SANTO DOMINGO – A military training flight ended in an unexpected incident Wednesday afternoon, when an AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter belonging to the Dominican Republic Air Force crashed in the vicinity of San Isidro Air Base, the nation’s Ministry of Defense has confirmed. In what officials are calling a testament to the rigorous preparation of the country’s military air crews, every member of the helicopter’s team managed to evacuate the aircraft without harm. No fatalities have been reported, and no personnel involved in the flight suffered serious injuries. Defense department spokespeople emphasized that the quick, calm response of the crew during the emergency, rooted in their systematic training, was directly responsible for the positive outcome despite the crash. Early on-site assessments have confirmed that the aircraft sustained visible structural damage, though survey teams have not yet completed a full inspection to map out the full scope of harm done to the helicopter. Following standard procedural frameworks for military aviation incidents, the Dominican government has launched a formal comprehensive investigation to pinpoint the exact root cause of the accident. The investigation team will review flight data, conduct mechanical inspections of the wreckage, and interview crew members to reach a evidence-based conclusion. Officials also confirmed that the helicopter was fully covered by an active, valid insurance policy at the time of the incident. In a statement following the crash, the Ministry of Defense reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to upholding strict operational safety standards, maintaining full transparency with the public throughout the investigation process, and ensuring full compliance with all established national and international military aviation regulations.
分类： world
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BREAKING: Kidnapped Guatemalan Girl Rescued in Belize
In a major cross-border law enforcement success announced Tuesday, a 14-year-old Guatemalan girl who endured more than 100 days of kidnapping captivity has been rescued in a coordinated police raid in southern Belize. The joint operation, carried out by regular Belizean police forces and the department’s special assignment tactical unit, targeted a remote farm in the Stann Creek District, just across the border from Guatemala.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Stacy Smith, a senior staff officer with the Belize Police Department, confirmed that the early-morning mission, codenamed Operation Safe Return, was launched after investigators received credible intelligence pinpointing the missing teen’s location. Smith noted that the rugged, challenging terrain of the targeted area led law enforcement to deploy specialized tactical operators to ensure the mission’s success and minimize risk to the captive.
The teenager was first reported missing in January 2026 from Guatemala’s northern Petén Department. When raiding the property, officers located the teen inside a private building on the farm behind San Roman Village, bringing her 100-day ordeal of unlawful confinement to an end. Smith confirmed that the teen was being held against her will, officially classifying the case as a kidnapping.
Despite the successful rescue, the operation did not end with the main suspect in custody. Police identified the primary person of interest as Jose Gilberto Duarte, who managed to evade capture during the raid and remains at large. Law enforcement teams have launched an active manhunt across the region to locate and apprehend the escaped suspect, with cross-border coordination between Guatemalan and Belizean authorities ongoing.
Full additional details on the case, including updates on the investigation and the teen’s current condition, will be released during the prime-time broadcast of News 5 Live at 6 p.m. local time the same day. The operation highlights the growing cooperation between Central American law enforcement agencies to combat cross-border crime and recover missing victims.
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El Salvador Begins Mass Trial of 486 Alleged MS-13 Members
In a landmark legal proceeding that marks one of the most ambitious anti-crime initiatives in El Salvador’s modern history, a mass trial for 486 suspected members of the transnational criminal organization MS-13 has officially commenced. The sprawling case brings charges linked to a staggering 10-year campaign of violence and illegal activity, placing intense global scrutiny on El Salvador’s aggressive approach to combating gang-related crime.
According to El Salvador’s Attorney General’s Office, the 486 defendants stand accused of involvement in more than 47,000 separate criminal offenses between 2012 and 2022. The charges run the gamut of serious crimes, ranging from murder, extortion, and femicide to drug trafficking, arms smuggling, forced disappearances, and even rebellion. Prosecutors allege the gang built a pervasive network of territorial control across the country, effectively operating as an illicit parallel state that undermined official government authority.
