Source: BBC
Security & Justice
Lebanon’s Border Villages Face Renewed Devastation Amid Israeli Withdrawal
The Israeli army withdrew from the southern Lebanese village of Bani Hayyan on Friday morning, two days after entering the area in the Marjayoun district. According to local reports, Israeli forces demolished multiple homes as they retreated.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Interview Set to Shed Light on Mossad’s Decade-Long Covert Operation Against Hezbollah
In a highly anticipated episode of CBS’s 60 Minutes, recently retired Mossad agents provide unprecedented insights into a decade-long covert operation targeting Hezbollah. The agents, whose identities remain concealed with masks and altered voices, share with journalist Lesley Stahl the intricate details of their mission to sabotage Hezbollah’s communications network.
Friday, December 20, 2024
Opinion
Lebanon After the Assads
The United States has important equities in Lebanon, including a desire for a generally friendly government’s economic and political stability; security cooperation; long-standing relations with the large Christian community in Lebanon and Lebanese diaspora in the United States; and ultimately peace between Israel and Lebanon within a broader regional settlement. Achieving these objectives will require navigating a tumultuous period in the country’s history following a war between Hezbollah and Israel that has devastated a large part of the country, exacerbating Lebanon’s already challenging economic conditions. But perhaps the most important dynamic will be how a likely Sunni-dominated state of uncertain composition in Syria will differ in its intentions toward Lebanon from the previous Alawite-led minoritarian Assad regime.
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Europe’s Syrian Dilemma
The news of the sudden and unexpected demise of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has met a mixed response in Europe. The jubilation that a murderous dictator and close ally of Russia and Iran has fallen is not just good for the Syrian people but serves as a morale booster for Eastern Europeans wondering whether Russia can be defeated
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo Unveils New Private Jet Worth $73 Million
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the richest global athletes, has unveiled his upgraded private jet reportedly worth $73 million. With its top-notch design, exceptional speed and range of 7500 nautical miles, the Gulfstream G650 is among the fastest jets in the world.
Monday, December 16, 2024
Guardiola Accepts Man City May Need to Sign More Players to Cope with Schedule
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes he will need a bigger squad to handle soccer’s ever-expanding fixture schedule.
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Thursday 30 June 2022 10:53:16
Texas Migrant Deaths: Suspected Truck Driver Is Charged
The suspected driver of a truck found abandoned in Texas with dozens of bodies inside has been charged with migrant smuggling resulting in death.
Homero Zamorano was found posing as a migrant in a bush near the lorry in San Antonio and arrested by police.
Some 53 people died in the tragedy, many from heatstroke and dehydration, after being shut inside the truck in blistering heat without any water.
It is the deadliest human trafficking incident in US history.
According to a top Mexican immigration official, the suspected driver, Mr. Zamorano - who is from Texas, had "tried to pass himself off as one of the survivors" when he was found by police.
A second suspect, Christian Martinez, was arrested on conspiracy charges. Federal prosecutors say investigators found him after searching through Mr. Zamorano's phone and discovering the pair had been communicating.
The US Justice Department announced that the two men could face a maximum sentence of life in prison, or possibly the death penalty if convicted.
Two further suspects linked to the address where the truck was registered have also been arrested for firearm offenses.
Emergency responders arrived at an isolated road near San Antonio on Monday evening to find 46 dead bodies inside and around the abandoned vehicle, which had its doors flung open.
None of the people inside the truck, which was only found after a nearby worker heard cries for help, were conscious when the responders arrived. According to official radio dispatches from the scene only about a dozen of those found inside the vehicle appeared to be breathing.
The death toll subsequently rose to 53, after a number of those hospitalized died.
A memorial has emerged at the site of the tragedy, around 250km (160 miles) north of the US-Mexico border, and on Wednesday local Texas residents gathered there to mourn.
"All of this breaks my heart because I have family who has been through the same thing," Veronica Vazquez told AFP news agency.
Another local who himself arrived in the US as an undocumented worker, Roberto Alvarez, came with roses and candles to remember the victims.
"You put yourself a little bit in their place," he said, "because you also lived through it."
Bottles of water were also left at the site - earlier police said there was no water or air-conditioning on the truck.
Some 27 people, more than half of those identified among the dead, were from Mexico. Another 14 were Hondurans, seven were from Guatemala, and two people from El Salvador also died, Mexico's government said.
A pair of Guatemalan boys aged 13 and 14 were among those to have perished in the accident, officials from their home country announced on Wednesday.
Pascual Melvin Guachiac and Juan Wilmer Tulul were cousins who left home two weeks ago in order to escape poverty, Pascual's mother was quoted in Guatemalan media as saying.
On Monday, just hours before the lorry was discovered abandoned, the teenage relatives had told their family that they were headed for San Antonio.
According to Mexican immigration officials, the migrants most likely crossed the border in smaller groups before gathering in a secret safe-house inside the US, where they would have been crammed into the lorry for the next stage of their journey.
Those inside the lorry were found sprinkled with a pungent substance, the officials added, as part of a method used by some smugglers to mask the scent of human beings and avoid being detected by canine patrols.
