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The deceased was said to be a 64-year-old American woman. Photo: ARND WIEGMANN/AFP Warning: this story discusses suicide and euthanasia. Swiss police have arrested several people after a controversial futuristic-looking capsule designed to allow its occupant to commit suicide was used for the first time, authorities said on Wednesday. Police in the northern canton of Schaffhausen bordering Germany said the so-called "Sarco" capsule had been deployed in a wood in the municipality of Merishausen on Monday local time. Prosecutors in Schaffhausen have opened criminal proceedings against several people for "inducing and aiding and abetting suicide", a police statement said, adding several people were detained, without giving details about them or the deceased. A spokesperson for the group be...

By Esther Linder, ABC with wires Smoke billows from a site targeted by Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese village of Zaita. Photo: MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP Hundreds of people are dead across Lebanon after the Israeli military carried out a bombing campaign in the country's south and east. Following what is said to have been Lebanon's deadliest day since its civil war, the US and UN have urged both parties to de-escalate tensions before war breaks out. Read more: Here's what we know so far: What's happening in Lebanon? After months of stewing tensions, Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah campaigns across the Israeli-Lebanese border has intensified, forcing thousands to flee. The Israeli military bombed about 1600 locations it said were Hezbollah targets throughout Leban...

By Maya Gebeily, Tom Perry and James Mackenzie, Reuters Bystanders and reporters look at the destruction in a street under a residential building whose top two floors were hit by an Israeli strike in the Ghobeiri area of Beirut's southern suburbs. Photo: AFP An Israeli airstrike on Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah commander as cross-border rocket attacks by both sides increased fears of a full-fledged war in the Middle East. Israel's military said the airstrike on the Lebanese capital killed Ibrahim Qubaisi, who it said was the commander of Hezbollah's missiles and rocket force. Two security sources in Lebanon described him as a leading figure in the Iran-backed group's rocket division. The attack dealt another blow to Hezbollah after a series of setbacks at the hands of Israel over ...

By Maya Gebeily, Tom Perry and James Mackenzie for Reuters People inspect the debris at the site of an overnight Israeli strike on a house in the southern Lebanese village of Akbiyeh on 24vSeptember. Photo: AFP / Mahmoud Zayyat Israel struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Iran-backed group attacked military facilities in northern Israel on Tuesday, increasing fears of a full-blown conflict after Lebanon suffered its deadliest day in decades. Israel's military said it hit dozens of Hezbollah targets overnight, a day after carrying out airstrikes against the armed group which Lebanese authorities said killed nearly 500 people and sent tens of thousands fleeing for safety. Hezbollah said it targeted several Israeli military targets overnight including an explosives factor...

Vehicles wait in traffic in Damour, south of Beirut on 24 September, as people flee southern Lebanon. Photo: IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP New Zealanders are being told to leave Lebanon now, as Israel and Hezbollah continue to exchange heavy fire and hundreds of people have been killed. The government's SafeTravel website warned the security situation could get worse and flights out of the country could be disrupted or cancelled with little notice. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which runs SafeTravel, also told citizens not to travel to Lebanon. "We continue to advise that New Zealanders do not travel to Lebanon. If you are currently in Lebanon, we encourage you to leave now via commercial options. "Airports and airlines may pause or cancel operations at short notice. If you choose not...