A key component of the case ties defendants to one of the worst outbreaks of violence that pushed the country into its current state of emergency: a deadly March 2022 weekend that left 87 people dead across El Salvador. That wave of killings prompted President Nayib Bukele to announce a sweeping nationwide “war on gangs” just days later, triggering the implementation of a continuous state of emergency that remains in place today.
The emergency declaration has dramatically expanded the powers of police and security forces, while temporarily suspending several constitutional protections for citizens. Since the policy took effect, more than 40,000 suspected gang members have been taken into custody across the country. For this specific mass trial, 413 of the 486 accused are already being held in custody, while the remaining 73 are being tried in absentia, with active arrest warrants outstanding for their capture. As of the opening of the proceedings, officials have not released any public timeline for how long the trial process will take.
The operation of this massive trial has not come without international pushback. Human rights observers and United Nations experts have raised sharp concerns about the potential erosion of due process in such a large-scale legal proceeding. They warn that trying hundreds of defendants at once risks violating core defendants’ rights, including the fundamental legal principle of presumption of innocence and the right to access adequate legal representation. The UN has emphasized that efforts to improve public security must not come at the cost of abandoning fair trial standards.
Despite international criticism, Bukele’s harsh anti-gang strategy retains broad popular support within El Salvador. Supporters of the crackdown point to dramatic drops in the country’s historically high homicide rates, noting that the campaign has delivered vastly improved public safety for ordinary Salvadoran citizens after decades of gang-fueled violence and instability.
To contextualize the trial, MS-13 originated far from El Salvador’s borders: the gang was first formed in Los Angeles in the 1980s by Salvadoran immigrants who had fled the country’s brutal civil war. Over the past four decades, it has grown into a powerful transnational criminal network with a heavy foothold across Central America. Last year, the United States formally designated MS-13 as a terrorist organization, underscoring the global scope of the group’s criminal activity.
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Grenadians welcome First Caribbean Chinese Food Festival
On a pleasant Saturday in mid-April, the fragrant scents of sizzling sesame oil and steam rising from freshly steamed buns drifted across Grenada’s Camerhogne Park, drawing hundreds of curious local attendees to a historic cultural event. April 18 marked the inaugural staging of ‘A Taste of China in the Caribbean’ Food Festival, a groundbreaking cross-cultural gathering that brought authentic Chinese culinary tradition directly to Caribbean shores, attracting more than 400 Grenadian locals eager to experience new flavors and cultural exchange.
In his opening remarks at the festival, H.E. Yang Shu, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Grenada, emphasized that food-centric cultural events serve as a powerful bridge connecting the people of China and Grenada. Beyond being a basic daily necessity, food functions as a living expression of a nation’s culture and history, he noted. The festival was co-hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Grenada and the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry, designed to offer a relaxed, welcoming space for visitors of all ages to explore China’s diverse culinary and cultural traditions. All festival dishes were offered as free samples to attendees, making the experience accessible to every member of the local community. To ensure complete authenticity, a team of master chefs traveled specifically from China to Grenada for the event, bringing decades of specialized culinary expertise to the Caribbean.
The menu curated for the festival highlighted a range of classic and regional Chinese specialties, each carrying unique cultural meaning while even adapting to local ingredients. One standout dish was Crispy Shrimp Balls with Creamy Sauce, a perfect illustration of Chinese cuisine’s remarkable flexibility: the recipe uses fresh local Grenadian shrimp, reimagined through traditional Chinese cooking methods and flavor profiles. For dessert, attendees could sample Handmade Pumpkin Lattice, a delicate, crisp treat rooted in southern Chinese home cooking, where pumpkin has long symbolized prosperity and abundant harvests. Coconut Rice Balls, a sweet sticky snack, fit perfectly into the warm Caribbean climate, offering a familiar flavor profile that felt natural to local palates. Jiangnan Spring Rolls, named for the fertile region south of the Yangtze River, are a longstanding symbol of spring’s arrival and new beginnings. Fried Rice with Pickled Radish transformed humble, comforting ingredients into a standout dish through the mastery of wok hei—the distinctive smoky aroma that only a superheated wok can create. Rounding out the offerings were Fluffy Steamed Beef Buns, soft, pillowy, and beloved across China, leaving many first-time tasters deeply impressed.
