Lebanese troops rescued a Saudi citizen who was kidnapped over the weekend in Beirut and held for ransom. A statement released by the Lebanese military said Mushari al-Mutairi was released in a “special operation” along the Lebanon-Syria border, where the kidnappers held him hostage. It gave no further details. Local Lebanese media reported that al-Mutairi was released during an operation by the army’s intelligence division in the northeastern district of Hermel. Al-Mutairi was kidnapped at around 3 am local time on May 27 in Beirut. (abcnews.go.com, 30 May 2023)

Saudi Arabia asked its diplomatic staff in the country to stay home after a Saudi national was kidnapped in the Biel area of central Beirut. The man, identified only as Mashari M, who is an administrative department employee of Saudi Airlines in Beirut and lives in the Aramoun area in Mount Lebanon, was intercepted and kidnapped at around 3 a.m. in the commercial district of Beirut by four people in military uniforms. His car was later found in the Bekaa region. The kidnappers contacted his family from the southern suburbs of Beirut and demanded a ransom US $400,000 ransom in exchange for his release. Lebanon has witnessed a rise in crime since 2019 when the country's economic system crashed under the weight of state corruption and mismanagement by the ruling elites. Lebanon's currency has also collapsed crippling the banking system. (arabnews.com, 29 May 2023)

Three men, businessowner Pedro Ávila Rodríguez, 55, who is a relative of the Governor and the Mayor of the city of Fresnillo, Zacatecas State, and two young men were intercepted and kidnapped shortly before 1 p.m. local time by a group of gunmen near the commercial establishment owned by Rodríguez. According to local reports, the two young men were working for a company that supplied Rodríguez’s “Expendido Ávila” a local beer distribution located in the Plateros community. The relatives of the two, identified as Alonso Diaz Venegas, 22, and Carlos Manuel Pacheco Hernandez, 25, filed a formal complaint and an investigation onto the kidnapping was launched. (agenciainformativademexico.com, 22 May 2023)

A popular television preacher and motivational speaker, Rev. Mike Ochigbo was kidnapped in Adamawa State. Rev. Ochigbo, who is the General Overseer of Freedom Power Chapel, was said to have been forced at gunpoint from his residence located in Nyibango neighborhood in Yola, the state capital. The kidnappers reportedly fired their weapons in the air during the entire incident to scare away neighbors from trying to help the victim. A day after his kidnapping, the kidnappers called the Freedom Power Chapel demanding a ransom on N40 million in exchange for his release. At the time of his kidnapping, another pastor identified as John Moses, was also kidnapped. It is unclear if the two were in the same house and if they were kidnapped by the same gang. (saharareporters.com, 24 May 2023 & saharareporters.com, 25 May 2023)

Officers from the National Anti-Kidnapping Unit (UNAS) of the Police Investigations Directorate (DPI) rescued a kidnapped businessman from Sampedran less than 12 hours after he was kidnapped. The victim, who is 53 years old, was running errands during the morning hours in the Valle de Sula II neighborhood when he was intercepted by several armed individuals, who forced into a gray Ford Escape van. Hours later, the businessman's relatives received messages from the kidnappers via WhatsApp, demanding one million lempiras (about US$40,700) in exchange for his safe release.  The family contacted the police which activated UNAS. Using intelligence and technology, the agents managed to locate a house in the Planeta sector of San Pedro Sula the municipality, the capital of Cortés Department, where the businessman was being held. Agents raided the house rescued the victim. The kidnappers who noticed the police activity managed to escape just prior to the raid. Several police teams continue to search for the kidnappers. (vtv.com.hn, 24 May 2023)

In the 20th consecutive week, some 135,000 people protested on Kaplan Street, Tel Aviv against the government's contested overhaul plans of the judicial system. Demonstrations were held across Israel on Saturday evening, including in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, and Beersheba as well as some additional 150 locations across the country. No violence or arrests were reported in any of the protests’ sites. The planned overhaul, would give the government control over nominating judges to the Supreme Court and let parliament override many of the court rulings, was paused after some of the biggest street protests ever seen in Israel. The government accuses activist judges of increasingly seizing the role of parliament, and says the overhaul is needed to restore balance between the judiciary and elected politicians, though critics say it will remove vital checks and balances underpinning a democratic state and hand unchecked power to the government.