Lebanon is rocked again by exploding devices as Israel declares a ‘new phase’ of war

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel’s defense minister declares a “new phase” of war as Hezbollah officials and Lebanon’s state media say explosions went off in Beirut and multiple parts of Lebanon in an apparent second wave of detonations of electronic devices. The Hezbollah officials and state media said Wednesday that walkie-talkies and even solar equipment detonated a day after hundreds of pagers blew up. Lebanon’s Health Ministry says at least 14 people were killed and 450 were wounded. Israel’s defense minister made no mention of the mysterious waves of exploding devices in his remarks.

Ukrainian drones strike a major military depot in a Russian town

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian drones have struck a large military depot in a town deep inside Russia overnight, causing a huge blaze and prompting the evacuation of residents. A Ukrainian official and Russian news reports said the strike destroyed Russian warehouses in Toropets, a town in Russia’s Tver region northwest of Moscow. The Russian Health Ministry said at least 13 people were injured. The attacks were carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service, along with Ukraine’s Intelligence and Special Operations Forces. The strike came as a senior U.S. diplomat said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has developed a workable plan for winning the war, now in its third year, but it has not been publicly disclosed as yet.

Portugal declares a state of calamity as wildfires rage out of control

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — More than 100 wildfires are stretching thousands of firefighters to the limit in northern Portugal. The country’s worst spate of fires in recent years is blamed for seven deaths since they spread out of control over the weekend. Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro declared a state of calamity late on Tuesday for the hardest-hit areas. Fellow European Union members Spain, France, and Italy as well as Morocco have sent water-dropping aircraft each to help. Spain’s military has sent over 200 soldiers trained in firefighting as well. The European Union says the hot, dry conditions in Portugal, coinciding with flooding in central Europe, are proof of a “climate breakdown.”

Teachers in Belarus are targeted for links with ‘extremist’ group, says rights group

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A respected human rights organization in Belarus says dozens of teachers have been detained or interrogated by authorities as part of the country’s wide-ranging crackdown on dissent. Pavel Sapelka, a spokesman for the Viasna rights group told The Associated Press on Wednesday that moves against teachers began in September and that all those detained or questioned have taken part in an online teacher-education project that the KGB, Belarus’ main security agency, declared to be an extremist group in August. The project, named Adukavanka, gave guidance on technological innovations in education and offered suggested lesson plans. Hundreds of teachers have been involved.