Beyond the culinary experiences, the festival offered attendees a chance to engage with other dimensions of traditional Chinese culture. Between sampling dishes, the crowd gathered to watch a dynamic Chinese martial arts demonstration that highlighted the precision, discipline, and intentionality at the core of kung fu tradition. The powerful, controlled movements of the performers created a striking but complementary contrast to the laid-back picnic atmosphere of the park. More than just a physical performance, the demonstration reflected the centuries-old Chinese philosophy of balancing mind and body, a value that permeates many aspects of Chinese cultural life.
The overall atmosphere of the day was warm and relaxed, with community connection at its core. Local families spread out across the park’s grassy areas with plates piled high with dishes, while local journalists and media representatives spoke with visiting chefs about their craft, recipes, and culinary backgrounds. For the vast majority of attendees, the festival marked the first time they had directly experienced authentic Chinese cuisine and engaged firsthand with the cultural traditions behind the food. One local attendee, who was enjoying a serving of fried rice during the event, shared that the day offered a wonderful mix of great food and new experiences. “Good food, and something a little different. We hope they do this again,” they said. The event has laid a strong foundation for future cultural exchange initiatives between China and Grenada, opening new doors for people-to-people connection between the two nations.
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Caribisch gebied moet zich klaarstomen voor drogere, warmere jaren
As a powerful El Niño weather pattern develops across the Pacific basin, regional climate scientists are sounding an urgent alarm: the entire Caribbean must accelerate preparations for an extended stretch of hotter, drier conditions spanning 2026 and 2027. The joint warning comes from two leading regional climate research bodies, the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) and the Climate Studies Group Mona at the University of the West Indies (UWI CSGM), which outline that the shifting climate conditions triggered by El Niño will carry far-reaching, serious risks for water access, agricultural production, public health, and the regional economy.
Cedric Van Meerbeeck, a senior climatologist at CIMH, explained that El Niño will almost certainly drive extended periods of below-average rainfall paired with increasingly oppressive, humid heat across the Caribbean. This combination amplifies the likelihood of multiple overlapping extreme events: severe droughts, long-lasting heatwaves, increased wildfire risk, and marine heatwaves that can trigger widespread coral bleaching across the region’s fragile reef ecosystems. Historical precedent underscores the severity of these risks: past major El Niño events, including the 2009-2010 and 2014-2016 cycles, brought crippling drought and record-breaking extreme heat that caused widespread damage to local ecosystems and disrupted daily life for communities across the region.
The potential impacts of the coming El Niño are broad and interconnected, cutting across every core sector of Caribbean societies. The agricultural industry, which relies on consistent rainfall and stable temperatures to maintain output, faces a high risk of significant production losses that threaten regional food security. Water and energy infrastructure will also come under intense strain: demand for electricity for cooling will surge, while many Caribbean nations rely heavily on hydropower or freshwater for energy generation, creating a supply-demand gap that could lead to widespread outages. Public health risks are also projected to rise, with deteriorating water quality, increased transmission of vector-borne diseases, and a spike in heat-related illnesses putting additional pressure on local healthcare systems.
Professor Michael Taylor, leading researcher at UWI CSGM, emphasized that the Caribbean is now facing what he calls a “multi-hazard regime”, where heat, drought, and marine stressors interact and amplify one another, creating risks greater than the sum of their individual parts. Addressing these interconnected threats requires an integrated, cross-sector coordinated response and strengthened collaborative action across all national and regional stakeholders, he added.
