Alleged Hezbollah Financier Extradited to US on Sanctions Evasion Charges

Hezbollah fighters hold their group flags, as they parade during a rally to mark Jerusalem day, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 14, 2023. (AP)
Hezbollah fighters hold their group flags, as they parade during a rally to mark Jerusalem day, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 14, 2023. (AP)
TT

Alleged Hezbollah Financier Extradited to US on Sanctions Evasion Charges

Hezbollah fighters hold their group flags, as they parade during a rally to mark Jerusalem day, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 14, 2023. (AP)
Hezbollah fighters hold their group flags, as they parade during a rally to mark Jerusalem day, in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 14, 2023. (AP)

A dual Lebanese-Belgian citizen accused by the United States of financing Lebanon's Hezbollah has been extradited from Romania and faced sanctions evasion and money laundering charges on Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court, prosecutors said.

Mohammad Bazzi, who Washington says has provided millions of dollars to Hezbollah, was arrested in February on charges of covertly selling real estate he owned in Michigan and transferring the funds abroad, violating US sanctions laws.

Bazzi was extradited on Tuesday, and pleaded not guilty in a Wednesday court hearing before US Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo, according to a spokesman for the US Attorney's office in Brooklyn. He was ordered detained pending trial.

The US Treasury Department placed Bazzi, 58, on its sanctions list in 2018 over his alleged ties to Hezbollah, which Washington considers a terrorist organization.

Lawyers for Bazzi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prosecutors in Brooklyn last week charged another alleged Hezbollah financier, Nazem Ahmad, with evading US sanctions by exporting hundreds of millions of dollars of diamonds and art.



Hurricane Simon Expected to Become Major Hurricane off Mexico Coast

A member of the Mexican Army stands on the Malecon waterfront during the implementation of Plan DN-III-E, a disaster relief plan, as waves crash ashore ahead of Hurricane Simon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Christian Ruano
A member of the Mexican Army stands on the Malecon waterfront during the implementation of Plan DN-III-E, a disaster relief plan, as waves crash ashore ahead of Hurricane Simon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Christian Ruano
TT

Hurricane Simon Expected to Become Major Hurricane off Mexico Coast

A member of the Mexican Army stands on the Malecon waterfront during the implementation of Plan DN-III-E, a disaster relief plan, as waves crash ashore ahead of Hurricane Simon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Christian Ruano
A member of the Mexican Army stands on the Malecon waterfront during the implementation of Plan DN-III-E, a disaster relief plan, as waves crash ashore ahead of Hurricane Simon in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, October 10, 2026. REUTERS/Christian Ruano

Hurricane Simon is expected to become a major hurricane on Sunday near ‌the ‌west-central coast ‌of Mexico ⁠and move very close ⁠to the coast on Monday, ⁠the US National ‌Hurricane Center ‌said.

Simon was ‌located ‌about 60 miles (96.56 km) west-southwest of Manzanillo, ‌Mexico, early Sunday morning, ⁠packing ⁠maximum sustained winds of 155 mph, NHC said in its latest update.


Russia Says It Has Captured Four Settlements in Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Smoke billows from Yandex's Sasovo hub, one of the company's five large data centers, after a fire following a drone strike forced the suspension of operations at the site, which hosts tens of thousands of servers, Sasovo, Russia, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video on October 8, 2026. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS.
FILE PHOTO: Smoke billows from Yandex's Sasovo hub, one of the company's five large data centers, after a fire following a drone strike forced the suspension of operations at the site, which hosts tens of thousands of servers, Sasovo, Russia, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video on October 8, 2026. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS.
TT

Russia Says It Has Captured Four Settlements in Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Smoke billows from Yandex's Sasovo hub, one of the company's five large data centers, after a fire following a drone strike forced the suspension of operations at the site, which hosts tens of thousands of servers, Sasovo, Russia, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video on October 8, 2026. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS.
FILE PHOTO: Smoke billows from Yandex's Sasovo hub, one of the company's five large data centers, after a fire following a drone strike forced the suspension of operations at the site, which hosts tens of thousands of servers, Sasovo, Russia, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video on October 8, 2026. SOCIAL MEDIA/via REUTERS.

The Russian defense ministry said on Sunday ‌that ‌Russian troops ‌had ⁠captured the villages of Kupyne ⁠and Riznykove in ⁠Ukraine's ‌Kharkiv region, ‌as well ‌as Novotroitske ‌and Davydovske in the ‌Donetsk region, news ⁠agency Interfax reported.

Reuters ⁠could not immediately verify the battlefield reports.


109 Migrants Dead, 116 Missing after Boat Capsizes off Djibouti, Says UN

Migrants give signals to NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat in central Mediterranean Sea, August 17, 2022. (Reuters)
Migrants give signals to NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat in central Mediterranean Sea, August 17, 2022. (Reuters)
TT

109 Migrants Dead, 116 Missing after Boat Capsizes off Djibouti, Says UN

Migrants give signals to NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat in central Mediterranean Sea, August 17, 2022. (Reuters)
Migrants give signals to NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat in central Mediterranean Sea, August 17, 2022. (Reuters)

At least 109 migrants were killed, including 15 children, and some 116 were missing after a boat sank off the shores of Djibouti overnight on October 8-9, a UN agency said Sunday.

Survivors said the vessel -- which was carrying 350 people from Djibouti to Yemen -- capsized north of the Djibouti town of Obock, according to a statement from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), whose teams are on the ground alongside local authorities to provide emergency aid.