
Syria detains head of Palestinian group based in Damascus: Faction officials
An official from the Damascus-based faction, requesting anonymity as the matter is sensitive, told AFP that "secretary-general Talal Naji was arrested" in the capital. A second official confirmed the arrest, while a third source from the faction said "Naji was asked... to report to one of the security branches and has not returned. Most likely he was arrested."
AFP
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L'Orient-Le Jour
3 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
South Sudan hosts Israeli deputy FM but denies Gaza relocation reports
South Sudan on Wednesday said that Israel's deputy foreign minister had visited for talks, after reports of plans to relocate Palestinians from the war-torn Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he would permit Gazans to emigrate voluntarily and that his government was talking to a number of potential host countries. South Sudan, which is said to be one of the host countries, announced that Sharren Haskel had visited in what it called "the highest-level engagement from an Israeli official to South Sudan thus far". According to a statement, Foreign Minister Semaya Kumba held "a fruitful bilateral dialogue" with Haskel that touched on "the evolving circumstances within the State of Israel", without elaborating. "Both parties expressed a resolute commitment to advancing stronger bilateral and multilateral cooperation moving forward," it added. The office of President Salva Kiir said he met with Haskel for "high-level" talks about enhancing cooperation in a number of sectors. "In a bid to attract foreign investment, the government has offered Israel new opportunities in the oil and gas industry, minerals, agriculture and water resource management," a statement read. Haskel said the visit was "a reflection of friendship and solidarity between the two nations" and announced a new aid package of food supplies and medical equipment, it added. A previous statement from the government in Juba refuted media reports that it was in discussion with Israel about relocating Palestinians from Gaza to South Sudan, calling the claims "baseless". The potential arrival of Gazans in South Sudan has sparked intense controversy both on social media and on the streets of the capital. "We don't accept this because these are criminals they are bringing to us. Also we don't have land that can accommodate the Palestinians from Gaza to South Sudan," Juba resident James Lomederi told AFP. Another local, who asked not to be identified, said: "We will welcome them with open arms. Our borders need heavy deployment of troops, and they will help us fight anyone who wants to annex our land into their territory." Impoverished South Sudan — the world's youngest country — has been plagued by insecurity and instability since its independence in 2011. This year, the country saw months of clashes between forces loyal to Kiir and those backing First Vice President Riek Machar. The arrest of Machar in March fuelled fears of a return to civil war, nearly seven years after the end of bloody fighting between supporters of the two men that led to around 400,000 deaths between 2013 and 2018.


Nahar Net
3 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Salam slams Iran interference after Larijani meeting
Lebanese leaders firmly rejected any efforts at foreign interference during a visit by Iran's security chief Wednesday, with the prime minister saying Beirut would "tolerate neither tutelage nor diktat" after Tehran voiced opposition to plans to disarm Hezbollah. The uncharacteristically blunt remarks hinted at a changed balance of power in a country where Iran has long wielded substantial influence by funding and arming Hezbollah. The visit by Supreme National Security Council chief Ali Larijani comes after the Lebanese government ordered the army to devise plans to disarm the Tehran-backed militant group by the end of the year. Last week, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader had said the Islamic republic was "certainly opposed" to the disarmament plan. "We reject any interference in our internal affairs," Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Wednesday, adding that "it is forbidden for anyone... to bear arms and to use foreign backing as leverage", according to a statement from his office. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam was equally firm, saying in a statement: "Lebanon will not accept, in any form, any interference in its internal affairs, and expects from the Iranian side a clear and explicit commitment to respect these principles." Hezbollah has been a key part of Tehran's so-called axis of resistance against Israel, but Iran and its allies have suffered a series of blows. Hezbollah experienced devastating losses, including the death of its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, over more than a year of hostilities with Israel that ended with a November 2024 ceasefire. A month later, longtime Syrian ruler and Tehran ally Bashar al-Assad was ousted, depriving Hezbollah of its main conduit for weapons and supplies from Iran. And finally, Israel went to war with Iran itself in June, with the United States stepping in briefly to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. Ever since last year's war, Hezbollah's firm grip on Lebanese politics has been slipping. - 'Grave sin' - Hezbollah has slammed the government's new disarmament push as a "grave sin", while Tehran has also declared its opposition. But in Beirut, Larijani said that no foreign power should give orders to Lebanon, adding that it was not Iran but the United States that was intervening. Lebanon's cabinet recently considered a U.S. proposal that included a timetable for Hezbollah's disarmament, with Washington pressing Beirut to take action. "Any decision that the Lebanese government makes in consultation with the resistance is respected by us," Larijani said. "The one who interferes in Lebanese affairs is the one who plans for you, gives you a timetable from thousands of kilometers away. We did not give you any plan." Salam, however, appeared to make clear the changed nature of the relationship, declaring that "Lebanon's decisions are made by the Lebanese themselves, who tolerate neither tutelage nor diktat". "Lebanon, which was the first defender of the Palestinian cause and paid a heavy price in its confrontation with Israel, has no lessons to receive from anyone," he continued. Iran's government has long portrayed itself as a defender of the Palestinians, with militant group Hamas in Gaza another member of its axis. - 'Stand by' Lebanon - Before the latest war with Israel, Hezbollah was believed to be better armed than the Lebanese military. It long maintained it had to keep its arsenal in order to defend Lebanon from attack, but critics accused it of using its weapons for political leverage. In Beirut, Larijani vowed continued Iranian support. "If... the Lebanese people are suffering, we in Iran will also feel this pain and we will stand by the dear people of Lebanon in all circumstances," Larijani told reporters. In addition to meeting President Aoun, Prime Minister Salam, and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, Larijani visited the grave of Nasrallah, who was killed in a massive Israeli bombing in south Beirut last year.


LBCI
18 hours ago
- LBCI
At least 20 dead in shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa
At least 20 migrants died after a boat overturned in the Mediterranean on Wednesday, with many more still missing, the U.N.'s refugee agency (UNHCR) said. "Deep anguish for the umpteenth shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa, where UNHCR is now assisting the survivors. It looks to be 20 bodies found and as many missing," wrote the agency's spokesman, Filippo Ungaro, on social media. AFP