Six In The Morning Tuesday 17 September 2024

 

Hezbollah says exploding pagers kills three and injures many in Lebanon

David Gritten

BBC News

The Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah says two of its fighters and a girl have been killed after handheld pagers used to communicate exploded.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was among hundreds of people reportedly injured by what Hezbollah called “mysterious” blasts which happened simultaneously in southern Beirut and several other areas of Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon.

CCTV footage appeared to show an explosion in a man’s trouser pocket as he stood at a shop till.

Portugal wildfire deaths rise to seven after firefighters trapped in blaze

More than 50 people injured as 54 fires burn across country amid hot, dry and windy weather

Jon Henley and agencies

Tue 17 Sep 2024 15.39 BST

Seven people have been killed and more than 50 injured in wildfires ravaging central and northern Portugal, authorities have said, after three firefighters died on Tuesday when their vehicle was trapped in flames.

Portugal’s civil protection service said 54 wildfires were burning nationwide, mainly in the north, with 5,300 firefighters mobilised. France, Greece, Italy and Spain sent eight water-bombing planes through the EU’s mutual assistance mechanism.

More than 1,000 firefighters battled through Monday night to control four separate blazes near the towns of Nelas and Aveiro, south of Porto, with TV footage showing residents frantically pouring buckets of water on rapidly advancing flames.

Jammu and Kashmir election brings hope to restive region

India is organizing the first election in Jammu and Kashmir in a decade. The region's residents are cautiously optimistic amid the never-ending violence.

At a campaign rally in southern Kashmir, 45-year-old Shameema Jan raises her voice and joins dozens of other women in singing traditional songs in support of their preferred candidate ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir regional election due to start on Wednesday.

The hopes held by these women are simple. They want a representative, preferably a woman, who can address their everyday concerns, such as water scarcity in the village, the imprisonment of local boys in jails outside Kashmir, and the growing issue of youth unemployment in the Muslim-majority region controlled by India.

Gunmen from al Qaeda-linked JNIM attack military police base in Mali capital

A military police base in Mali's capital Bamako was attacked by gunmen from al Qaeda-linked group JNIM on Tuesday. Mali's army said on social media that it had control of the situation in the capital after what it called a foiled infiltration attempt by "terrorists" into the Faladie military police school.

Gunmen attacked a military police base early Tuesday in the Malian capital Bamako where gunfire and explosions were heard and the airport was closed, sources, witnesses and an AFP correspondent said.

The al Qaeda-linked group Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming to have inflicted heavy human and material losses.

The jihadist group said on its communication channels that a "special operation" had targeted "the military airport and the training centre of the Malian gendarmes in the centre of the Malian capital (Bamako), this morning at dawn, causing huge human and material losses and the destruction of several military aircraft".

False postings on X about typhoon, heavy rain irk Tokyo officials

By SHIORI TABUCHI/ Staff Writer

September 16, 2024 at 17:01 JST

Online posts featuring false photos and misinformation about typhoons and heavy rain in summer gained so much attention on X that the Tokyo metropolitan government plans to strengthen countermeasures against such bogus “news.”

Local governments and experts have urged people to look at official information during disasters and avoid relying on what they read from strangers on social media.

However, the rapid spread of false information, including overflowing rivers, during Typhoon No. 10 in August underscored the difficulty of staying ahead of “impression zombies,” who post misleading messages to gain clicks and attention.

Georgia’s parliament approves law curbing LGBTQ rights

‘Family values’ bill is adopted despite being denounced by the president, rights groups and the European Union.

Georgian politicians have approved the third and final reading of a law on “family values and the protection of minors” that would impose sweeping curbs on LGBTQ rights.

The bill, adopted on Tuesday, would provide a legal basis for authorities to outlaw Pride events and public displays of the LGBTQ rainbow flag, and to impose censorship of films and books.