REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — President Joe Biden on Saturday called the Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah a “measure of justice” for his four-decade reign of terror.
The comments came after Lebanon’s Hezbollah group confirmed earlier Saturday that Nasrallah, one of the group’s founders, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut the previous day.
Biden noted that the operation to take out Nasrallah took place in the broader context of the conflict that began with Hamas’ massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.
“Nasrallah, the next day, made the fateful decision to join hands with Hamas and open what he called a ‘northern front’ against Israel,” Biden said in a statement.
Advertisement
He also noted that Hezbollah under Nasrallah’s watch has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans.
The White House sees the death of Nasrallah as a huge blow to the group. At the same time, the administration has sought to tread carefully as it has tried to contain Israel ‘s war with Hamas, which, like Hezbollah, is backed by Iran, from exploding into an all-out regional conflict.
The White House and Pentagon were quick on Friday, shortly after the strike, to say publicly that Israel offered it no forewarning of the operation.
Advertisement
The confirmation of Nasrallah’s death comes during a week that began with Biden’s top national security aides working on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly to build support for a 21-day Israel-Hezbollah cease-fire that they hoped might also breathe new life into stalled efforts to secure a truce in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a defiant speech Friday to the United Nations, vowing to keep up operations against Hezbollah until tens of thousands of Israeli citizens displaced by rocket attacks can return home. Shortly after, Israel carried out the strike killing Nasrallah.
Biden reiterated on Saturday that he wants to see cease-fires both in Gaza and between Israel and Hezbollah.
“It is time for these deals to close, for the threats to Israel to be removed, and for the broader Middle East region to gain greater stability,” Biden said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused the United States of supporting the killing that took out Nasrallah and dozens of others.
Advertisement
“The world community will not forget that the order of the terrorist strike was issued from New York and the Americans cannot absolve themselves from complicity with the Zionists,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying in a statement read on Iranian state television.
The State Department on Saturday ordered the departure of the families of U.S. diplomats who are not employed by the embassy in Beirut and authorized the departure of those who are, as well as nonessential employees because of “the volatile and unpredictable security situation” in Lebanon’s capital.
The move comes after an Israeli strike on Friday killed the leader of the Hezbollah militant group, intensifying the fighting along another front of war, this time between Israel and Hezbollah.
The State Department has previously advised American citizens to consider leaving Lebanon and reiterated its warning against all travel to the country.
Advertisement
“Due to the increased volatility following airstrikes within Beirut and the volatile and unpredictable security situation throughout Lebanon, the U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens to depart Lebanon while commercial options still remain available,” the department said in a statement Saturday.
The State Department routinely orders or authorizes the departure of nonessential embassy staffers and the families of diplomats when security conditions deteriorate in the country where they are posted.
An ordered departure is not technically an evacuation but does require those affected to leave. An authorized departure allows those affected to leave the country voluntarily at government expense.
Three people have been charged with the murder of a man who was found stabbed to death at a flat in Norwich.
The body of a 19-year-old man from London was found by police on Lefroy Road in the Mile Cross area of Norwich on 21 September. Police believe his body laid undiscovered for eight days.
The victim has been named as Kalvin Taylor, pending formal inquest proceedings.
Paying tribute, Mr Taylor’s mother said the killing had “left our family in a million pieces”.
Advertisement
In a statement issued via the police, she said:
“Kalvin was a son, a grandson, a brother, a cousin and a friend to us all.
“We will remember and miss Kalvin all the days of our life.
“We love you Kalvin, rest in heavenly peace until we meet again.”
Advertisement
A post-mortem examination confirmed the man’s death was consistent with a single stab wound to the chest, Norfolk Police said.
Overall, four people were charged in connection with Mr Taylor’s death on Saturday evening, police said.
Leon Bangura, 22, of Old Kent Road, London, is charged with murder and threatening another person with an offensive weapon.
He is also charged with possession of a bladed article, possession with intent to supply, and being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.
Advertisement
Adam Dugdale, 55, of Shorncliffe Avenue, Norwich, is charged with murder.
Carrie-Anne Hall, 51, of Lodge Breck, Norwich, is charged with murder.
Matthew Holmes, 51, of Bowthorpe Road, Norwich, is charged with assisting an offender.
All four have been remanded in custody and are due to appear at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Advertisement
A teenager arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder has been released on police bail.
It was January 1998 and Robert Bourgi was waiting to see the Gabonese president Omar Bongo, in an antechamber at his seaside palace in Libreville.
He was there to collect funds for the approaching French presidential election on behalf of the centre-right Gaullist candidate Jacques Chirac, who was mayor of Paris at the time.
