Light News (LN)

  The US president has issued a stark warning to a US ally, in a sign of rising tensions over Strait of Hormuz. United States President Donald Trump has  threatened longtime ally Oman with military force  if it gets involved in the dispute over shipping access to the Strait of Hormuz, as Washington’s war on Iran once again risks engulfing the Middle East. Trump’s threat on Wednesday to “blow up” Oman came as Muscat reportedly held talks with Iran about overseeing passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that handles more than 20 percent of the world’s global oil traffic. “Nobody is going to control it,” Trump said of the strait during a cabinet meeting in Washington. “It’s international waters, and Oman will behave just like everybody else, or we will have to blow them up.” But, while Hormuz is an international strait, most of it is located solely in Iranian and Omani territorial waters – not international waters – with parts of its outlying areas reachi...

  The intensification comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced an expansion in the Israeli military's attacks in Lebanon, despite an ongoing ceasefire. Israel's military says its air force carried out an air strike on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut on Thursday. It was not immediately clear what the target of the strike on the suburb of Choueifat was but videos from the area showed white smoke billowing from a residential area. The area is close to Beriut’s international airport. A ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah was supposed to have taken effect on 17 April but has never been fully observed. Still, Beirut has largely been spared, with Israeli attacks largely focused on Lebanon's south. Lebanon was dragged into the wider Middle East war in early March when Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, prompting Israeli strikes and a ground invasion....

  Oklahoma City leads the Western Conference semifinals with the Knicks already waiting in the Finals The  NBA Playoffs  have been relatively drama-free in both conferences. We did have some great battles in the first round, but the second round was fairly lackluster. Now the New York Knicks have already found their way into the NBA Finals for the first time in decades. Their opponent is still to be decided as the Oklahoma City Thunder are a game away, and the San Antonio Spurs need to win the remaining two. The Thunder  continue to be the team everyone loves to hate. It happens with most champions or dynasties, but this isn’t a dynasty. The Thunder have won one championship and have all the pieces and picks they need to be successful for the next few years. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has won back-to-back MVP awards. But, it is too early to call this a dynasty. This team is not liked because they play a brand of basketball that people just don’t seem to like. I suppose ...

  The Iran war has made it more difficult for Arab and Muslim leaders to openly cooperate with the United States and Israel, which many in the region view as aggressors. The International Stabilisation Force for Gaza was announced at the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace in February but three months on, none of the five countries that pledged troops have come through with any significant contributions. Efforts to shore up the fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Gaza-based militant group Hamas have stalled, with Hamas refusing to disarm and Israel continuing to strike what it says are militant targets, often killing civilians. Meanwhile, the Iran war has made it more difficult for Arab and Muslim leaders to openly cooperate with the United States and Israel, which many in the region view as aggressors and the resulting global energy crisis has put a strain on their resources. The biggest blow to the planned force came about a week after the US and ...

  Sixteen students have been killed in a fire at a boarding school in Gilgil, about 120km (77 miles) north-west of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, the authorities have confirmed Dozens of other students were injured and taken to hospital - 71 were later discharged and seven admitted for further treatment, Education Minister Julius Ogamba said while visiting the scene of the blaze. The fire at the Utumishi Girls Academy started in the early hours of Thursday as the students were asleep. Anxious parents and relatives have been gathering at the scene waiting for news of their loved ones. Police said search-and-rescue operations were under way with authorities yet to establish the cause of the fire. The Kenya Red Cross said emergency responders were on ground to offer support. The education minister said the fire broke out on the first floor of one of the dormitories, which was "completely destroyed" in the blaze. "The response teams managed to put out the fire by about 03:00, ...

  Southern Lebanon empties out under bombardment as Red Cross warns of worsening crisis. At least 16 people have been killed and 58 wounded in Israeli attacks in southern  Lebanon , according to Lebanese health authorities, as Israel  intensifies  its assault and issues mass displacement orders across the region. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported on Thursday that six of the victims belonged to the same family. They were killed in an Israeli drone strike while trying to flee at dawn along the Adloun Highway, a key route linking Sidon and Tyre, it said. The attack came as Israel expanded its bombardment across southern Lebanon, hitting residential areas, roads and civilian infrastructure. The Lebanese army said one of its soldiers was killed in an Israeli strike in the Nabatieh area, the latest in a string of attacks targeting military personnel. Other soldiers have also been killed in recent days in strikes across southern Lebanon and the western Beqaa...