Israel’s domestic intelligence service Shin Bet claimed it had foiled a bomb attack by the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah targeting a former senior Israeli security official.

The attack had been planned for the coming days, according to Shin Bet.

An explosive device had been equipped with a remote detonator and connected to a camera and a mobile phone, which would have allowed the bomb to be detonated from Lebanon by Hezbollah.

This is according to the statement released.

The intelligence service also accused Hezbollah of being responsible for an attempted attack in a park in Tel Aviv in September last year.

At the end of July, an Israeli attack on a house in a suburb of the Lebanese capital Beirut killed a high-ranking commander of the Shiite militia, Fuad Shukr. Hezbollah responded by threatening retaliation. 

In the meantime, Xinhua reported on Tuesday that Israel has expanded its goals of the military operation in Gaza to include the safe return of northern Israel residents who were evacuated.

The evacuation was due to the conflict ongoing with Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border.

A statement from his office said the decision was approved during an overnight meeting of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet.

The ministers updated the goals “to include the following clause: the safe return of northern residents to their homes,’’ the statement said.

On Monday, Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, told White House special envoy Amos Hochstein, who arrived in Tel Aviv to discuss efforts toward de-escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.

Gallant said that the window for a diplomatic resolution was closing.

Military action is the only way to achieve calm on the northern border, said Gallant.

Tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border have been displaced due to the fighting.

Hezbollah has said it would cease fire if Israel and Hamas agree to end the fighting. 

– dpa

Congolese Interior Minister, Jacquemain Shabani on Tuesday said 129 people have been killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo in an attempted prison break.

On his X account, Shabani said authorities shot dead 24 inmates of the Makala prison in the capital Kinshasa, while dozens of others were suffocated or trampled to death.

According to the minister, some female prisoners were raped during the chaos on Monday night.

He said at least 59 people were also injured. The police and army were able to bring the situation under control.

Shabani said the number of victims is preliminary.

The property damage was considerable. The Administrative buildings, the infirmary and the food depot had been completely burnt down, the minister added.

Security forces held an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the case.

Prison breaks are a frequent occurrence in the conflict-torn Central African country. Hundreds of inmates often manage to escape together. 

– dpa

A Federal judge from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Google has violated the U.S. antitrust law by maintaining a monopoly in the online search market.

Judge, Amit Mehta on Tuesday agreed with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that Google has a monopoly in “general search services” and the general search text ads market.

”Having carefully considered and weighed the witness testimony and evidence, the court reached the following conclusion:

”Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” according to the court’s ruling.

It has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.

Google controls about 90 per cent of the online search market and 95 per cent on smartphones, said the ruling, capping a years-long case.

The DOJ reportedly sued in 2020 over Google’s dominance in online search, which was the first time in a generation that the U.S. government accused a major corporation of an illegal monopoly.

This landmark decision holds Google accountable, DOJ antitrust Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter said in a statement.

It said that it paves the path for innovation for generations to come and protects access to information for all Americans.

Kent Walker, Google’s president of Global Affairs, said the company intended to appeal to Mehta’s ruling.

This decision recognised that Google offered the best search engine, but concluded that we shouldn’t be allowed to make it easily available, according to the statement.

“As this process continues, we will remain focused on making products that people find helpful and easy to use.”

Google’s fate will be decided in the next phase of proceedings, which could determine potential fixes possibly including a breakup of Google’s parent Alphabet.

The next separate antitrust trial between the DOJ and Google would start on Sept. 9 in Virginia.

However, the case would focus on whether Google has illegally monopolised advertising technology.

Amazon, Apple, and Meta will now all face monopolisation lawsuits from the U.S. government. 

– Xinhua