Five suspects were arrested in Kuwait for financing Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group, a month after 18 individuals were arrested for the same charges, Kuwaiti newspaper al-Qabas reported Thursday.
Al-Qabas said the number of people accused in the Hezbollah financing case in Kuwait is “increasing and new names may be involved.”
Citing an informed source, the newspapers that five new individuals were arrested in this case, bringing the total number to 23 accused, 12 of whom will continue to be imprisoned until later this month.
“The source said that investigations are underway with other defendants to infer their relationship with those who had been accused, but the case has been classified as a state security issue,” al-Qabas reported.
According to the newspaper, the five defendants denied the charges against them, stressing that their role is limited to charitable work, adding that they had not financed Hezbollah.
Last month, Kuwait’s prosecution detained 18 individuals suspected of financing the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
North Korea defends close ties with Russia against South Korean criticism at UN
North Korea on Monday slammed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for criticising its cooperation with Moscow following leader Kim Jong Un’s Russia visit, saying it is “natural” and “normal” for neighbors to keep close relations.
Yoon, speaking at the UN General Assembly last week, said that if Russia helped North Korea enhance its weapons programs in return for assistance for its war in Ukraine, it would be “a direct provocation.”
In a piece carried by KCNA news agency, the North denounced Yoon for “malignantly” slandering its friendly cooperation with Russia, and said Yoon was serving as a “loudspeaker” for the United States.
“It is quite natural and normal for neighboring countries to keep close relations with each other, and there is no reason to call such practice to account,” it said.
Kim returned home last week from a week-long trip to Russia in which he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to boost military and economic cooperation.
US and South Korean officials have expressed concern that Russia could be trying to acquire ammunition from the North to supplement its dwindling stocks for the war in Ukraine while Pyongyang seeks technological help for its nuclear and missile programs.
Any activities assisting North Korea’s weapons programs are banned under UN Security Council resolutions.
“The foreign policy of the DPRK … will not be tied to anything, and its friendly and cooperative relations with the close neighbors will continue to grow stronger,” the commentary said. DPRK is the initials of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The statement came hours after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris would soon withdraw its ambassador from Niger, followed by its military contingent in the coming months.
“This Sunday, we celebrate a new step towards the sovereignty of Niger,” said a statement from the country’s military rulers, who seized power in late July by overthrowing President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26.
“The French troops and the ambassador of France will leave Nigerien soil by the end of the year.”
The statement, read out on national television, added: “This is a historic moment, which speaks to the determination and will of the Nigerien people.”
Earlier Sunday, before Macron’s announcement, the body regulating aviation safety in Africa (ASECNA), announced that Niger’s military rulers had banned “French aircraft” from flying over the country’s airspace.
Russian air defense thwarts drone attack near Moscow’s Tula region
Russia’s air defense systems were engaged in repelling a drone attack over the Tula region that borders Moscow’s region to its north, Russia’s RIA news agency reported early Monday.
Citing the ministry of regional security, the agency reported that according to preliminary information, there was no damage or injuries as a result of the attack.
Two of Moscow’s major airports, however, the Vnukovo and Domedovo, limited air traffic, directing flights to other airports, the TASS state news agency reported.