With U.S. and Iran locked in Strait of Hormuz standoff, Hezbollah rejects Lebanon ceasefire

A prominent member of Hezbollah’s political wing, Lebanese parliamentarian Ali Fayyad, said in a statement on Friday that the three-week extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire announced the previous day by President Trump in Washington was “meaningless” in light of continued “hostile acts” by Israel. Fayyad, a longtime member of the Iranian-backed group which is both …

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Northern Japan Wildfires Prompt Mass Evacuations as Flames Spread

TOKYO, April 24 (Reuters) – Two ⁠forest ⁠fires continued to ⁠spread toward residential areas in a ​northern Japanese town on Friday, prompting authorities ‌to expand evacuation orders ‌to more than 3,000 people, ⁠with ⁠the blazes still uncontained, media reports said. The blaze ​broke out on Wednesday afternoon in a mountainous area in Iwate Prefecture, followed …

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Forty Years After Nuclear Disaster, Ukraine’s Chornobyl Plant Is Haunted by War

By Dan Peleschuk and Sergiy Karazy CHORNOBYL NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, Ukraine, April 24 (Reuters) – Denys Khomenko betrays ⁠no ⁠emotion recalling the night last year when a Russian ⁠strike drone tore into the protective arc covering the part of the Chornobyl nuclear plant that suffered the world’s worst ​nuclear disaster – narrowly avoiding another tragedy. …

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Mexican Navy Officer Suspected for Fuel Trafficking Fernando Farias Arrested in Argentina

MEXICO CITY, April ⁠23 (Reuters) – ⁠Mexican authorities ⁠said on Thursday that ​Fernando Farias, a navy ‌officer and alleged ‌fuel trafficker, ⁠has ⁠been arrested in Argentina and faces extradition. Security ​Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said Farias, the ​suspected leader of a smuggling ⁠organization, was ⁠detained in ⁠Buenos Aires ​following a coordinated operation between ​the ⁠Mexican …

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10 cartel members linked to brother of drug lord “El Chapo” captured in Mexico in operation aided by U.S. intelligence

Mexican soldiers captured three of the closest allies of drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s brother in an operation backed by U.S. intelligence, the military said Thursday. Ten members of the faction of the Sinaloa cartel led by Aureliano Guzman Loera, known as “El Guano,” were captured in the operation. The raid was carried out …

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Coaches’ Input ‘Vital’ in Age-Based Eligibility Discussions

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches says input from coaches is “vital” in discussions about going to an age-based model that would include five years of eligibility for college athletes. That comes as an NCAA panel has discussed the revamp that would give athletes five years …

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