Israeli airstrikes rock southern suburbs of Beirut and cut off a key crossing into Syria

BEIRUT (AP) -- Israel carried out a series of massive airstrikes overnight, hitting suburbs of Beirut and cutting off the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria for tens of thousands of people fleeing Israeli bombardment. The blasts in Beirut's southern suburbs sent huge plumes of smoke and flames into the night sky and shook buildings kilometers away in the Lebanese capital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on what the intended target was, and there was no informati

World NewsOct. 4, 2024

Israel army says it 'eliminated' Hamas leader in Lebanon

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- The Israeli army said Monday its forces "eliminated" Hamas's leader in Lebanon in the latest strike targeting senior members of Iranian-backed militant groups in the neighboring country. "Overnight ... the IAF (air force) struck and eliminated the terrorist Fatah Sherif, head of the Lebanon branch in the Hamas terrorist organization," the military said in a statement. Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amine "was responsible for coordinating Hamas' terror a

World NewsSept. 30, 2024

Israel targets Palestinian group in first strike on Beirut center

BEIRUT -- Israel hit a Beirut apartment block on Monday, killing three members of a Palestinian armed group in its first strike on the city center since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza nearly one year ago. Israel has turned its focus from Gaza to Lebanon in recent days, carrying out attacks on Iran's regional allies. Strikes on Hezbollah targets killed the Iran-backed group's leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday. Monday's drone attack targeted a "flat belonging to Jamaa Islamiya,&

World NewsSept. 30, 2024

[Graphic News] Ronaldo tops 2024 Instagram earnings list

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the highest-paid celebrity on Instagram, according to a survey by British data analyst Hopper HQ. Ronaldo can earn up to $3.43 million per post. Following closely behind is Lionel Messi, while Selena Gomez, Kylie Jenner and Dwayne Johnson round out the top five. Hopper HQ reveals how much your favorite celebrities are earning from sponsored posts this year, using internal data, agency rates and publicly available information. Notably, all four membe

World NewsSept. 30, 2024

Nasrallah's killing reveals depth of Israel's Hezbollah penetration

In the wake of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's killing, Hezbollah faces the enormous challenge of plugging the infiltration in its ranks that allowed its arch enemy Israel to destroy weapons sites, booby-trap its communications and assassinate the veteran leader, whose whereabouts had been a closely guarded secret for years. Nasrallah's killing on Friday came barely a week after Israel's deadly detonation of hundreds of booby-trapped pagers and radios. It was the culmination of a rapid

World NewsSept. 29, 2024

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is killed in Beirut strike, Israel's military says

Israel said Saturday that it killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, dealing its most significant blow to the Lebanese militant group after months of fighting. There was no immediate confirmation from Hezbollah. Nasrallah becomes the latest, and by far the most powerful, target to be killed by Israel in weeks of intensified fighting with Hezbollah. The army said that several top Hezbollah commanders were killed along with Nasrallah in a powerful airstrike Friday. The military said it carried o

World NewsSept. 28, 2024

Israel strikes Hezbollah in a huge blast targeting the militant group's leader

The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut on Friday in a series of massive explosions that targeted the leader of the militant group and leveled multiple high-rise apartment buildings. At least six people were killed and 91 were wounded, Lebanon’s health ministry said. It was the biggest blast to hit the Lebanese capital in the past year and appeared likely to push the escalating conflict closer to full-fledged war. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was t

World NewsSept. 28, 2024

Fed's favored inflation gauge shows cooling price pressures, clearing way for more rate cuts

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure on Friday provided the latest sign that price pressures are easing, a trend that is expected to fuel further Fed interest rate cuts this year and next. Prices rose just 0.1 percent from July to August, the Commerce Department said, down from the previous month’s 0.2 percent increase. Compared with a year earlier, inflation fell to 2.2 percent, down from 2.5 percent the previous month and barely above the Fed's 2 percent inflation

