Lebanon sentences UK diplomat’s murderer to death

Rebecca Dykes worked for the UK embassy in Lebanon. (AFP)
Updated 01 November 2019
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Lebanon sentences UK diplomat’s murderer to death

  • The Mount Lebanon criminal court sentenced Tariq Samer Howeish to death for the rape and murder of the young British woman
  • The 30-year-old’s lifeless body was found dumped on the side of a road north of Beirut in December 2017

BEIRUT: A Lebanese court on Friday sentenced a taxi driver to death for the 2017 murder of British embassy worker Rebecca Dykes, the national news agency reported.
The Mount Lebanon criminal court sentenced the accused to death for the rape and murder of the young British woman, the agency said, naming the killer as Tariq Samer Howeish.
The 30-year-old’s lifeless body was found dumped on the side of a road north of Beirut in December 2017.
The driver employed by ride-hailing giant Uber was reported by judicial sources at the time as having been arrested twice prior to the murder for alleged harassment and theft.
Capital punishment is legal in Lebanon although no execution has been carried out in 15 years.


Latest US sanctions target Houthi funding networks, Treasury says

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Latest US sanctions target Houthi funding networks, Treasury says

  • Since 2023, ⁠the Houthis have launched numerous assaults on vessels in the Red Sea that they deem to be linked with Israel

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration issued fresh sanctions on Friday further targeting the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen ​and the transfer of oil products, weapons and other so-called dual-use equipment that it said helped fund the group.

The action targets 21 individuals and entities as well as one vessel, including some ‌alleged front ‌companies in Yemen, ‌Oman and ⁠the ​UAE, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement.

“The Houthis threaten the United States by committing acts of terror and attacking commercial ⁠vessels transiting the Red Sea,” US Treasury ‌Secretary Scott Bessent said ‍in the statement.

The move ‍builds on previous Treasury action ‍to pressure the Houthis “vast revenue generation and smuggling networks, which enable the group to sustain its capability to conduct destabilizing ​regional activities,” including the Red Sea attacks, the department added.

Since 2023, ⁠the Houthis have launched numerous assaults on vessels in the Red Sea that they deem to be linked with Israel in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war on Gaza.

Tehran’s regional sway has been weakened by Israel’s attacks on its proxies, including on ‌the Houthis in Yemen. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and Daphen Psaledakis; Editing ‌by Chizu Nomiyama )