From an economic perspective, the coming El Niño is also expected to disrupt three core pillars of the Caribbean economy: tourism, commercial fishing, and maritime shipping. Global climate-driven disruptions could throw regional trade and supply chains off balance, driving up costs for consumers across the Caribbean. A recent example of this vulnerability already played out on the global stage: severe drought disrupted operations at the Panama Canal, a critical transport artery for goods moving through the Caribbean and along the U.S. East Coast, highlighting the far-reaching ripple effects of water scarcity in the region.
To address these growing risks, climate experts are calling on national governments, private sector businesses, agricultural producers, and local households to take the projected threats seriously and begin proactive preparation measures immediately. Forecasters note that El Niño projections typically gain significant accuracy starting in May 2026, giving stakeholders a narrow window to act before conditions begin to worsen. Later that month, CIMH will host the annual Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum (CariCOF) during the week of May 24, where regional climate scientists will share updated projections and guidance with national and international stakeholders, ahead of the coming wet and Atlantic hurricane seasons.
David Farrell, Director of CIMH, stressed that timely, actionable climate data is the foundation of effective decision-making to reduce disaster risk. He highlighted the strategic expansion of CIMH’s services focused on water resource management, marine ecosystem monitoring, and Earth observation, all of which are helping to strengthen regional early warning systems for extreme weather. “Proactive measures are absolutely essential to reduce the impact of extreme weather events on vulnerable sectors and communities across the Caribbean,” Farrell said.
Farrell added that strengthening early warning infrastructure and expanding public access to clear, timely climate information are critical to boosting the region’s overall resilience to a changing climate and increasingly frequent extreme weather events. CIMH currently works in close partnership with national governments across the Caribbean and international development partners to advance these resilience-building efforts.
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Caribbean urged to prepare for hotter, drier conditions as El Niño develops
Two leading Caribbean climate research institutions are calling for coordinated, cross-sector preparedness across the region as a developing El Niño event is projected to bring prolonged hotter and drier conditions through 2026 and 2027, raising the threat of cascading, compound climate hazards.
The Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) and the University of the West Indies Climate Studies Group Mona (UWI CSGM) issued the formal warning on 22 April 2026, noting that the event will likely bring extended periods of below-average rainfall and unusually high humid heat, with far-reaching consequences for communities and economies across the Caribbean. Dr. Cedric Van Meerbeeck, a climatologist at CIMH, explained that without proactive planning, these overlapping hazards could trigger severe socio-economic damage by straining water supplies, disrupting agricultural output, and increasing public health risks from heat stress.
Historical data underscores the severity of El Niño-related risks for the region: past major events have been tied to crippling droughts such as those recorded in 2009–2010 and 2014–2016, while also elevating the likelihood of extreme heat events, out-of-control wildfires, marine heatwaves that trigger widespread coral bleaching. This pattern of overlapping impacts was already observed during the record-breaking hot years of 2010, 2023, and 2024. The institutions add that regions already grappling with persistent drought—particularly in the Eastern Caribbean—will likely see delayed recovery of groundwater and surface water reserves during the upcoming 2026 wet season, which is scheduled to begin as early as May.
While El Niño is historically associated with reduced Atlantic hurricane activity, experts stress that hurricane and extreme rainfall risks cannot be dismissed, as even a single powerful storm can cause catastrophic damage. Past examples include Hurricane Andrew, which devastated the Bahamas in 1992, and Tropical Storm Erika, which left widespread destruction in Dominica in 2015.
Professor Michael Taylor, co-director of UWI CSGM, emphasized that the current forecast points to an emerging multi-hazard regime, where heat, drought, and marine climate impacts coincide and reinforce one another. “Our research has long pointed to these compound extremes as a serious threat to life and livelihoods in the Caribbean,” Taylor noted in the joint statement. “With advance warning of a looming multi-hazard threat, preparedness is imperative—requiring coordinated and integrated action across and within sectors and a strong regional approach.”
