WASHINGTON: The United States imposed sanctions Wednesday on a Lebanese environmental organization accused of being an arm of the militant group Hezbollah.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Green Without Borders and its leader, Zouher Nahli, for allegedly providing support and cover to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon along the “Blue Line” between Lebanon and Israel “while operating under the guise of environmental activism.”

CAIRO: The managing director and CEO of Egypt’s biggest cigarette manufacturer has estimated that 18 percent of the country’s population are smokers.

Hany Aman, of Eastern Company, said that Egypt’s population smokes 100 billion cigarettes each year, pointing out that his company produces 70 billion per year, with its share of the Egyptian market ranging from 70 to 75 percent. The company also sells other tobacco products.

Aman said that demand for cigarettes increases each June as there is a widespread belief that there will be a tax increase in the new fiscal year.

NEW YORK: The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has expressed grave concerns that other “opportunistic” armed groups and militias could exploit the current instability in Sudan, underlined by impunity, to escalate violence even further.

Turk decried the “disastrous, senseless” war “borne out of a wanton drive for power” that has ravaged the country, resulting in thousands of deaths, the destruction of homes, schools, hospitals, and vital services, widespread displacement, and sexual violence that may amount to war crimes.

ISTANBUL: Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key figure and possible future leader of Turkiye’s political opposition, said on Tuesday he is set to run again for mayor in local elections set for March.

“As I have said many times: Who wins in Istanbul also wins in Turkiye. Success in Istanbul would take one to very important spots in national politics,” Imamoglu, who runs the country’s largest city, told reporters.

DUBAI: Sustainability remains at the heart of the UAE’s support for global climate action, the country’s president said on Tuesday.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed also emphasised the need to enhance international solidarity and cooperation in pursuit of practical solutions to climate challenges, Emirates News Agency reported.

The president received the team overseeing COP28 at Qasr Al-Bahr Majlis about preparations for the conference and the four pillars of its action agenda.