Light News (LN)

  Rights advocates have accused the Trump administration of using third-country deportations to intimidate asylum seekers and migrants. Fifteen  South American migrants  and asylum seekers recently deported from the United States to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) say they are facing pressure to return to their countries of origin, despite concerns for their safety. Women from Colombia, Peru and Ecuador told the Reuters news agency that, since being deported to the Central African nation last week, they have been given no credible options other than going back to their home countries. “We feel pressured to agree to go back to our country, regardless of the risks,” a 29-year-old Colombian woman, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisals, told Reuters. The group arrived in the DRC last week as part of a controversial  third-country agreement  with the administration of US President Donald Trump. Since returning to the presidency for a secon...

  'To those assisting or thinking about assisting the Iranian regime in distributing its oil, which provides resources for terrorism, you do so at your own peril,' Graham warned. Republican Sen.  Lindsey Graham  of South Carolina said in a Wednesday post on X that he expects that the U.S. blockade against Iran "could become global soon." The long-serving lawmaker noted that he had spoken to President  Donald Trump  and War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday morning. "I had a very good call this morning with @POTUS and @SecWar Pete Hegseth about the way forward regarding the Iran conflict. I think the President’s decision to leave the blockade in place is very smart. It is having a strong effect on the ability of Iran to continue to be the largest state sponsor of terrorism – which they appear intent on doing. I not only expect this blockade to stay in place until Iran shows a commitment to change their ways, I expect the blockade will be growing and that it cou...

  Lebanon's prime minister has accused Israel of war crimes after Israeli air strikes killed one journalist and wounded another in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. The strike killed Amal Khalil, who worked for a Lebanese newspaper, and injured freelance photographer Zeinab Faraj. Officials in Lebanon say they were deliberately targeted as they sought shelter in a home after an initial air strike hit the vehicle in front of them, killing two men. The officials also accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of intentionally targeting a marked ambulance as it tried to reach the journalists in the village of Tayri. The IDF denied that it was preventing rescue teams from reaching the area and said it did not target journalists. Journalists Khalil, 43, who worked for Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, and Faraj, a freelance photographer, were travelling together. The two men who died have not been named by officials. Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said: "Targeting journalists, obstructi...

  The Pentagon shakeup continued as US Navy Secretary John Phelan suddenly departed during the Iran war, with Trump-backed combat veteran Hung Cao taking over temporarily. The Pentagon announced on Wednesday that Navy Secretary John Phelan has left his post, making him the latest top US defence official to step down or be fired. The news was announced late on Wednesday in a post on X by Pentagon spokesperson and Defence Secretary assistant Sean Parnell, who said the US Department of Defence "wish him well in his future endeavours." No reason was given for the unexpected departure of the Navy’s top civilian official, coming as the sea service has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports and is targeting ships linked to Tehran around the world during a tenuous ceasefire in the war. Following Phelan's departure, the post will be held on an interim basis by Navy Under Secretary Hung Cao, a 25-year Navy combat veteran who ran unsuccessful campaigns for the US Senate and House in Vi...

  Bratislava confirmed that the country started receiving crude oil through the Druzhba pipeline early on Thursday, after a three-month halt. The flow of Russian oil to Slovakia through the Druzhba pipeline that crosses Ukraine has resumed, Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Saková said on Thursday morning. "The Economy Ministry informs that ​today at 2 am the reception ⁠of oil to Slovakia through the Druzhba ​pipeline was resumed," Saková said in a ministry statement. This confirmation puts an end to a months-long standoff between Ukraine, the EU and Hungary and Slovakia when the transit of Russian cheap oil stopped after a Russian strike on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure at the end of January. The confirmation is set to unblock the €90-billion loan for Ukraine, which has been vetoed by Hungary and Slovakia since February, despite being initially agreed upon in December. The disbursement is scheduled to begin between late May and early June. Hungary’s energy giant MOL said on W...

  Ahead of America’s 250th anniversary this summer, former Presidents  Joe Biden ,  Barack Obama , George W. Bush and Bill Clinton each shared a message about what they value about the country and how it can emerge from a difficult era. “The fact that you can speak in the public square without being jailed. The fact that we have a press that’s willing to hold the powerful to account,” Bush said in an interview with NBC News, referring to the First Amendment. “I mean, these are all things that should and generally do unite us.” He voiced optimism about the future of the country, citing historical “periods of intense anger and intense rivalry of ideas.” Asked what message he has for Americans, Obama pointedly noted: “We don’t have rulers, we don’t have kings or monarchs or aristocracies, we have citizens.” He called it “the basic principle upon which this country was founded,” while exhorting Americans to “extend respect and thoughtfulness to our fellow citizens, even if we...