeli troops had entered and built an earth barrier overnight. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Mayor Abed Ezzeddine told the AFP news agency that residents were surprised to see the barrier, around 100 metres from the village square. The village had been placed under the control of Lebanon’s army as part of a June agreement with Israel. A Lebanese military source called the move a violation of the framework accord, but the Israeli military told the AFP agency that it was “not aware of such an event in this area”. “An Israeli occupation army force advanced into the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah shortly after midnight … and erected a new …

Israeli troops infiltrate Lebanese army-held village and build roadblock, mayor says

Israeli troops infiltrate Lebanese army-held village and build roadblock, mayor says

Published by Sam Flores

Israeli troops infiltrated a Lebanese village placed under the control of Lebanon’s army as part of a June agreement, building an earthen barrier there overnight, state media and the local mayor said Saturday. An AFP correspondent saw the barrier situated at the village’s eastern entrance and blocking the road. The local authorities said it was unclear if any Israeli forces remained in the area. “An Israeli occupation army force advanced into the village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya shortly after midnight… and erected a new earthen barrier near the town square,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported. Zawtar al-Gharbiya was one of two designated “pilot zones” where the Lebanese army was to take over as part of a US-sponsored framework agreement signed with Israel. Read moreMiddle East war: Lebanon, Israel and US sign framework agreement in Washington Israel invaded south Lebanon after militant group Hezbollah entered the Middle East war on the side of its sponsor Iran in March. Israeli forces continue to occupy a broad band of territory in the south along the border. Israel-Lebanon Conflict: …

UN says Israeli demolitions in Lebanon ‘deeply concerning’

UN says Israeli demolitions in Lebanon ‘deeply concerning’

Published by Sam Flores

GENEVA: The United Nations on Saturday (Aug 1) expressed concern over Israel’s ongoing demolitionsin southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire in its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah. “The scale of the detonations and demolitions taking place in south Lebanon is deeply concerning, with a devastating impact on civilian infrastructure, cultural heritage, and the collective memory of communities,” the office of the UN special coordinator for Lebanon said in a statement. The statement comes a day after the Israeli military carried out large overnight detonations near a UNESCO-listed castle in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army destroyed “terror tunnels in the Beaufort area” using approximately 700 tonnes of explosives. Beaufort castle was added last week to UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Friday labelled the detonation “an extremely dangerous escalation” and “a direct threat to the process which was launched as part of the framework agreement” reached with Israel during US-sponsored talks last month. Under the Israel-Lebanon deal, Lebanon’s army is to disarm Hezbollah …

US Military Says Latest Strikes on Iran Last Two Hours, Hitting Dozens of Targets

US Military Says Latest Strikes on Iran Last Two Hours, Hitting Dozens of Targets

Published by Sam Flores

By Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward WASHINGTON, ⁠July ⁠29 (Reuters) – The U.S. military ⁠said on Wednesday it completed its latest wave ​of strikes on Iran, which lasted two hours and hit dozens of ‌targets, with Washington casting ‌the strikes as a “powerful response” to Iranian missiles launched towards ⁠U.S. forces ⁠in the Middle East a day earlier. The U.S. military ​said on Tuesday it intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched by Iran towards U.S. forces in what Washington called “an attempted surprise attack” by Tehran. Iran ​confirmed it had fired on U.S. bases in Jordan. President Donald ⁠Trump said ⁠after the missiles were ⁠intercepted ​that U.S. forces would retaliate. “We’re going to hit them very hard,” he ​said. The U.S. Central ⁠Command described the latest strikes on X as “a powerful response to yesterday’s attempted Iranian attacks on U.S. forces based in the Middle East.” The Central Command said the American strikes began at 8 ⁠p.m. ET on Wednesday (0000 GMT on Thursday) and ended at 10 ⁠p.m. ET (0200 GMT on Thursday). “CENTCOM assets …

UNESCO Adds West Bank Site, Lebanese Castles to World Heritage List

UNESCO Adds West Bank Site, Lebanese Castles to World Heritage List

Published by Jenni Sidey

A UNESCO committee voted on Friday to add an archaeological site in the occupied West Bank and a complex of castles in southern Lebanon to its World Heritage List and List of World Heritage in Danger, despite objections from Israel. The vote took place at a meeting of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Busan, South Korea, as Israel’s Foreign Ministry urged the committee to reject calls to inscribe the West Bank town of Sebastia and five castles in Lebanon’s Mount Amel area, characterizing their nomination as a “weaponization of cultural heritage.” The committee voted to add both sites to the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, citing the emergency posed by the concurrent conflicts in the Middle East. Related Articles Cultural authorities and civilians alike in Lebanon and the West Bank have called with increasing desperation for international intervention to protect their archaeological treasures, which have been threatened by Israeli military assaults as the regional order continues to unravel. Sebastia, a hilltop town roughly 6 miles northwest …