Why an Israel-Hezbollah war would be far more dangerous today than the last time around
“We can plunge Lebanon completely into the dark and take apart Hezbollah’s power in days,” former Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz declared Tuesday at a conference at Reichman University in Herzliya, Israel.
It was just the latest threat from a prominent Israeli public figure against Lebanon and Hezbollah as tensions flare.
It won’t be difficult for Israel to plunge Lebanon into darkness. The country’s power grid, already crippled by decades of mismanagement and the country’s economic collapse, barely functions as it is. A few well-aimed airstrikes will easily finish it off.
Bolivia’s president sees off attempted coup after urging citizens to take to streets
Luis Arce said the country’s democracy was at stake after army troops seized control of La Paz’s political heart and military police storm palace
Bolivia’s President Luis Arce appears to have seen off an attempt to topple his leftwing government after a dramatic afternoon in which heavily armed troops, seemingly commanded by a top army general, stormed the government palace before beating a retreat and seeing their alleged leader detained.
On Wednesday afternoon Arce urged citizens to take to the streets to defend the country’s democracy from an apparent coup attempt, after troops seized control of a central square in La Paz which houses government buildings.
“We need the Bolivian people to mobilise and organise themselves against this coup d’état and in favour of democracy,” Arce said in a video message filmed at the Great House of the People, the official presidential residence in Bolivia’s de facto capital of La Paz.
Kenya police set up roadblocks as more protests loom
Anti-government protesters in Nairobi, Kenya faced tear gas from police. Tuesday's rallies resulted in over 20 deaths and led to the withdrawal of contentious tax hikes.
Kenyan police fired tear gas at protesters in Nairobi on Thursday, even after President William Ruto backed down on planned tax hikes in the face of public outrage.
The anger over the tax hikes has led to the most serious crisis in Ruto's two-year presidency, with especially young people taking to the streets in protest.
Iranians focus on cost of living ahead of presidential election
In Iran, the six candidates approved to run in the imminent presidential election have made their final pitches to voters ahead of Friday's snap poll. The election was called after former president Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash last month. The candidates have spent much of the campaign encouraging Iranians to participate, amid fears of low turnout. FRANCE 24's Andrew Hilliar, Karim Yahiaoui and Abdallah Malkawi report.
U.N. rights expert expresses concerns over sexual abuse in Japan
A U.N. human rights expert expressed concerns on Wednesday about various "challenges" in Japan, including alleged sexual exploitation and abuse of talent signed with a major Tokyo-based entertainment agency and discrimination against sexual minorities.
Speaking in a U.N. Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Robert McCorquodale, chief of a working group that released a report on Japan-related issues last month, recommended the establishment of an "independent" national institution to tackle the problems, mentioning the scandal involving the company formerly known as Johnny & Associates Inc.
The experts also pointed out "unacceptable" shortcomings in the remedies provided to victims of sexual abuse linked to the agency now renamed Smile-Up Inc., and noted the failure of Japan's legal system to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals.
BBC tracks down smuggler behind Channel crossing which killed Sara, 7
By Andrew Harding, Reporting from France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the UK
As he ambled, nonchalantly, across a sunlit public square, the smuggler appeared to have no idea he was being followed.
He was a short, stocky, 39-year-old in a pale green shell suit and baseball cap - an unremarkable figure taking an afternoon stroll from a tented migrant reception centre to a nearby tram station.
Our team broke into a run.
“We know who you are,” I said, as we caught up with him halfway across the square in Luxembourg’s capital city.
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