Tel Aviv (AFP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel appears to be at a “historic turning point” after the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike in Beirut. “His elimination advances the return of our residents to their homes in the north and (…) the return of our captives in the south”, he says, warning against any retaliation stating “whoever strikes us, we will strike them.”
Solok (Indonesia) (AFP) – A landslide at an illegal mine in western Indonesia has killed 13 people, as search efforts for any further victims end. Heavy rains caused the disaster, with rescue workers having to walk for hours from the nearest village to reach the area.
Beirut (Lebanon) (AFP) – In Lebanon’s Beirut, citizens grieve the death of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an air strike on the capital’s southern suburbs. Nasrallah was the militant group’s leader for 32 years. His death deals a seismic blow to Hezbollah, engaged in a year of escalating cross-border hostilities with Israel since Hamas’s October 7 attack on the country.
Shiraz (Iran) (AFP) – Conservationists at Persepolis, Iran’s most iconic ancient site, are waging a delicate battle against an unlikely adversary: tiny but persistent fungi eroding the millenia-old monuments. “In about 50, 100, or 200 years, they will turn the stone into soil,” explains Shahram Rahbar, head of renovation at the site where he and his team are working relentlessly to combat the infestation.
Touwsrivier (South Africa) (AFP) – A South African woman who could be the oldest living person in the world celebrates what is said to be her 118th birthday with a small party at her care home in Touwsrivier. Margaret Maritz was born on September 27, 1906, according to a copy of her identity card. The document has not been independently verified.
Kathmandu (AFP) – Torrential rain causes the Bagmati river in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu to swell, inundating houses and cars close to its banks. Floods and landslides caused by the heavy downpours have killed at least 10 people across the Himalayan country.
London (AFP) – Three Just Stop Oil climate activists throw soup-like substance over two Vincent van Gogh paintings at London’s National Gallery before staging a sit-in protest, just hours after two others were jailed for a similar act two years ago. Three people have been arrested for the act, according to the gallery. The attacks are the latest in a series of protests by the group, which seeks an end to the extraction and burning of oil, coal and gas.
Khan Yunis (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Palestinian artist Jamil Al-Baz has a message to send: stop the war in Gaza and Lebanon. Painting a mural on the ruins of a destroyed house in Khan Younis, the young man expresses solidarity and unity with Lebanon in the shadow of the ongoing war against Israel.
A man and his dog stranded at sea are rescued by the US coast guard on September 26th in the Gulf of Mexico. The sailboat they were upon was disabled during high wind and strong waves caused by the passage of Hurricane Helene. The hurricane has since weakened to a tropical storm, hours after it made landfall in the southeastern US state of Florida, killing at least three poeple and leaving flooded roads and homes in its wake.
During a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon’s health minister, Firass Abiad says “since midnight, so far, more than 25 martyrs have fallen”. This week Israel dramatically intensified its attacks on Lebanon, mostly on Hezbollah’s south Beirut and southern and eastern strongholds, killing more than 700 people, according to reports from the health ministry.
Pokrovsk (Ukraine) (AFP) – The pristine, white-walled salon is one of the few havens of normality remaining in Pokrovsk, near the Ukraine border, as Russian troops close in. An example of how life goes on in the deserted, shelled-out area even as fighting continues. Inside, the buzz of hair clippers and blow dryers barely cover the thuds coming from the front line around seven kilometres away. “Sometimes it’s very loud, but it’s okay, we try to work,” says salon worker Natalya, “how can you not go to work if people are waiting for you?”
Beirut is buzzing with activity as volunteers scramble to help the tens of thousands of people displaced by Israel’s intense bombardment of Lebanon. Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israel in support of its ally Hamas since the militant group’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that triggered a devastating war in Gaza. This week Israel dramatically intensified its attacks, mostly on Hezbollah’s south Beirut and southern and eastern Lebanese strongholds, killing more than 700 people, according to the health ministry.
