International
Israel reports 8 combat deaths as troops battle Hezbollah in Lebanon and fears of a wider war mount
BEIRUT (AP) — Eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in Israel’s ground incursion into Lebanon to battle Hezbollah militants. The region is bracing for further escalation as Israel vows to retaliate for Iran’s ballistic missile attack a day earlier. The Israeli military said Wednesday that seven soldiers were killed in two separate events, and another seven were wounded. Earlier, it announced that a 22-year-old captain in a commando brigade was killed in Lebanon, the first Israeli combat death since the start of the incursion. In Gaza, Palestinian medical officials said Israeli ground and air operations killed at least 51 people, including women and children.
2 dead and thousands evacuated as a typhoon approaches Taiwan
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (AP) — An approaching typhoon bringing strong winds and torrential rainfall to Taiwan has killed two people and injured dozens over the past few days and forced thousands to evacuate from low-lying or mountainous areas. Fire officials said Wednesday at least 70 people were injured and two people died due to weather conditions attributed to Typhoon Krathon. The typhoon, packing maximum sustained winds of 108 mph and gusts of 130 mph, is expected to make landfall early Thursday on Taiwan’s densely populated west coast. Typhoons rarely hit Taiwan’s west coast, affecting instead the mountainous, eastern side of the island.
Thai police seek negligence charges for a school bus fire that killed 23
BANGKOK (AP) — Thai police on Wednesday said they were investigating whether the school bus fire that killed 23 young students and teachers in suburban Bangkok was caused by negligence after filing initial charges against the driver. The fire on the bus carrying six teachers and 39 elementary and junior high school students on Tuesday spread so quickly many were unable to escape.The driver, Saman Chanput, was arrested several hours later and charged with reckless driving causing deaths and injuries, failing to stop to help others and failing to report the accident, police said.
A US bomb from World War II explodes at a Japanese airport
TOKYO (AP) — An unexploded U.S. bomb from World War II that had been buried at a Japanese airport has exploded, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of more than 80 flights but no injuries. Japanese officials say there were no aircraft nearby when the bomb exploded Wednesday at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan. The airport was built in 1943 as a former Imperial Japanese Navy flight training field from which some kamikaze pilots took off on suicide attack missions. Several unexploded U.S. bombs have been unearthed in the area. The cause of the detonation is under investigation.