Israel says it killed a Hezbollah commander as the two sides exchange more strikes

BEIRUT (AP) — The Israeli military says it killed a top Hezbollah commander as part of a two-day bombing campaign that has left more than 560 people dead and prompted thousands in southern Lebanon to seek refuge from the widening conflict. With the two sides on the brink of all-out war, Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets into Israel on Tuesday, targeting an explosives factory and sending families into bomb shelters. Families that fled southern Lebanon flocked to Beirut and the coastal city of Sidon, sleeping in schools turned into shelters, as well as in cars, parks and along the beach.

Iran believes all remaining workers have died in coal mine explosion

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran says it believes the remaining workers trapped by an explosion at a coal mine in the country’s east have died, bringing the death toll in the disaster to at least 49. A provincial emergency official, Mohammad Ali Akhoundi, gave the death toll in a report carried Tuesday by Iranian state television from the mine in Tabas. Figures for the numbers of miners inside the mine at the time have fluctuated since the methane gas leak Saturday sparked an explosion.

Sri Lanka’s new president calls parliamentary election to consolidate his mandate

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has dissolved Parliament and called for a parliamentary election in less than two months in an effort to consolidate his mandate following his weekend election victory. A government notification said that Parliament was dissolved effective midnight Tuesday, and that parliamentary elections were set for Nov. 14. Dissanayake’s party holds only three seats in the 225-member Parliament and the early election could help him take control of the chamber while his approval ratings remain intact following his win in Saturday’s polling.

Swiss police detain several people in connection with suspected death in a ‘suicide capsule’

GENEVA (AP) — Police in northern Switzerland say several people have been detained and a criminal case opened in connection with the suspected death of a person in a new “suicide capsule.” The “Sarco” suicide capsule, which has never been used before, is designed, according to its manufacturer, to allow a person inside to push a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber. The person is then supposed to fall asleep and die by suffocation in a few minutes. Exit International, an assisted suicide group based in the Netherlands, said it is behind the 3D-printed device that cost over $1 million to develop.