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Sony hikes profit forecasts after strong quarter for games

PlayStation-maker Sony raised its annual profit forecasts on Thursday, citing strong performance in its key gaming business and a smaller-than-expected negative impact of US trade tariffs.The Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate said “user engagement continued its strong momentum” in the video game sector.Its shares surged more than six percent in Tokyo after the announcement.Monthly active …

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Sudan says army destroys Emirati aircraft, killing 40 mercenaries

Sudan’s air force has destroyed an Emirati aircraft carrying Colombian mercenaries as it landed at a paramilitary-controlled airport in Darfur, killing at least 40 people, the army-aligned state TV said Wednesday.A military source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the UAE plane “was bombed and completely destroyed” at Darfur’s Nyala airport.The airport has recently come under repeated air strikes by the Sudanese army, at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023.There was no immediate comment from the RSF or from the United Arab Emirates.Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said his government was trying to find out how many Colombians died in the attack. “We will see if we can bring their bodies back,” he wrote on social media platform X.State TV said the aircraft had taken off from an airbase in the Gulf, carrying dozens of foreign fighters and military equipment intended for the RSF, which controls nearly all of Darfur.The army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has long accused the UAE of supplying advanced weaponry, including drones, to the RSF via Nyala airport.Abu Dhabi has denied the accusations, despite numerous reports from UN experts, US political officials and international organisations.Satellite images released by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab have shown multiple Chinese-made long-range drones at the airport of the South Darfur state capital.In June, three witnesses told AFP that a cargo plane was bombed shortly after landing at Nyala airport.On Monday, Sudan’s army-aligned government accused the UAE of recruiting and funding Colombian mercenaries to fight for the RSF, claiming it has documents proving that.Reports of Colombian fighters in Darfur date back to late 2024 and have been confirmed by UN experts.This week, the Joint Forces — a pro-army coalition in the vast western region of Darfur — reported over 80 Colombian mercenaries fighting on the RSF’s side in El-Fasher, the last Darfur state capital still under army control.Several were reportedly killed in drone and artillery operations during the RSF’s latest offensive, the coalition said.The army also released video footage it said was of “foreign mercenaries believed to be from Colombia”.AFP was not able to verify the videos.In December, Sudan said Colombia’s foreign ministry had expressed regret “for the participation of some of its citizens in the war”.Colombian mercenaries, many former soldiers and guerrillas, have appeared in other global conflicts and were previously hired by the UAE for operations in Yemen and the Gulf.In his post Wednesday, Petro said he was moving to ban mercenary activity, calling it “a trade in men turned into commodities to kill.”Sudan’s war, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and plunged the nation into the world’s worst hunger and displacement crisis.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah rejects cabinet decision to disarm it

Hezbollah said Wednesday that it would treat a Lebanese government decision to disarm the militant group “as if it did not exist”, accusing the cabinet of committing a “grave sin”.Amid heavy US pressure and fears Israel could expand its strikes on Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Tuesday that the government had tasked the army with developing a plan to restrict weapons to government forces by year end.The plan is to be presented to the government by the end of August for discussion and approval, and another cabinet meeting is scheduled for Thursday to continue the talks, including on a US-proposed timetable for disarmament.Hezbollah said the government had “committed a grave sin by taking the decision to disarm Lebanon of its weapons to resist the Israeli enemy”.The decision is unprecedented since Lebanon’s civil war factions gave up their weapons three and a half decades ago.”This decision undermines Lebanon’s sovereignty and gives Israel a free hand to tamper with its security, geography, politics and future existence… Therefore, we will treat this decision as if it does not exist,” the Iran-backed group said in a statement.- ‘Serves Israel’s interests’ -The government said its decision came as part of implementing a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which culminated in two months of full-blown war.Hezbollah said it viewed the government’s move as “the result of dictates from US envoy” Tom Barrack.It “fully serves Israel’s interests and leaves Lebanon exposed to the Israeli enemy without any deterrence”, the group said.Hezbollah was the only faction that kept its weapons after Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.It emerged weakened politically and militarily from its latest conflict with Israel, its arsenal pummelled and its senior leadership decimated.Israel has kept up its strikes on Hezbollah and other targets despite the November truce, and has threatened to keep doing so until the group has been disarmed.An Israeli strike on the southern town of Tulin on Wednesday killed one person and wounded another, the health ministry said.Israel also launched a series of air strikes on southern Lebanon, wounding at least two people according to the health ministry.The Israeli military said it struck “weapons storage facilities, a missile launcher and Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure which stored engineering tools that allowed for the re-establishment of terrorist infrastructure in the area”.Hezbollah said Israel must halt the attacks before any domestic debate about its weapons and a new defence strategy could begin.- ‘Pivotal moment’ -“We are open to dialogue, ending the Israeli aggression against Lebanon, liberating its land, releasing prisoners, working to build the state, and rebuilding what was destroyed by the brutal aggression,” the group said.Hezbollah is “prepared to discuss a national security strategy”, but not under Israeli fire, it added.Two ministers affiliated with Hezbollah and its ally the Amal movement walked out of Tuesday’s meeting.Hezbollah described the walkout as “an expression of rejection” of the government’s “decision to subject Lebanon to American tutelage and Israeli occupation”.The Amal movement, headed by parliament speaker Nabih Berri, accused the government of “rushing to offer more gratuitous concessions” to Israel when it should have sought to end the ongoing attacks.It called Thursday’s cabinet meeting “an opportunity for correction”.Hezbollah opponent the Lebanese Forces, one of the country’s two main Christian parties, said the cabinet’s decision to disarm the militant group was “a pivotal moment in Lebanon’s modern history — a long-overdue step toward restoring full state authority and sovereignty”.The Free Patriotic Movement, the other major Christian party and a former ally of Hezbollah, said it was in favour of the army receiving the group’s weapons “to strengthen Lebanon’s defensive power”.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a televised interview that any decision on disarmament “will ultimately rest with Hezbollah itself”.”We support it from afar, but we do not intervene in its decisions,” he added, noting that the group had “rebuilt itself” following setbacks during its war with Israel.