World Briefing: September 19, 2024
Following two waves of explosions targeting Hezbollah's communication devices in Lebanon, the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is expected to deliver a major speech on Thursday. After Tuesday's blasts, the group said in a statement that it would "continue ... its blessed operations to support Gaza". It is widely believed that Israel orchestrated the explosive attacks targeting Hezbollah but the blasts have also killed civilians, including two children. Explosions on Tuesday targeting pagers killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000 people, and exploding walkie-talkies and other electronics on Wednesday killed at least 20 people and injured 450 others according to Lebanese health ministry figures. Japanese firm Icom said Thursday that it stopped producing the model of two-way radios reportedly used in Wednesday's blasts in Lebanon around 10 years ago. The company said it last exported the devices overseas, including to the Middle East, in 2014. - France 24
At least 41,252 Palestinians have been killed and 95,497 wounded in Israel's war in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. The Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel resulted in the deaths of more than 1,190 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures. Some 250 people were taken hostage, with about 120 remaining in Gaza. Many have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.
The Lebanese ambassador to the UK, Rami Mortada, told Sky News the recent attacks in Lebanon are a "typical pattern of Israeli warfare tactics". He added: “The whole region is hostage to Mr Netanyahu's political fate".
An international airport in Beirut has banned pagers and walkie-talkies on planes, after hundreds exploded across the country over Tuesday and Wednesday. Passengers at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport cannot take the devices on board in either checked, carry-on or cargo luggage, state media NNA reports. The rule has is effective immediately as per the director general of civil aviation - Sky News
Chinese President Xi Jinping will be one of the many world leaders opting to skip the annual opening of the UN General Assembly - also known as the yearly Super Bowl of international diplomacy. Instead, Foreign Minister Wang Yi will attend the UNGA and the UN Summit of the Future, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian announced on Thursday. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has an international arrest warrant hanging over him, is also expected to be a now show. In an interview with The Global Impact Show, former Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that after the Covid-19 pandemic, when many UNGA addresses were done remotely, world leaders adopted the view that the annual event was optional
The German government has decided to halt issuing weapons export licenses to Israel, according to a source close to the German Ministry of Economy. On Sunday, the website "Shomrim" reported that Germany has significantly reduced its export of security equipment to Israel since the beginning of the year. According to the report, from the start of 2024 until the end of August, Germany exported defensive security equipment to Israel worth 14 million euros – the lowest amount since 2004. - Reuters
More than 20 people have been killed by flooding across Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria, with many others missing in the days since heavy rainfall began last Thursday. Thousands more, including people in Hungary and Slovakia, have been displaced. On Monday night, the mayor of a Polish town asked 42,000 residents to evacuate ahead of continued rainfall. “These floods are a clear reminder of the growing threat of climate-induced extreme weather events,” said Sissi Knispel de Acosta, the general secretary of the European Climate Research Alliance, which is made up of research groups that study global warming. The record rains are part of a slow-moving, low-pressure system called Storm Boris that has dumped five times September’s average rainfall over four days. - NYT
