WORLD IN BRIEF: Israeli strike kills 14 in Lebanon, Trump threatens ‘hell’ for Iran, Traoré slams democracy and other stories

WORLD IN BRIEF: Israeli strike kills 14 in Lebanon, Trump threatens ‘hell’ for Iran, Traoré slams democracy and other stories

Hezbollah said it fired rockets into Israel in response to the United States-Israeli war on Iran, while Israeli forces have also launched a ground incursion into southern Lebanon.

On Sunday, Hezbollah claimed it targeted an Israeli warship with a cruise missile approximately 126km off the Lebanese coast. The Israeli military has not commented on the claim, and Al Jazeera said it could not independently verify it.

While most Israeli strikes on Hezbollah positions have been carried out by air, including fighter jets and drones, some attacks have also been launched from the sea.

In a statement, the Israeli military said it had “begun striking Hezbollah infrastructure sites” in Beirut’s southern suburbs, though it did not provide evidence to support the claim.

On Saturday, Israel also announced plans to carry out strikes near the Masnaa border crossing.

Trump threatens ‘hell’ for Iran over Hormuz Strait as deadline approaches

Donald Trump, the United States president, has threatened to attack civilian infrastructure inside Iran, including bridges and power plants, if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by his stated deadline of Monday.

Trump made the threat in an expletive-laden social media post on Sunday, in which he repeated previous threats to pummel vital infrastructure across Iran. “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F****** Strait, you crazy b*******, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

On March 26, Trump set a 10-day deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for the global energy market, where traffic has ground to a halt since the US and Israel first attacked Iran on February 28.

He told Fox News on Sunday that Iran was currently negotiating with the US and that he believed the two could reach a deal before the deadline.

Iranian officials have slammed Trump’s threats and promised to retaliate for any attacks on their infrastructure. “Once again, the US president openly threatens to destroy infrastructure essential to civilian survival in Iran,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in response to Trump’s threats

Nepal announces two-day weekends as fuel crisis caused by Iran war deepens

Nepal has cut the working week from six days to five for government offices and educational institutions to cope with the energy crisis caused by the United States-Israel war on Iran.

In an emergency cabinet meeting on Sunday, the government decided to extend the weekend to both Saturdays and Sundays

“Government offices and academic institutions will remain closed for two days in a week – Saturday and Sunday,” government spokesperson Sasmit Pokharel told reporters.

“Given the present uncomfortable situation caused by fuel supply, the government and educational institutions remain closed for two days,” he said.

Ukraine and Syria to cooperate on security, Zelenskyy says

The leaders of Ukraine and Syria have pledged greater security cooperation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Kyiv offers its military expertise to governments across the Middle East region amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Zelenskyy held talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Sunday, in his first trip to the Syrian capital since former leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted in 2024.

Hamas armed wing says disarmament demands not acceptable

Abu Obeida, Hamas spokesman has said that calling for the group’s disarmament amounted to an attempt to continue Israel’s genocide.

Hamas’s armed wing has rejected calls for the Palestinian group to disarm, saying that discussing the issue before Isr CTael fully implements the first phase of the United States-brokered “ceasefire” in Israel’s war on Gaza amounts to an attempt to continue the genocide against the Palestinian people.

DR Congo to receive ‘third-country’ deportees from the US under new deal

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) says it is expected to receive “third-country” nationals who have been deported from the United States under a new deal with the administration of US President Donald Trump.

The DRC will begin receiving deportees this month, the Congolese Ministry of Communications said in a statement on Sunday, without providing further details on the number of arrivals expected.

It described the arrangement as a “temporary” one that reflects Congo’s “commitment to human dignity and international solidarity”.

As part of the arrangement, the US will pay for the deportations, and the Congolese government will face no costs, the statement said.

Burkina Faso military leader Traore says ‘forget democracy’

Burkina Faso’s military leader, Ibrahim Traore, says that people need to “forget” about democracy, just three months after his government dissolved all political parties in the West African nation.

Speaking to journalists in a lengthy interview on state television on Thursday, Traore referenced Libya as an example of a country where he said outsiders attempted to “impose democracy” but failed.

“People need to forget about the issue of democracy,” he said. “We have to tell the truth: democracy isn’t for us.”

“Democracy kills”, Traore said, according to French broadcaster RFI.

“Look at Libya, it’s a prime example right next to us! Everywhere they try to establish democracy in the world, it’s done with bloodshed … Democracy is slavery…”

It’s the latest sign of Traore’s government distancing itself from the initial promises it made to set the country back on a democratic path.

Traore seized power in September 2022, eight months after an earlier military coup he was involved in overthrew the democratically elected government of President Roch Marc Kabore.