From Hezbollah to an ISIS cell, the non-coronavirus news you may have missed

Armed men boarded a ship near the Strait of Hormuz and the Taliban claim Washington has reneged on a February peace deal

Taliban prisoners get ready to be released from Bagram prison, next to a US military base. AFP via National Security Council

Ship near Strait of Hormuz boarded by armed men, reports say

Armed men – believed to be from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – boarded a Hong Kong-flagged tanker vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday. The incident, near the crucial Strait of Hormuz, comes at a time of heightened tension between Washington and Tehran.

The UK Maritime Trade Organisation said the vessel “has now been released” and was “under control of the master”, with all of its crew safe.

Last year, the US accused Iran of attacks against several oil tankers. Dryad Global, the maritime intelligence company that issued the first warnings about the Hong Kong-flagged vessel, warned of suspicious incidents in an area near the Strait in recent weeks.

German police arrest five suspected of being ISIS terrorist cell

Five men suspected of being members of an ISIS terrorist cell planning attacks on US forces stationed in Germany have been arrested, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

The men, who are Tajik citizens, joined ISIS in January last year and were instructed to form a cell in Germany. Their alleged leader, a 30-year-old Tajik man identified only as Ravsan B., has been in jail since March 2019 on unspecified charges.

Taliban accuses US of breaking deal with attacks on insurgents' homes

Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the insurgent group’s chief negotiator, Abdul Ghani Baradar, used a meeting about the flagging US-Taliban peace deal to protest against attacks on Taliban fighters in their homes, contrary to provisions of the February 29 agreement.

No details have yet been released by US officials about the meeting in Qatar on Monday, which included Washington peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, Gen Scott Miller, head of US forces in Afghanistan and the Taliban negotiator.

The Afghan government has released 300 men they say are Taliban insurgents and the militants have freed 20 government employees in the first stage of a prisoner swap demanded by the rebels as a pre-condition for peace talks.

Hezbollah steps up campaign for control of Lebanon’s financial system

Hezbollah is moving to increase its foothold at the heart of Lebanon's banking system as US sanctions disrupt the Iran-backed group's financial networks. Senior Arab financiers said the developments could hamper the country's chances of emerging from the worst financial crisis in its modern history.

Banque du Liban has been one of the most independent institutions in the country and Lebanon’s financial community has expressed alarm at the prospect of the bank becoming politicised.