The last 48 hours in the Middle East – in which Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and continued to bombard the Iran-backed group across Lebanon – have once more ratcheted up fears that this long-running conflict could spiral into a wider regional war. Nasrallah’s killing, in a huge set of Israeli airstrikes on his underground headquarters in Beirut on ...
One was a koala. The other was a husky. Both were arguably out of place on a warm August night in subtropical Brisbane, the capital of Queensland in Australia’s northeast. Home security video captured the moment they locked eyes in a suburban backyard surrounded by a high metal fence. With deep rumbling growls, the koala advanced towards the retreating dog, ...
Hezbollah is believed to be the most heavily armed non-state group in the world. Backed by Iran and based in the eastern Mediterranean country of Lebanon, the Shiite Islamist group has been engaged in confrontations with Israeli forces on Lebanon’s southern border since October 8. Hezbollah first fired at Israel to protest the war in Gaza, demanding a ceasefire there ...
Pope Francis has pledged to root out the “scourge” of clerical sexual abuse after Belgium’s prime minster urged him in unusually frank terms to take concrete action. Francis was addressing political leaders on Friday at the official residence of the King of Belgium, a country where devastating clerical abuse scandals have erupted in recent years. Before he spoke, both the ...
When pagers exploded across Lebanon last week, the year-long war with Hezbollah was not at the top of the Israeli political agenda. Instead, the political class was convulsed with speculation that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and replace him with a military neophyte, Gideon Sa’ar, to shore up his domestic power. National security ...
Israel’s audacious attack targeting Hezbollah’s leader on Friday has rattled the group, delivering its most severe blow since its founding. This has led its Iranian backers to warn that Israel has entered a dangerous phase of the conflict by altering the rules of engagement. As Tehran watches its most prized non-state ally take a beating, questions are mounting about how it may ...
Hassan Nasrallah, whom Israel believes it killed in a strike on southern Beirut, turned Hezbollah into one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East. His death caps a series of devastating blows for the group, already reeling from the humiliation of having its communications network comprehensively infiltrated, and suggests that one of Israel’s most formidable enemies is deeply ...
A Thai crocodile farmer who goes by the nickname “Crocodile X” said he killed more than 100 critically endangered reptiles to prevent them from escaping after a typhoon damaged their enclosure. Natthapak Khumkad, 37, who runs a crocodile farm in Lamphun, northern Thailand, said he scrambled to find his Siamese crocodiles a new home when he noticed a wall securing ...
Japan’s ruling party will elect its new leader Friday, and the winner will become the country’s next prime minister. Out of a record nine candidates, three frontrunners are fighting a very close race that will likely end in a runoff vote. The winner will take the helm of the world’s fourth-largest economy at a time of rising living costs, exacerbated by ...
Towns along Mexico’s southwestern coast are dealing with torrential rain, flooding and landslides after tropical storm John strengthened back into a Category 1 hurricane on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center. John is considered a “zombie” storm – a term referring to systems that dissipate before strengthening back into a storm. After slamming into Mexico as a deadly Category ...