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A Hezbollah drone is intercepted by Israeli air forces over northern Israel on Sunday. Photo: AFP / JALAA MAREY Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones against Israel on Sunday in retaliation for the assassination of a commander in Beirut, the Iranian-backed movement said. The Israel military said it had thwarted a much larger attack with pre-emptive strikes. What are Hezbollah's origins? Iran's Revolutionary Guards founded Hezbollah in 1982 during Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, part of Tehran's effort to export its 1979 Islamic Revolution and fight Israeli forces that had invaded Lebanon in 1982. The group has risen from a shadowy faction to a heavily armed force with big sway in Lebanon and the region. Western governments including the United States designate it a terrorist gr...

An image grab taken from Hezbollah's al-Manar TV on August 25, 2024, shows Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah giving a televised address from an undisclosed location. Photo: AFP / Al-Manar Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday that his group would assess the impact of its rocket and drone attack on Israeli military targets earlier in the day before determining whether it would carry out further attacks to avenge a slain commander. The leader of the Lebanese armed group said in a televised address that it had been able to carry out its attack "as planned," denying statements by the Israeli military that its pre-emptive strikes had stopped a wider attack by the group. Read more: Nasrallah, speaking about 12 hours after the most intense exchange of fire between I...

Photo: Luca Pferdmenges At the age of 15, German man Luca Pferdmenges began ticking off a list with the intention of visiting every country in the world. Now, after turning 23 on Saturday, he has visited 190 countries out of a possible 195. He has three million followers on TikTok. But more than that, Pferdmenges is on the regularly updated list of the world's top jugglers. He has broken four Guinness Book of World Records, including becoming the first person ever to juggle 16 balls with a partner. He has taught children to juggle around the world, even in places like Afghanistan, and he has published books on both travel and juggling. He told Sunday Morning, from Buenos Aires in Argentina, that he is able to travel the world by having a "very tight budget". "I've been doing it full-ti...

By Tom Sims, Reuters Emergency services in Solingen after three people were killed in a stabbing. Photo: Gianni Gattus / DPA / AFP The suspect in custody for a stabbing rampage in the western German city of Solingen that killed three people and injured eight is a 26-year-old Syrian man, authorities said early on Sunday (local time). The suspect turned himself in and admitted to the crime, Duesseldorf police and prosecutors said in a joint statement. "The involvement of this person is currently under intensive investigation," they said. The attack, for which the Islamic State group claimed responsibility, occurred on Friday evening in the Fronhof, a market square where live bands were playing at a festival to celebrate Solingen's 650-year history. Mourners have made a makeshift memori...

By Maytaal Angel and Maya Gebeily, Reuters This photo taken from a position in northern Israel shows a Hezbollah UAV intercepted by Israeli air forces over north Israel on 25 August. Photo: AFP / JALAA MAREY Hezbollah launches hundreds of missiles at northern Israel Attack follows assassination of Hezbollah commander in Beirut Israel says pre-emptive strikes in Lebanon stopped bigger attack Hezbollah says attack has been completed, denies plans thwarted by Israeli strikes Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel early on Sunday, as Israel's military said it struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to thwart a bigger attack, in one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare. Missiles were visible curling up through the dawn sky, dark vapour...

Photo: 123rf An alleged thief was caught in Rome after sitting down to read a book during a burglary, according to Italian media. The 38-year-old is accused of using the balcony of a building to break into an apartment while the owner slept. However, once inside, he became distracted by a book on a bedside table, and halted the burglary so he could read. According to local media, the 71-year-old homeowner woke up and confronted the man, who was sitting down on a bed, engrossed in the pages. The alleged thief tried to escape, but was arrested shortly afterward. The man told police he was not breaking in, but trying to visit someone he knew, Italian media reported. The book, Gli Dei alle sei. L'Iliade all'ora dell'aperitivo, examines Homer's Iliad from the point of view of the gods. Author...

Telegram, particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union, is ranked as one of the major social media platforms. Photo: Victor Okhrimets / 123RF Pavel Durov, the Russian-French billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, TF1 TV and BFM TV said, citing unidentified sources. Durov was travelling aboard his private jet, TF1 said on its website, adding he had been targeted by an arrest warrant in France as part of a preliminary police investigation. TF1 and BFM both said the investigation was focused on a lack of moderators on Telegram, and that police considered that this situation allowed criminal activity to go on undeterred on the messaging app. Durov faces possible...

By Jennifer Rigby, Reuters A patient with mpox in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Photo: CDC / IMAGE POINT FR / IMAGE POINT FR / BSIP via AFP WHO's slow process delayed vaccine access for Congo First 10,000 doses in Africa going to Nigeria, not Congo Conflict and slow Congo response also delayed vaccines The first 10,000 mpox vaccines are finally due to arrive next week in Africa, where a dangerous new strain of the virus - which has afflicted people there for decades - has caused global alarm. The slow arrival of the shots - which have already been made available in more than 70 countries outside Africa - showed that lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic about global healthcare inequities have been slow to bring change, half a dozen public health officials and scientists ...