Six In The Morning Sunday 22 September 2024

 

Hezbollah buries commander killed in Israeli strike while conflict escalates

Hezbollah senior leader speaks at Aqil's funeral

Orla Guerin
Reporting from Beirut

Hezbollah deputy secretary general Sheikh Nadeem Qassem is saying in his speech at Aqil's funeral that the group was in shock because of attacks this week blamed on Israel, but has recovered.

As a reminder, earlier this week pagers and walkie-talkies used by the group's members exploded, killing 39 people and wounding thousands in Lebanon. That was before an air strike killed Aqil and other Hezbollah members, along with 32 civilians, on Friday.

At least 51 people killed in Iran coalmine explosion

Methane gas blast at mine in South Khorasan province leaves further 20 injured, state media says

Reuters in Dubai

Sun 22 Sep 2024 10.27 BST

A gas explosion in a coalmine in Iran’s South Khorasan province has killed at least 51 people and injured 20, Iran’s state media said.

The accident was caused by a methane gas explosion in two blocks, B and C, of the mine run by the Madanjoo company, state media said on Sunday.

The governor of South Khorasan province, Ali Akbar Rahimi, told state TV: “Seventy-six per cent of the country’s coal is provided from this region and around eight to 10 big companies are working in the region, including Madanjoo company.”

Germany: AfD seeks further boost in Brandenburg election

After winning the most seats in the recent Thuringia regional election and the second-most in the Saxony vote, the far-right AfD is hoping for further gains in the eastern German state of Brandenburg. DW has the latest.

Brandenburg election sees high turnout

The state election in Brandenburg has seen particularly high voter turnout, according to the state Interior Ministry.

Of the state's 2.1 million eligible voters, 46% cast a ballot by 2 p.m. local time (1200UTC/GMT). Over half of eligible voters (51.3%) in the Brandenburg state capital of Potsdam have cast a ballot so far.   

It's a jump from the last election in 2019, which garnered a 31.3% eligible voter participation rate by the same time of day.  

Russian dissident fighting with the Ukrainian army, Alexy Makarov, speaks to France 24

As Ukraine's attempts to repel the almost three-year long Russian invasion, Alexy Makarov speaks to France 24. A self-described anarchist, born in Moscow, he has been actively opposing the current Russian regime as part of various left-wing movements since 2004, both within and outside Russia. He joined the Ukrainian army in the wake of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Israeli troops raid, order closure of Al Jazeera's West Bank bureau

By Andrew Mills

September 22, 20245:56 AM PDT

Israeli forces raided the bureau of media network Al Jazeera in the West Bank city of Ramallah early on Sunday morning, issuing it with a military order to shut down operations, the network and the Israeli military said on Sunday.

The Qatar-headquartered channel aired live footage of Israeli troops entering the office with their weapons drawn and handing a military court order to Ramallah bureau chief Walid al-Omari forcing the bureau to close for 45 days.

The Israeli military said, in response to a Reuters query, that the channel's offices had been sealed and its equipment confiscated.

The military added that the order was signed after an intelligence assessment determined that the offices were being used "to incite terror, to support terrorist activities."

The surfer and tribal chief fighting to save a 550km South African coast

An unlikely crew of activists band together against mining companies responsible for pillaging the country’s West Coast for centuries.

By Nick Dall

Published On 22 Sep 202422 Sep 2024

Martinus Fredericks meets me outside the police station in South Africa’s Atlantis, a somewhat forlorn semi-industrial town on the outskirts of Cape Town. On this winter’s morning, Atlantis is shrouded in fog. After a firm handshake, he leads me across the road into an unmarked building.

On the second floor, at the end of a wide, airy corridor that also houses the community radio station, we enter an empty coffee shop with six plastic tables adorned with black tablecloths and gold place settings. Over tea and sandwiches, Fredericks tells me how an astounding midlife revelation led him to become the face of a social and environmental battle.