Israel launches massive airstrike on Beirut in apparent bid to kill Hezbollah leader

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Six confirmed dead and 91 hurt but other reports claim hundreds killed as sources close to Hezbollah say Hassan Nasrallah is alive

Israel has launched its heaviest air attack on Beirut in almost a year of conflict with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, levelling a number of buildings in a southern suburb in an apparent attempt to kill Hezbollah’s leader and a key ally of Iran, Hassan Nasrallah.

Six loud explosions were heard across the Lebanese capital late on Friday afternoon, and vast plumes of smoke were visible from as far as Batroun, a city an hour’s drive away.

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Viral Hollywood Hills mansion covered with graffiti closed down after arrests

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Two arrested in connection with vandalism in abandoned home owned by the son of Philadelphia Phillies co-owner

Two people were arrested on Wednesday in connection with vandalism in an abandoned Hollywood Hills mansion owned by the son of a Philadelphia Phillies co-owner.

John Powers Middleton, a film producer, owns a property that has long been left vacant and become a popular target for graffiti artists and squatters.

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At least 40 people killed by Hurricane Helene in US south-east – latest updates

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Death toll continues to rise in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas; Helene downgraded to tropical depression

The National Hurricane Center has said Helene is now a tropical storm as it moves farther inland over Georgia. It noted that “life-threatening storm surge, winds, and heavy rains continue.”

In a 4am update, the National Hurricane Center said “Helene continues to move inland over central Georgia and is producing hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall.”

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Happily gator after: Lana Del Rey marries Louisiana swamp tour guide

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The Grammy-nominated singer took the plunge with Jeremy Dufrene in waterside outdoor venue

In what some might see as an unlikely union, the Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey has married a swamp tour guide from Louisiana.

The Daily Mail obtained exclusive video and photos of the 39-year-old Del Rey’s wedding on Thursday to Jeremy Dufrene, 49, in Des Allemands, Louisiana, about a 45-minute drive south-west of New Orleans.

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‘Not serious’: Blinken again urges diplomacy as Israel strikes Beirut – Al Jazeera English

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  1. ‘Not serious’: Blinken again urges diplomacy as Israel strikes Beirut  Al Jazeera English
  2. US, frustrated, says ceasefire plan rejected by Netanyahu had been coordinated with him  The Times of Israel
  3. What obstacles stand in the way of an Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire?  The Associated Press
  4. Israel’s initial dismissal of US’ ‘breakthrough’ Lebanon ceasefire deal creates confusion  CNN
  5. Secretary Blinken Holds News Conference  C-SPAN
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Hurricane Helene: dozens dead as storm pummels south-eastern US

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Residents in several states suffer power outages and heavy flooding as officials warn of ‘very dangerous environment’

Helene has reportedly killed at least 40 people across four states and inflicted about 4m power outages and dangerous flooding across the south-eastern US after crashing ashore in north-western Florida late on Thursday as a potent category 4 hurricane.

The storm – which registered maximum sustained winds of 140mph – weakened to a tropical storm and then to a depression as it moved across Georgia as well as the Carolinas on Friday afternoon, when residents whose communities experienced Helene’s peak effects more directly were only just beginning to fathom the recovery process ahead.

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Wrapping up mission, US troops will leave some longstanding bases in Iraq under new deal – The Associated Press

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  1. Wrapping up mission, US troops will leave some longstanding bases in Iraq under new deal  The Associated Press
  2. U.S.-led coalition mission in Iraq to end by September 2025  Reuters
  3. U.S. downplays talk of Iraq withdrawal, says troops will stay in Syria  The Washington Post
  4. US not withdrawing from Iraq but agreement could lead to troop reductions  ABC News
  5. US to end anti-ISIL operation in Iraq but unclear if troops will remain  Al Jazeera English
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Four dead in two-vehicle crash in western New South Wales

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Two men, believed to be in their 20s, and an older man and woman, were killed in the incident near Dubbo

Four people have died in a two-vehicle crash on the Newell Highway at Tomingley in western New South Wales.

Four people – two men, believed to be aged in their 20s, and an older man and woman – died at the scene of the crash that happened at around 9.20pm on Friday.

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Netanyahu defies calls for ceasefire at UN as Israeli missiles target Beirut

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To half-empty chamber, Israeli PM says his country ‘seeks peace’ but will continue ‘degrading’ Hezbollah

Benjamin Netanyahu shrugged off global appeals for a ceasefire in a defiant speech to the United Nations that was delivered barely an hour before massive airstrikes targeting Hezbollah’s leader levelled several apartment blocks in Beirut.

Addressing the general assembly in New York, Israel’s prime minister presented his country as a champion of peace and prosperity for the Middle East, even as its security forces prepared an attack that spread terror in the streets of the Lebanese capital and heightened fears of an all-out regional war.

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Trump vows to resolve Ukraine-Russia war ‘very quickly’ as he meets Zelenskyy

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Ex-president hails ‘very good relationship’ as Ukrainian leader says pair share ‘common view’ that Putin cannot win

Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York in a high-stakes meeting at which the Ukrainian leader hoped to repair ties with the former US president.

The two men met at Trump Tower on Friday amid a growing feud between Zelenskyy and Republicans that Ukraine fears could sabotage further US military aid if Trump wins in November.

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Hospital patients in Tennessee airlifted in dramatic rescue amid Helene floods

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More than 50 patients and staff evacuated from Unicoi hospital in Erwin after deadly hurricane overwhelms area

More than 50 hospital patients and staff were airlifted from the roof of the building in Tennessee on Friday afternoon in a dramatic rescue operation after flash flooding overwhelmed the area.

An urgent evacuation was launched as the storm effects of Hurricane Helene were felt far and wide, with the state emergency agency and the national guard responding to the situation that quickly unfolded at Unicoi hospital in Erwin, Tennessee, about 100 miles outside Knoxville.

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Netanyahu defies calls for a cease-fire at the U.N., as Israel strikes Lebanon – NPR

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  1. Netanyahu defies calls for a cease-fire at the U.N., as Israel strikes Lebanon  NPR
  2. Amid Lebanon Strike, Defiant Netanyahu Declares Israel Is ‘Winning’  The New York Times
  3. Netanyahu attacks UN as “anti-Israel Flat Earth Society”  Al Jazeera English
  4. Netanyahu calls Mideast conflicts choice between 'blessing or a curse,' warns about Israel's 'long arm'  Fox News
  5. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu slams UN General Assembly in fiery speech  New York Post
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Met officers who restrained boy, 14, on ground committed misconduct

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Police watchdog finds boy restrained for longer than necessary by officers involved in stop and search in London

Officers who handcuffed and restrained a 14-year-old black schoolboy on the ground during a stop and search in London committed misconduct, the police watchdog has said.

PC McCorley Clewes and former PC Benjamin Morgan were among four Metropolitan police officers involved in the stop in Blackhorse Lane, Croydon, on 23 June 2022 at about 5.30pm after reports of a stolen mobile phone.

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New York mayor Eric Adams pleads not guilty to federal corruption charges

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Beleaguered mayor in court as prosecutors allege Adams, 64, ‘sought and accepted improper valuable benefits’

Eric Adams, the embattled Democratic mayor of New York City, who was indicted on federal criminal charges in an unprecedented scene for a sitting mayor of the city, pleaded not guilty in court in Manhattan early on Friday afternoon.

The mayor arrived at court on Friday morning hours ahead of a scheduled arraignment, accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions and free overseas trips from foreign actors seeking influence.

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