International
Lebanon says four dead in Israeli strike near southern Beirut hospital
Lebanon says four dead in Israeli strike near southern Beirut hospital
Four people including a child have been killed in an Israeli air strike near the main government hospital in southern Beirut, the Lebanese health ministry says.
The strike appeared to hit the car park of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, a hospital source told Reuters news agency. The health ministry said 24 people had been injured.
It was among 13 air strikes that hit south Beirut on Monday evening. The Israeli military said it was attacking facilities linked to Hezbollah.
An Israeli spokesman had earlier warned people to move away from several locations in southern Beirut, however Rafik Hariri hospital was not among the locations mentioned.
Videos from the Dahiyeh neighbourhood in southern Beirut, where seven locations to be targeted were announced in advance, showed locals fleeing in vehicles and on foot as the strikes began hitting.
One location identified as a target by the Israeli army was roughly 400m from Beirut airport, the only international airport serving Lebanon.
Local media shared images of some windows in an airport building that were blown in the blast.
Israel has not commented since issuing the earlier evacuation warnings.
Separately, the Israeli military said earlier on Monday that it had identified a Hezbollah bunker concealed under a different hospital in southern Beirut, which has since been evacuated.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said without providing evidence that the bunker under the Sahel hospital in Haret Hreik held hundreds of millions of dollars in cash and gold that was being used to fund Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel.
READ ALSO:
- Ex-president of Peru gets 20 years for corruption
- Hospitals under fire as Israeli forces deepen operations in northern Gaza
- UN chief condemns killings of civilians in Gaza
The director of Sahel hospital denied there was a bunker underneath it and called on the Lebanese army to inspect the site.
Israel appears to have expanded its war against Hezbollah beyond military infrastructure and says it is targeting the group’s financial networks.
On Sunday night Israel carried out air strikes targeting branches of a financial association linked with Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, as well as the south and east of the country.
The Israeli military said it targeted money held by Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association (AQAH). It offers financial services to civilians in areas where Hezbollah has strong support, but Israel and the US accuse it of being a cover for the Iran-backed group to fund its activities.
There was no immediate comment from AQAH or Hezbollah.
Also on Monday, US President Joe Biden’s special envoy to the Middle East arrived in Beirut to explore the possibility of a negotiated end to the war.
Amos Hochstein said the US wanted to see an end to the war in Lebanon end “as soon as possible”.
He said that UN resolution 1701 – which calls for the Lebanese state to be the only armed force in southern Lebanon – was “not enough” and the US was looking into what more needed to be done.
Hezbollah fighters meanwhile continued to fire rockets into northern Israel, with the military reporting that 170 projectiles had crossed the border by late Monday evening.
Israel began an intense air campaign and ground invasion against Hezbollah after almost a year of cross-border fighting sparked by the war in Gaza, saying it wanted to ensure the safe return of tens of thousands of residents of Israeli border areas displaced by rocket attacks.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Palestinians on 8 October 2023, the day after its ally Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel.
More than 2,400 people have been killed in Lebanon since then, including 1,800 in the past five weeks, according to the country’s health ministry. Israeli authorities say 59 people have been killed in northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.
Lebanon says four dead in Israeli strike near southern Beirut hospital
BBC
International
Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs
Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs
BEIRUT: Israeli strikes pounded a densely-populated part of the Lebanese capital and its southern suburbs on Tuesday, hours ahead of an anticipated announcement of a ceasefire ending hostilities between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
A strike on Beirut hit the Noueiri district with no evacuation warning and killed at least one person, Lebanon’s health ministry said in a preliminary toll.
READ ALSO:
- French football star, Paul Pogba’s blackmail trial begin in Paris
- French football star, Paul Pogba’s blackmail trial begin in Paris
- Vigilante arrested in Anambra for robbery
Minutes later, at least 10 Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs. They began approximately 30 minutes after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for 20 locations in the area, the largest such warning yet.
As the strikes were under way, Israel’s military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the air force was conducting a “widespread attack” on Hezbollah targets across the city.
Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs
ARAB NEWS
International
Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him
Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him
Former U.S. President Donald Trump has fiercely criticised the legal cases brought against him, calling them “empty and lawless”.
He accused Democrats of weaponising the judicial system to target him as a political opponent.
In a strongly worded statement, Trump alleged that over $100 million in taxpayer money had been wasted in what he described as a politically driven effort to undermine his influence.
“Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before,” he said, pointing to high-profile prosecutors, including Georgia’s Fani Willis and New York Attorney General Letitia James, as key figures in what he called a “political hijacking.”
READ ALSO:
- PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
- US-based Nigerians get 30-year sentence over $3.5m romance scam
- 4 Nigerians arrested in Libya for alleged drug trafficking, infection charges
Trump also accused Willis of colluding with Nathan Wade, whom he described as “her lover” and lacking the experience to handle such cases.
He claimed Wade was paid “millions,” allegedly enabling lavish trips and cruises.
Letitia James, who is pursuing a civil fraud case against Trump, was also criticised.
He claimed she had campaigned on a promise to “get Trump” in her bid for office, an action he labelled “unethical” and “probably illegal.”
Trump also mentioned Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, alleging that Bragg initially resisted prosecuting him but was pressured into action by the Justice Department and the Democratic Party.
Describing the series of legal actions as a “low point in the history of our Country,” Trump maintained his resolve, declaring: “I persevered, against all odds, and WON.”
Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him
International
US-based Nigerians get 30-year sentence over $3.5m romance scam
US-based Nigerians get 30-year sentence over $3.5m romance scam
A United States federal jury sentenced two Nigerians, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, to 30 years in prison for scamming certain US citizens $3,500,000.
This was mentioned in a news statement made public on the US Department of Justice website on Monday.
According to the statement, the Nigerians, Ibekie and Aniukwu mislead their victims by informing them that they had received big inheritances that required payment to claim.
The couple would then ask their victims to transfer money, promising to refund them after the inheritances were claimed.
It also stated that the duo carried out romance scams by establishing romantic relationships with their victims and demanding them to send money after they had built trust in their victims.
It read, “An undercover law enforcement investigation has resulted in federal prison sentences for two Nigerian nationals residing in the Chicago suburbs who conducted online inheritance scams and other fraud schemes.
“Using aliases, Anthony Emeka Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu communicated with victims throughout the United States, convincing them they had received substantial inheritances and needed to send money to individuals associated with the defendants in order to claim it.
“In addition to the inheritance scam, the pair carried out an online romance scam that involved communicating with victims via social media and dating websites, building trust with the victims through a purported online romance, and convincing them to send money to a predetermined recipient. Aniukwu and Ibekie also orchestrated a ‘business email compromise’ scam that targeted corporate email accounts.
READ ALSO:
- 4 Nigerians arrested in Libya for alleged drug trafficking, infection charges
- BREAKING: Port Harcourt refinery begins operation
- Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats
“The fraud schemes were uncovered by a covert law enforcement investigation. The scams resulted in losses to victims of at least $3.5 million.”
According to the statement, after being arraigned on 14 charges, the duo pleaded guilty to their different alterations.
Following their guilty pleas, Ibekie was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday, and Aniukwu was sentenced to 10 years in prison on November 8.
The statement continued, “A federal jury earlier this year convicted Ibekie, 59, of Oswego, Illinois, on all 14 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, making false statements to a bank, and passport fraud. U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger on Thursday sentenced Ibekie to 20 years in federal prison.
“Aniukwu, 50, of Romeoville, Illinois, pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and money laundering charges. Judge Seeger on Nov. 8, 2024, sentenced Aniukwu to 10 years in prison.”
Meanwhile, Jennifer Gosha, an accomplice of the Nigerians and a US citizen, is expected to be sentenced on December 18 after pleading guilty.
“A third defendant, Jennifer Gosha, 52, a U.S. citizen from Oak Park, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of wire fraud and making false statements to a federal agent. Gosha is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Seeger on December 18, 2024,” the statement concluded.
US-based Nigerians get 30-year sentence over $3.5m romance scam
-
metro11 hours ago
BREAKING: Port Harcourt refinery begins operation
-
Business2 days ago
Just in: Dangote refinery reduces petrol price for marketers
-
metro1 day ago
40-foot container falls on car in Lagos
-
Politics2 days ago
2027: Lagos Speaker, Obasa joins gov race, may battle Seyi Tinubu, others
-
Politics1 day ago
Lagos 2027: Seyi Tinubu campaign team releases his life documentary
-
International1 day ago
Trump to sack 15,000 transgender officers from U.S. military: Report
-
Entertainment1 day ago
Polygamy best form of marriage for Africa – Okey Bakassi
-
metro1 day ago
Policewoman dismissed in Edo threatens to kill children, commit suicide