Hezbollah says it launched a drone attack on northern Israel
ISRAEL (AP) – The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack early Monday on northern Israel that the Israeli military said wounded two Israeli troops. The violence came amid fears of an all-out regional war following the killings last week of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in Iran.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah said it targeted a military base in northern Israel in response to “attacks and assassinations” by Israel in several villages in southern Lebanon. The attack did not appear to be the more intense retaliation that’s expected from Iran and its allied militias.
Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged near-daily strikes for the past 10 months during the war in Gaza. But last week’s assassinations of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s capital and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut sent regional tensions soaring.
The head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened Israel on Monday over the assassination of Haniyeh, warning that Israel was “digging its own grave” with its actions against Hamas.
Israel’s defence minister says the military is ready for a “swift transition to offence.”
Missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels hits container ship in first attack in two weeks
By: Jon Gambrell
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck a Liberian-flagged container ship travelling through the Gulf of Aden, authorities said Sunday, the first assault by the group since Israeli airstrikes targeted them.
The Houthis offered no explanation for the two-week pause in their attacks on shipping through the Red Sea corridor, which have seen similar slowdowns since the assaults began in November over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But the resumption comes after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, the Houthis’ main benefactor, amid renewed concerns over the war breaking out into a regional conflict.
The rebels separately said they shot down another U.S. spy drone Sunday, later publishing imagery of the aircraft’s wreckage on the side of the mountain.
The attack on Saturday happened some 225 kilometres (140 miles) southeast of Aden in a stretch of the Gulf of Aden that has seen numerous Houthi attacks previously. It hit the container ship Groton just above its waterline, causing minor damage, said the Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational coalition overseen by the U.S. Navy. An earlier missile attack missed the vessel, the JMIC said.
Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina resigns as widening unrest sees protesters storm her official residence
By: Julhas Alam And Krutika Pathi
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s prime minister resigned and fled the country Monday, after weeks of protests against a quota system for government jobs descended into violence and grew into a broader challenge to her 15-year rule. Thousands of demonstrators stormed her official residence and other buildings associated with her party and family.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s departure threatens to create even more instability in the densely populated nation on India’s border that is already dealing with a series of crises, from high unemployment and corruption to climate change. Amid security concerns, the main airport in Dhaka, the capital, suspended operations.
After the embattled leader was seen on TV boarding a military helicopter with her sister, the country’s military chief, Gen. Waker-uz-Zaman, sought to reassure a jittery nation that order would be restored. He said he met with opposition politicians and civil society leaders and would seek the president’s guidance on forming an interim government.
He promised that the military would launch an investigation into the deadly crackdown on student-led protests that led to some of the country’s worst bloodshed since the 1971 war of independence and fuelled outrage against the government. He added that he ordered security forces not to fire on crowds.
Hundreds gather at Somalia beach to condemn attack that killed 37 and demand stronger security
By: Omar Faruk
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Hundreds gathered Monday at a Somalia beach hotel, the site of an attack claimed by al-Qaeda’s East Africa affiliate that left 37 people dead and dozens wounded, to condemn the violence and demand stronger security measures.
Al-Shabab said on its radio station that its militants carried out Friday’s attack at popular Lido beach in the capital, Mogadishu. Witnesses said they saw an attacker wearing an explosive vest moments before he blew himself up. Security forces said they killed four other militants.
Adar Sabriye, who lost her son in the attack, joined the protest to call on authorities to ensure public safety.
Another protester, Ahmed Mohamed, said the country’s security was the responsibility of every citizen and urged young people to join the fight against al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab opposes Somalia’s federal government, which has depended on the support of foreign troops to stay in power.
North Korean leader marks the delivery of 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers to frontline units
By: Kim Tong-hyung
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea marked the delivery of 250 nuclear-capable missile launchers to frontline military units at a ceremony where leader Kim Jong Un called for a ceaseless expansion of his military’s nuclear program to counter perceived U.S. threats, state media said Monday.
Concerns about Kim’s nuclear program have grown as he has demonstrated an intent to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons along the North’s border with South Korea and authorized his military to respond with preemptive nuclear strikes if it perceives the leadership as under threat.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said the launchers were freshly produced by the county’s munitions factories and designed to fire “tactical” ballistic missiles, a term that describes systems capable of delivering lower-yield nuclear weapons.
Kim said at Sunday’s event in Pyongyang the new launchers would give his frontline units “overwhelming” firepower over South Korea and make the operation of tactical nuclear weapons more practical and efficient. State media photos showed lines of army-green launcher trucks packing a large street with seemingly thousands of spectators attending the event, which included fireworks.
Torrential rains claim more than 150 lives in China in the past two months
BEIJING (AP) — Landslides and flooding have killed more than 150 people around China in the past two months as torrential rain storms batter the region.
The search was ongoing Monday for victims of a flood and mudslide in a mountainous Tibetan area in Sichuan province that left nine people dead and 18 others unaccounted for, state media said.
The early Saturday morning disaster destroyed homes and killed at least seven people in the village of Ridi, state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report. Two more people died after a nearby bridge between two tunnels collapsed and four vehicles plummeted.
China is in the middle of its peak flood season, which runs from mid-July to mid-August, and Chinese policymakers have repeatedly warned that the government needs to step up disaster preparations as severe weather becomes more common.
A heat warning was in effect Monday in parts of eastern China, where temperatures were expected to top 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in several cities including Nanjing, and 37 C (98 F) in nearby Shanghai on the coast.
Dow drops 860 points, and Japanese stocks suffer worst crash since 1987 amid U.S. economy worries
By: Stan Choe
NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly everything on Wall Street is tumbling Monday as fear about a slowing U.S. economy worsens and sets off another sell-off for financial markets around the world.
The S&P 500 was down by 2.4 per cent in midday trading and on track for its worst day since 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was reeling by 864 points, or 2.2 per cent, as of 11:40 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite slid 2.7 per cent.
The drops were just the latest in a global sell-off that began last week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 helped start Monday by plunging 12.4 per cent for its worst day since the Black Monday crash of 1987.
It was the first chance for traders in Tokyo to react to Friday’s report showing U.S. employers slowed their hiring last month by much more than economists expected. That was the latest piece of data on the U.S. economy to come in weaker than expected, and it’s all raised fear the Federal Reserve has pressed the brakes on the U.S. economy by too much for too long through high interest rates in hopes of stifling inflation.
Professional investors cautioned that some technical factors could be amplifying the action in markets, but the losses were still neck-snapping.
Even gold, which has a reputation for offering safety during tumultuous times, slipped one per cent.