This growing pattern of interconnected climate risks hits the region’s most critical economic and social sectors particularly hard. Reduced rainfall paired with elevated temperatures can drive major agricultural losses, undermining regional food security and threatening the livelihoods of rural communities. Public health risks are also projected to rise, including degraded water quality, increased transmission of vector-borne diseases, and a surge in heat-related illnesses. Water and energy infrastructure will face growing strain, as demand for cooling rises—especially for Caribbean nations that rely on hydroelectric power or freshwater-cooled energy generation.
Broader economic ripple effects are also expected to impact key industries including tourism, fisheries, and maritime shipping. Because the Caribbean is heavily dependent on imported goods, global supply chain disruptions tied to El Niño can hinder trade, logistics, and access to critical goods and services. Governments have been advised to conduct proactive risk assessments for supply chains, transportation networks, and key regional trade routes, pointing to recent drought-related disruptions at the Panama Canal— a critical transit hub for goods bound for the Caribbean and U.S. East Coast— that have already driven up food costs and weakened regional food security.
Forecast accuracy for El Niño typically improves starting in May, so Van Meerbeeck has urged all stakeholders to monitor updated projections closely, noting that regional climate teams will continue tracking conditions and releasing timely updates. Decision-makers and the public are encouraged to look out for guidance from the upcoming Caribbean Climate Outlook Forum (CariCOF), hosted by CIMH and scheduled for the week of 24 May. The forum will bring together regional climate experts, staff from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, and stakeholders from climate-sensitive sectors to deliver targeted guidance ahead of the approaching wet and hurricane season. Residents are also advised to access location-specific updates through their national meteorological services.
CIMH principal Dr. David Farrell emphasized that early awareness and proactive action are the most effective tools to reduce harm, noting that timely, actionable climate data is critical to supporting evidence-based decision-making across the region. “Proactive measures are vital for mitigating the impacts of extreme weather events on climate sensitive sectors, communities, and national economies,” Farrell said.
Farrell also reaffirmed CIMH’s ongoing commitment to strengthening regional climate resilience, noting the institute has expanded its strategic focus to include water resource management, marine systems, earth observation, and climate forecasting to improve early warning services across the Caribbean. In recent years, CIMH has dedicated substantial research effort to mapping how climate hazards like El Niño generate cascading cross-sector impacts that drive socio-economic harm across the region. This research directly supports the development of risk-informed climate adaptation programs, which are central to building long-term resilience to climate change and growing climate variability in the Caribbean.
Strengthening early warning systems and expanding public access to clear, actionable climate information remains a top priority for the institute, Farrell added, and thanked regional governments and development partners for their ongoing support of CIMH’s work to improve early warning capacity across the Caribbean.
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Solar Kits Handed Over from Peoples Republic of China to Department of Environment To Support Vulnerable Households
A landmark handover ceremony marking the delivery of climate-friendly solar energy kits to benefit low-income and vulnerable households across Antigua and Barbuda was recently hosted by the nation’s Department of Environment, kicking off a new initiative aligned with the government’s long-term priorities. This program stands as a concrete manifestation of the Antigua and Barbuda government’s sustained pledge to advance inclusive sustainable development, boost national climate resilience, and elevate living standards for marginalized communities across the twin-island nation. Delivering the ceremony’s feature address, Sir Molwyn Joseph, Minister of Health, Wellness, Environment and Civil Service Affairs, underscored the critical role that scalable renewable energy solutions play in strengthening community-level preparedness for climate impacts and easing widespread energy insecurity across the country. Joseph explained that the rollout of these solar kits is more than a one-off donation: it represents a deliberate, foundational step toward embedding climate-smart technological solutions into the country’s core national social support infrastructure, ensuring long-term benefits for at-risk groups. Beyond the direct distribution of equipment, the initiative also includes a targeted technical training program designed to build local workforce capacity in the installation, routine maintenance, and long-term management of residential solar energy systems. This component is crafted to guarantee that the project remains sustainable and delivers maximum impact for generations to come, rather than relying on external expertise for ongoing upkeep. Representatives from the project’s implementing partner, China’s Hengtianyuan