Iran’s supreme leader prays over the coffin of Hamas leader Haniyeh, whose killing risks a wider war
BEIRUT (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader and representatives of Palestinian militias he backs prayed Thursday over the coffins of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his bodyguard who were killed in a shocking assassination blamed on Israel that risked escalating into an all-out regional war. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed over Haniyeh’s coffin at Tehran University while Iran’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian stood next to him. State television later showed the coffins placed in a truck and moved on the street toward Azadi Square in Tehran and people throwing flowers at them. After the funeral services in Tehran, Haniyeh’s remains are to be transferred to Qatar for burial Friday.
For Iran and Hezbollah, calibrating response to Israeli strikes leaves no room for error
BEIRUT (AP) — Two back-to-back strikes in Beirut and Tehran, both attributed to Israel and targeting high-ranking figures in Hamas and Hezbollah, have left Hezbollah and Iran in a quandary. Analysts agree that both strikes hit too close to home to pass without a response, and were serious security breaches for Iran and Hezbollah. Calibrating that response to restore deterrence without sparking an even more damaging escalation may be the most delicate balancing act in nearly a year of teetering on the brink of a regional war. Tuesday’s rare strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed a top Hezbollah commander who Israel says was responsible for a missile strike on a soccer field in the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, killing 12 children and teenagers.
Hopes of finding more survivors in the mud and debris wane after landslides in India kill 194
WAYANAD, India (AP) — Hopes of finding more than 180 missing people alive waned as rescue workers searched through mud and debris for a third day Thursday after landslides set off by torrential rains killed at least 194 people in southern India. The rescue work was challenging in a forested, hilly area while more rain fell, said P.M Manoj, a spokesman for Kerala state’s top elected official. Nearly 40 bodies were found downstream after being swept some 30 kilometers (20 miles) down the Chaliyar River from the area in Wayanad district where the main landslides occurred. Body parts were also recovered.
From Gaza to Kyiv, a Palestinian doctor lives between two wars
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — In war-torn Ukraine, he is Alya Shabaanovich Gali, a popular doctor with a line of patients waiting to see him. To his family thousands of kilometers away in the besieged Gaza Strip, he is Alaa Shabaan Abu Ghali, the one who left. For the past 30 years, these identities rarely had cause to merge: Gali moved away amid instability in Gaza, settled into his new home in Kyiv, adopted a different name to better suit the local tongue, and married a Ukranian woman. Through calls, he kept up with his mother and siblings in Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah.
Trump ramps up his defense of Vance after one of the rockiest VP rollouts in recent memory
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Donald Trump is used to defending himself. But this week, the Republican presidential nominee has been put in the rare position of having to defend someone else — his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance. When Vance was first introduced at the Republican National Convention last month, many GOP officials said they didn’t know much about him. Since then, the void has been filled with multiple reports of controversial statements — especially Vance’s previous suggestion that Vice President Kamala Harris and other so-called “childless cat ladies” want to make the country miserable — that have made his rollout among the most turbulent in recent history.
What polling shows about the top VP contenders for Kamala Harris
As Vice President Kamala Harris prepares to announce her running mate, a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that several of the top contenders for the role are largely unknown to Americans. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly stands out as one with more name recognition and higher favorability, particularly among Democrats. The survey, which was conducted after President Joe Biden announced he was withdrawing from the race and Harris became the likely Democratic presidential nominee, highlights the strengths and weaknesses that different politicians could bring to the ticket — and the challenges they could face if selected.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused as the main plotter of 9/11 attacks, agrees to plead guilty
WASHINGTON (AP) — Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused as the mastermind of al-Qaida’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, has agreed to plead guilty, the Defense Department said Wednesday. The development points to a long-delayed resolution in an attack that killed thousands and altered the course of the United States and much of the Middle East. Mohammed and two accomplices, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, are expected to enter the pleas at the military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as soon as next week. Defense lawyers have requested the men receive life sentences in exchange for the guilty pleas, according to letters from the federal government received by relatives of some of the nearly 3,000 people killed outright on the morning of Sept.
F-16s have arrived to help Ukraine fight Russia. Here’s what to know about their possible impact
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The American-made F-16 is an iconic fighter jet that’s been the front-line combat plane of choice for the NATO alliance and numerous air forces around the world for 50 years. Western countries have pledged F-16s to Kyiv, and some have arrived in Ukraine, officials in Washington confirmed to The Associated Press. The fighter jets are expected to start flying sorties in Ukrainian skies soon and will be a much-needed boost to the country’s current fleet of Soviet-era jets to counter Russia’s invasion. United States President Joe Biden gave the go-ahead in August 2023 for used F-16s to be deployed to Ukraine, though the U.S.
Extended drought parches Sicily, and farmers worry about being forced to sell off animals
CAMMARATA, Italy (AP) — On a scorching July afternoon, a municipal water truck rolls up in a cloud of dust on Liborio Mangiapane’s farm in southern Sicily. Some of the precious liquid gets transferred to a smaller cistern on a tractor that Mangiapane’s son will use to fill troughs for 250 cattle and sheep, but by tomorrow, all 10,000 liters from the truck will be gone. Crippling drought from a nearly rainless year, coupled with record-high temperatures, has burned out much of the region’s hay and is pushing farmers to the limit. For Mangiapane, every day is a struggle to find water, with frantic phone calls, long trips to faraway wells and long waits for municipal tankers.
Léon Marchand pulls off one of the most audacious doubles in swimming history at the Paris Olympics
NANTERRE, France (AP) — Turns out, those comparisons to Michael Phelps weren’t farfetched at all when it comes to Léon Marchand. They certainly weren’t a burden for the 22-year-old Frenchman. Marchand completed one of the most audacious doubles in swimming history Wednesday night, winning the 200-meter butterfly and the 200 breaststroke about two hours apart in front of a home crowd cheering his every stroke. Two grueling races. Two very different strokes. Two Olympic records. Two gold medals. Take that, Phelps, who did several doubles of his own while claiming a record eight golds at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. “I’m a really shy person,” Marchand said.
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