Australia condemns Israel over closure of Gaza aid worker case
Australia on Thursday condemned Israel’s decision to close its criminal investigation into the deaths of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom ...
German police have arrested a Lebanese national on suspicion of being a member of Hamas and of helping to plan attacks in Europe, prosecutors have said.
The suspect, identified as ‘Mohammad S’, was detained at Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport on Friday evening after flying in from Beirut.
Federal prosecutors said he is accused of helping to obtain about 300 rounds of ammunition in August 2025 and of being linked to a suspected plot targeting Jewish and Israeli institutions.
He is due to appear before a federal judge, who will decide whether he should be remanded in pretrial detention.
Authorities said ‘Mohammad S’ allegedly acted in coordination with ‘Abed Al G’, one of three suspected Hamas members arrested in Germany last October in connection with planned attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets.
Those arrests were made during a meeting in Berlin for a suspected weapons handover, according to Der Spiegel. Two of the suspects are German nationals and the third is Lebanese, prosecutors said.
Police also carried out searches in Leipzig and Oberhausen at the time, the magazine reported.
In a separate case, German authorities said they arrested another suspected Hamas member, also a Lebanese national, near the Czech border in November.
The collective-defence agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signals that regional powers no longer want to rely solely on external security guarantees. Whether it becomes a stabilising deterrent or another axis of rivalry remains unresolved.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed, according to the latest data, as uncertainty over the waterway’s reopening kept most shipowners away. Six commodity vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, down from nine the day before and below the 10-day daily average of 11.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils the terms of an interim deal, including lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 19th of August, covering the latest developments.
Australia on Thursday condemned Israel’s decision to close its criminal investigation into the deaths of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six World Central Kitchen colleagues killed in Gaza in April 2024.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains limited on Thursday, with no increase in vessel crossings as U.S.-Iran talks to resolve the conflict remained stalled. Nine commodity vessels transited the key waterway on Wednesday, unchanged from the previous day, according to Kpler data.
North Korea has fired more than 10 short-range ballistic missiles after U.S. President Donald Trump reduced American participation in joint military exercises with South Korea in an effort to revive dialogue with Pyongyang.
Georgia’s foreign trade data for January-July 2026 shows Kyrgyzstan, China and Russia as its top three export markets, highlighting its Middle Corridor ambitions and complex economic ties with Moscow.
Kazakhstan will vote on 23 August in its first parliamentary election under the new Constitution, choosing 145 members of the new Kurultai under a fundamentally changed electoral system based entirely on party lists.
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