Lighting Group, also joined the formal event. Mr. Wang Baolong, the group’s representative, reaffirmed the company’s long-term commitment to supporting Antigua and Barbuda’s development goals by delivering high-quality, reliable, and sustainable energy solutions tailored to the nation’s unique needs. Also in attendance was Her Excellency Jiang Wei, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Antigua and Barbuda, who highlighted the deep, enduring bilateral partnership that has grown between the two countries over decades. Ambassador Jiang emphasized that this generous donation is a reflection of China’s consistent, ongoing support for Antigua and Barbuda’s national climate adaptation priorities and its broader sustainable development agenda. The ceremony concluded with a formal moment of institutional agreement, as Ambassador Jiang and Minister Joseph signed the official Handover Certificate, formalizing the transfer of the full shipment of solar kits to the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda. Once deployed, the kits will deliver clean, consistent energy to households that have long struggled to access reliable grid electricity, directly improving daily living conditions for vulnerable families while also supporting the nation’s national carbon emissions reduction targets. In closing, the Antigua and Barbuda Ministry of Environment extended sincere gratitude to both the government and people of the People’s Republic of China and Hengtianyuan Lighting Group for their productive partnership and generous contribution to the initiative.
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Lebanon leaders accuse Israel of war crime after journalist killed
BEIRUT, LEBANON – In the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike that claimed the life of a Lebanese journalist in southern Lebanon this week, Lebanese national leaders have formally leveled war crime allegations against Israel, while Israeli military officials confirm the incident remains under internal review.
Amal Khalil, a 42-year-old correspondent for prominent Lebanese daily newspaper Al-Akhbar, had her death confirmed Wednesday by rescue services and her employer. According to Lebanon’s civil defense agency, Khalil died when an airstrike hit a residential building in the southern border village of Al-Tiri.
In an official statement condemning what he called deliberate war crimes, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun argued that Israel systematically targets journalists to cover up evidence of its violations against Lebanese communities. “Israel deliberately targets journalists in order to conceal the truth about its crimes against Lebanon,” Aoun stated. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam echoed the accusation in a post on the social platform X, noting that targeting media workers and blocking access for first response teams amounts to a war crime, and confirming the Lebanese government plans to bring the case before international regulatory and judicial bodies.
When contacted for comment by Agence France-Presse (AFP) Thursday, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said only that “the incident is still under review.”
The killing comes 10 days into a fragile ceasefire between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, which paused open conflict that has killed more than 2,400 people in Lebanon since fighting resumed last year.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) provided a detailed timeline of the incident: Khalil and a second journalist, Zeinab Faraj, fled to the Al-Tiri house for shelter after an initial Israeli airstrike targeted a car traveling directly ahead of them. The two people in that targeted vehicle – the mayor of Bint Jbeil, a nearby town currently under Israeli occupation, and his companion – were killed in the first strike. Moments later, a second Israeli airstrike hit the house where the two journalists had taken refuge.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported that Faraj was wounded and evacuated to a local hospital, while Khalil was left trapped under rubble. A senior Lebanese Red Cross official told AFP that teams successfully pulled Faraj from the site but were forced to withdraw without recovering Khalil after receiving an advance warning of another impending strike. Lebanese authorities were required to coordinate with United Nations peacekeeping forces deployed across southern Lebanon to secure the area, resulting in a multi-hour delay before rescue crews could re-enter to retrieve Khalil’s body from the destroyed building.
On Thursday, Lebanon’s health ministry added a second accusation against Israel, claiming the military deliberately obstructed rescue operations and targeted an ambulance clearly marked with the official Red Cross emblem. The IDF pushed back on the account in a Wednesday statement, saying its forces had identified two vehicles in southern Lebanon that had left a military facility used by Hezbollah. The airstrike targeted a vehicle carrying “terrorists,” the military said, that had crossed what Israel refers to as its “forward defense line” in southern Lebanon and moved close to deployed Israeli troops. Israel has also denied blocking rescue teams from accessing the strike site, after establishing a heavily restricted “yellow line” deep inside southern Lebanon, where its troops are currently stationed and civilian residents are barred from returning to their homes.
