International
One million people displaced in Lebanon in recent days by Israeli attacks
About a million people have left their homes in recent days in Lebanon due to the campaign of unprecedented attacks that Israel maintains against the south and east of the country, and the suburbs of Beirut, announced the Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati.
“The number is large, it is estimated that one million people were forced to move from one place to another during the last few days. It is considered the largest displacement operation in Lebanon in all of history,” the leader said at a press conference.
“The management of this displacement not only depends on finding shelter and food for these people, but there are other things such as guaranteeing a health service in these reception centers to prevent the spread of diseases or the problem of garbage accumulation,” Mikati explained.
Lebanon, with an estimated population of less than 6 million inhabitants, has been forced to open hundreds of shelters for displaced people since last Monday Israel began to intensely bomb the main strongholds of the Shiite group Hezbula.
According to the latest situation report published this Sunday by the presidency of the Council of Ministers, 116,100 of the internally displaced are housed in 777 centers and schools enabled by the authorities, of which more than 500 have reached their maximum capacity.
Various NGOs have denounced the lack of basic services in the shelters and a lack of space that in some cases forces several families to be accommodated in the same classroom.
Mikati explained that they have ordered the customs department to raise taxes on humanitarian aid and donations from abroad so that the supplies “reach directly to the State,” and facilitate the entry of much-needed products.
Mikati: “We have no choice but diplomacy”
The Lebanese Prime Minister considers that diplomacy is the only way out amid the unprecedented Israeli attacks against Lebanon and advocated seeking solutions to the conflict through international forums.
“We have no other option than diplomacy, from the beginning we have asked for the full implementation of resolution 1701 (of the UN Security Council) and the Government is committed to it (…) If the war is prolonged in the end we will return to resolution 1701,” he said at a press conference.
“Lebanon has faith in the international community, in international legitimacy and in the UN, and does not believe in the law of the strongest,” he added.
More than a thousand dead and 6,000 injured
In the last two weeks, Israel has launched a series of unprecedented attacks against the main strongholds of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbula, which have already left more than a thousand dead, 6,000 injured and about a million internally displaced, according to official data.
One of them killed the top leader of the formation, Hassan Nasrala, on Friday on the outskirts of Beirut.
Mikati recalled that his government has been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon for “seven or eight months”, since long before the clashes that began almost a year ago between Hezbula and Israel recently led to a wave of violence unprecedented in decades.
“The ceasefire in Gaza would lead to a ceasefire in Lebanon and the inhabitants would return to their homes in northern Israel, and everything would return to normal while we take time to implement resolution 1701,” the prime minister reiterated.
Hezbula insisted in recent months that he would only stop his fight against the Jewish state when the Gaza war ended, while the international community advocated the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war between the parties.
International
U.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists
The United States has announced new limits on the legal length of stay for foreign students and journalists, marking the latest tightening of immigration policies under President Donald Trump.
The changes, outlined in an administrative rule published on Thursday, are expected to take effect in September, unless Congress blocks the measure.
Under the new policy, holders of student visas will be allowed to remain in the United States for no more than four years.
Foreign journalists will be limited to 240-day stays—approximately eight months—with the possibility of applying for extensions of the same duration.
The policy imposes even stricter rules on Chinese journalists, whose visas will be capped at 90 days.
More than 100 international news organizations and press freedom groups, including Agence France-Presse (AFP), criticized the measure in an open letter, arguing that it would reduce both the quantity and quality of international coverage of events in the United States.
The Republican Party, led by President Trump, currently holds a majority in Congress and has pledged to curb both illegal immigration and certain forms of legal immigration.
Previously, the United States generally issued student visas for the full duration of an academic program, while foreign journalists could receive visas valid for up to five years.
Central America
Nicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute
The Nicaraguan government announced on Thursday that it is severing diplomatic relations with Italy following criticism from the Italian government over Nicaragua’s long-standing decision to shelter Alessio Casimirri, a former member of the Red Brigades convicted in Italy for the 1978 kidnapping and murder of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani criticized the administration of co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo on Wednesday for continuing to provide refuge to Casimirri, who was sentenced in Italy to six life terms for his role in Moro’s abduction and killing.
In a statement issued Thursday, Nicaragua’s Foreign Ministry said it was ending all diplomatic relations with Italy, describing Tajani’s remarks as “unjustified, aggressive, and irresponsible.”
Tajani made the comments during a gathering of conservative leaders from Europe and Latin America held in Madrid.
“We have absolutely nothing in common with the positions of extremist governments such as Nicaragua, a country that continues to harbor dangerous Red Brigades terrorists like Alessio Casimirri,” Tajani said, according to Italian media.
The diplomatic break marks a new escalation in tensions between the two countries over the decades-old case involving Casimirri, who has lived in Nicaragua for many years despite repeated calls from Italy for his extradition.
International
U.S. Strikes Hit Areas Near Strait of Hormuz as Tensions With Iran Escalate
Several U.S. strikes targeted areas near the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, according to Iranian state media citing local authorities, as hostilities between the United States and Iran intensified.
Officials in Iran’s Hormozgan Province said the island of Qeshm was struck multiple times by what they described as U.S. missiles during the evening. The reports were carried by the Iranian news agencies Fars and Tasnim.
Iranian state television also reported that the Bandar Abbas region, located on the Iranian coast overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, was the target of what authorities described as an “enemy U.S. air attack.”
According to local officials quoted by state television, no casualties have been reported following the strikes.
The reported attacks come amid renewed military tensions between Washington and Tehran, although U.S. authorities had not immediately commented on the reported operations.
U.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists
Nicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute
U.S. Strikes Hit Areas Near Strait of Hormuz as Tensions With Iran Escalate
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