World BusinessSept. 27, 2024

China’s biggest stock buying frenzy in years overwhelms exchange

Chinese equities capped their biggest weekly rally since 2008 with a burst of trading that overwhelmed the Shanghai stock exchange, underscoring a dramatic shift in investor sentiment after Xi Jinping’s government ramped up economic stimulus. In an echo of the rally that followed China’s massive stimulus during the global financial crisis, the CSI 300 Index of large-cap shares soared 4.5 percent on Friday — bringing this week’s gain to 16 percent. Trading activity was

World BusinessSept. 27, 2024

S. Korea pledges to maintain 'positive momentum' with Japan under Ishiba

South Korea on Friday pledged to continue its cooperation with Japan's incoming government in order to maintain "positive momentum," following the ruling party's election of former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba as leader, setting him up to become the country's new prime minister. "We will continue to work closely with the new Japanese cabinet to ensure the positive flow of South Korea-Japan relations," said a senior presidential official, who spoke on the c

World NewsSept. 27, 2024

Biden announces $8 billion in military aid for Ukraine

US President Joe Biden announced more than $8 billion in military assistance for Ukraine on Thursday to help Kyiv "win this war" against Russian invaders, using a visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to make a major commitment. The aid includes the first shipment of a precision-guided glide bomb called the Joint Standoff Weapon, with a range of up to 81 miles. The medium-range missile gives Ukraine a major upgrade to the weapons it is using to strike Russian forces, allowing the Ukra

World NewsSept. 26, 2024

Same-sex marriage in Thailand to become legal in January

DPA -- Same-sex marriage will be legal in Thailand from January after Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn signed the law on Tuesday, making the country the first in South-East Asia to legalize it. The upper and lower houses of the Thai parliament had already passed the legislation months ago, both with large majorities. Now that the king has signed the law, it will enter into force in 120 days. While Thailand is the first country in South-East Asia to allow for same-sex marriage, it is the third in al

World NewsSept. 25, 2024

[Graphic News] World produces 52m tons of plastic pollution annually: study

A recent study reveals that the world generates 52 million metric tons of plastic pollution each year, with a significant portion coming from countries in the Global South. This staggering amount could fill New York City’s Central Park to the height of the Empire State Building. The study, led by the University of Leeds, examined waste production across more than 50,000 cities and towns globally. More than two-thirds of this pollution comes from countries with poor waste collection servi

World NewsSept. 25, 2024

Soyuz capsule with 2 Russians and 1 American from the International Space Station returns to Earth

MOSCOW (AP) — A Soyuz capsule carrying two Russians and one American from the International Space Station landed Monday in Kazakhstan, ending a record-breaking stay for the Russian pair. The capsule landed on the Kazakh steppe about 3 1/2 hours after undocking from the ISS in an apparently trouble-free descent. In the last stage of the landing, it descended under a red-and-white parachute at about 7.2 meters per second (16 mph), with small rockets fired in the final seconds to cushion the

World NewsSept. 23, 2024

WTO to examine China complaint over US electric vehicle subsidies

The World Trade Organization agreed Monday to establish an expert panel to examine US subsidies for electric vehicles after Beijing accused Washington of unfair competition. The United States slammed China's complaint, insisting the country was seeking "to distract from its own non-market policies and practices that undermine a fair, competitive, and mutually beneficial trading system." The world's second-largest economy initially brought the case to the WTO in March, chargin

World BusinessSept. 23, 2024

Lebanon says Israeli strikes kill 100 people. That would make it the deadliest day since October

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military said it struck hundreds of targets Monday in Lebanon in one of the most intense barrages in nearly a year of fighting against the Hezbollah militant group, and military officials said they planned to widen the offensive. The Lebanese Health Ministry said 100 people were killed and more than 400 wounded in what would be the deadliest day in Lebanon since the conflict started in October. Before the escalation beginning with the wave of pager explosions l

World NewsSept. 23, 2024