Human rights and press freedom organizations have widely condemned the killing, adding to longstanding criticism of repeated Israeli strikes that have killed media workers over the course of the ongoing conflict. Dozens of journalists gathered for a public protest in downtown Beirut ahead of Khalil’s funeral, scheduled to take place in her hometown of Baysariyeh in southern Lebanon.
Jonathan Dagher, Middle East bureau head for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said the documented sequence of strikes Wednesday “would indicate targeting and obstruction of aid constituting war crimes.” Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon-based researcher for Human Rights Watch, called for a full, independent investigation into the killing. “Israel’s killing of journalist Amal Khalil should be credibly investigated with a view towards justice and accountability,” Kaiss said, adding that “intentionally targeting civilians is a war crime.”
Khalil is the latest Lebanese journalist to be killed by Israeli forces since cross-border conflict reignited in 2023. In late March, three other journalists were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, prompting a group of United Nations independent experts to call for a formal international investigation into that incident. Speaking from the Beirut protest, local journalist Inas Sherri told AFP that holding responsible parties to account is the only way to stop the pattern of killings. “Accountability is the most important thing,” Sherri said. “If we were holding people accountable, Israel would not have continued killing journalists one after another.”
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Iran Seizes 2 Ships in Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz, one of the global energy market’s most critical strategic chokepoints, has become the site of sudden maritime escalation after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced it seized two transiting vessels and brought them into Iranian territorial waters. A third commercial ship was also targeted in the incident, leaving it disabled off Iran’s coastline, according to multiple regional and security sources.
The provocative maritime move came just hours after United States President Donald Trump extended a temporary ceasefire agreement with Tehran, granting Iranian leadership a limited timeframe to submit what Trump described as a “unified proposal” to restart negotiations aimed at reviving the stalled nuclear and peace talks between the two nations.
Iranian state media confirmed that IRGC naval units carried out the strike on the third vessel, leaving it immobilized in waters near the Iranian coast. Early reports from a private international maritime security agency had previously noted that at least two container ships had sustained damage from gunfire while traversing the key waterway, which connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and carries roughly a fifth of the world’s daily oil consumption.
Greece’s foreign ministry has verified that one of the vessels involved in the incident is a Greek-owned cargo ship flying under the flag of Liberia, though officials noted that it remains unclear whether the vessel has been formally seized alongside the two confirmed. In response to the escalation, the Greek government has issued an urgent advisory for all Greek-owned or Greek-operated vessels to avoid transiting the Strait of Hormuz entirely until further notice, and to exercise extreme caution if passage through the region cannot be avoided.
Any disruption to shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz carries immediate and far-reaching consequences for the global economy, as disruptions to oil supplies through the chokepoint typically trigger sharp volatility in international energy prices and ripple across global manufacturing, trade, and consumer markets.
U.S. officials have previously signaled that the current temporary ceasefire will not be extended indefinitely, and according to anonymous sources familiar with internal administration discussions, the White House believes that applying incremental mounting pressure on Tehran will force Iranian leaders to return to the negotiating table with a willingness to reach a diplomatic breakthrough quickly.
