JERUSALEM -- Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir toured southern Lebanon on Wednesday following fresh Israeli airstrikes on Lebanese targets, telling commanders they face "no limits" in operations against Hezbollah.
His remarks came as Lebanon's LBCI television reported that a third round of peace talks between Israel and Lebanon could be held in Washington next week, though there was no immediate official confirmation. (Israel-Iran-Lebanon)
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WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that if Tehran does not agree to a peace deal with Washington, U.S. forces will resume bombing "at a much higher level and intensity than it was before."
"Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social account. (U.S.-Iran-Deal)
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PARIS -- France was not the target of Tuesday's attack on a container ship operated by French shipping company CMA CGM in the Strait of Hormuz, a French government spokesperson said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
"The CMA CGM vessel was not flying the French flag. It was a Maltese-flagged ship with a Filipino crew," French government spokesperson Maud Bregeon told reporters after the meeting. (France-Iran-Hormuz Strait)
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CAPE TOWN -- South Africa has detected the human-to-human transmissible Andes strain in two hantavirus cases in the country who disembarked from a cruise ship linked to an outbreak of the disease, according to the health minister's presentation to parliament on Wednesday.
The Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi was virtually briefing the Portfolio Committee on Health in the National Assembly on the implications of the outbreak. (S. Africa-Hantavirus-Andes Strain) ■