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Iran grijpt schepen in Straat van Hormuz na afgelasting aanvallen door Trump
On Wednesday, just days after US President Donald Trump announced an indefinite suspension of planned military strikes against Iran, Iranian forces seized two commercial ships in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. This incident marks the first time Iran has seized foreign-flagged vessels in the key waterway since the outbreak of open hostilities in late February, escalating already heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington at a moment when regional peace efforts have already stalled.\n\nAccording to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intercepted the two vessels over alleged maritime violations and escorted them to Iranian coastal ports. Earlier reports from British maritime security officials had already confirmed that three separate commercial ships came under fire in the straat earlier this week, adding new urgency to global concerns over freedom of navigation in the world’s most critical energy chokepoint.\n\nDespite Trump’s announcement of a paused military campaign and a temporary two-week ceasefire, the US leader confirmed via social media that Washington will maintain its full maritime blockade of Iran. Just days before the seizure, the US Navy intercepted and seized an Iranian cargo vessel in the region, and on Tuesday, American forces boarded and inspected a large Iranian oil tanker transiting the Indian Ocean. Tehran has decried the US blockade as an outright act of war, and has pledged to keep restricting transit through the strait for as long as the American blockade remains in place. Around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies pass through the 21-mile-wide waterway, and Iran’s restrictions have already triggered a global energy crisis that has driven up fuel prices worldwide.\n\nPeace brokering efforts led by Pakistan, which stepped in as a neutral mediator between the two nations, have hit a major impasse. Planned peace talks scheduled this week in Islamabad, set to take place just before the temporary two-week ceasefire was set to expire, collapsed entirely when neither side sent delegations to the negotiating table. A luxury Islamabad hotel had been fully secured and prepared for the negotiations, but Iran never formally accepted the invitation to attend, while the US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance opted to remain in Washington. Security measures at the prepared venue have since been scaled back, though the site remains closed to the public.\n\nSpeaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, a senior Pakistani official acknowledged the collapse of talks came as an unexpected setback. “Iran never issued an official refusal, and has repeatedly stated it remains open to coming to the table,” the official said, adding that Pakistani mediators are continuing to work aggressively to bridge gaps between the two sides while accommodating core security and political sensitivities of both Tehran and Washington.\n\nIran’s response to Trump’s ceasefire announcement has been marked by deep caution and open skepticism. Tasnim News has emphasized that Iran never requested a ceasefire extension, and has repeated threats to use military force to break the US blockade. A senior advisor to Iranian parliamentary speaker and chief nuclear negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned that Trump’s announcement could be a deliberate trick to buy time for a surprise military strike on Iranian infrastructure.\n\nSince the start of the conflict, Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to unauthorized commercial traffic, targeting vessels that attempt to transit the waterway without Tehran’s permission. On Wednesday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) confirmed that at least three container ships had been fired on by Iranian forces in recent days. One vessel was approached by an Iranian gunboat and hit with machine gun fire and grenade launchers, causing significant damage to the ship’s bridge. No crew casualties or environmental damage were reported in the incident, while the two other attacked ships also reported no injuries among their crews. Tehran has condemned recent US actions at sea, including the boarding of an Iran-bound oil tanker heading to Singapore, as “state-sponsored piracy and terrorism.”\n\nTrump’s latest ceasefire announcement marks the second time in as many weeks that the US president has backed away from last-minute threats to bomb Iranian civilian energy infrastructure and key bridges. Those threats drew widespread international condemnation, with many global leaders warning that targeting civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime under international law. Iran had responded to the threats by pledging to launch retaliatory strikes against US allies in the Arab Gulf if any civilian infrastructure in the country was targeted.\n\nIn the immediate aftermath of the ceasefire announcement, global oil prices fell below $100 a barrel for the first time in weeks, though global stock markets and US dollar exchange rates continued to see high volatility amid ongoing uncertainty over the future of the conflict. Even with calls for an extension of the temporary ceasefire, the collapse of planned Islamabad talks has left the broader peace process on extremely shaky ground.\n\nA senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran remains open to a new round of peace negotiations, but only if Washington abandons its current policy of maximum pressure and coercive threats. The first round of talks, held 11 days earlier, failed to produce any breakthrough agreement. Washington’s core demand is that Iran surrender its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran has repeatedly insisted that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, and that developing a civilian nuclear program is a sovereign right guaranteed to Iran under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Tehran’s core demands include a full end to hostilities, the lifting of all international and US sanctions, war reparations for damages caused by the conflict, and formal international recognition of Iran’s full sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.