Who should then be ushered into the same antechamber but Roland Dumas, former French foreign minister and right-hand man of ruling Socialist President François Mitterrand, Chirac’s arch-rival.
“Good day, Bourgi,” said Dumas. “I believe we are here for the same purpose.”
Advertisement
Claiming seniority, Dumas went into Bongo’s office first. Emerging a short time later, he said to Bourgi: “Don’t worry, there’s still a bit left!”
Recounted in Bourgi’s newly-published memoirs They know that I know it all – My life in Françafrique, the anecdote says everything about the money-grabbing and mutual dependence that for so long linked French and African politics.
For four decades Robert Bourgi was at the centre of it all.
Born in Senegal in 1945 to Lebanese Shiite parents, he rose to become a confidant of a generation of African leaders – from Omar Bongo in Gabon to Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo and Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso.
Advertisement
And in Paris, he inherited the mantle of the legendary Jacques Foccart – the Gaullist who oversaw the post-colonial Françafrique system, with its arrangements of influence and protection, markets, materials, muscle… and money.
From the early years after World War Two – during which it had been a centre of activism in favour of France’s post-war leader Charles de Gaulle – Africa and its former French colonies had been a source of financing for all French political parties. By the 1980s, when Bourgi came onto the scene, it was routine.
Bourgi says that he himself never imported the bags of cash.
“The procedure was simple. When there was an election approaching, Chirac made it clear that I should deliver a message in various African capitals,” he said in an interview in Le Figaro newspaper this week.
Advertisement
“The [African] heads of state then sent an emissary to my office in Paris with a large sum. Several million in francs or dollars.”
In each of the 1995 and 2002 presidential elections – both won by Chirac – he says around $10m (£7.5m) was given by African leaders.
The 2002 race provided Bourgi with another colourful story, when a representative of Burkinabe leader Blaise Compaoré arrived in Paris with a large sum of money concealed in djembe drums.
According to Bourgi, he accompanied the envoy to the Elysée Palace, where they were greeted by Chirac. They opened the sealed drums using a pair of scissors, upon which a rain of banknotes fell out.
Advertisement
“Typical Blaise,” Bourgi quotes Chirac as saying. “He’s sent us small denominations.” The money was apparently all in fives and tens.
Handling the cash was not always easy. Remembering a big donation to Chirac from another African leader, Bourgi says: “The money arrived in Puma sports bags. I wanted to put the wads in paper so I went into my daughter’s room and took down one of her posters, and wrapped the money in that.”
The system was so widespread that it gave rise to a verb cadeauter – from the French cadeau, meaning a present.
When Bourgi’s allegations first surfaced in 2011 they were denied by officials in Burkina Faso and elsewhere, although a former presidential adviser in Ivory Coast conceded they were “historical practice”.
Advertisement
Jacques Chirac and his then chief of staff Dominique de Villepin also strenuously denied Bourgi’s claims.
A preliminary investigation was opened but later dropped without further action, because the payments were considered too long ago.
For African leaders at the time, says Bourgi, it was normal, and they did it among themselves. Giving large sums of money was a way of establishing trust and support.
But in a changing world it was unsustainable and Bourgi says he grew disillusioned. Nicolas Sarkozy came to power in 2007 vowing not to take a single franc from Africa, and Bourgi says he kept to his word.
Advertisement
Sarkozy has since been placed under investigation for allegedly taking campaign funds from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi – which he denies. Bourgi, a Sarkozy loyalist, says he does not believe the charges.
The former lawyer, now aged 79, also reflects on his rather different role in another election – that of Emmanuel Macron in 2017. That was when Bourgi helped scupper the chances of the man who was for a time the runaway favourite, the conservative François Fillon.
Once close to Fillon, Bourgi had become estranged: he accused the former prime minister of being rude and stingy. So he released to a journalist the fact that he had made Fillon a gift of two very expensive suits.
Campaigning on a message of probity, Fillon never recovered. Later he was convicted of giving a fake parliamentary job to his British wife.
Advertisement
But Africa is Bourgi’s love.
He reflects that though the corruption at the heart of Françafrique was wrong, the system at the time brought stability, and a bond – often personal – between French and African leaders.
Today, that is gone.
France has a worsening image in its former colonies, and its influence is on the wane. Witness the recent retreat from its former army bases in Mali and Niger.
Advertisement
“I note with sadness the disintegration of French relations with the continent,” Bourgi says.
“But it is too easy to put all the blame on Françafrique… Africa has globalised. France has been unable to adapt to this new fact. And it keeps making the same mistake: arrogance.”
BRITAIN is braced for yet more heavy rain and strong winds just days after homes and businesses were flooded.
Two fresh weather warnings come into force today for wind and rain which will hit areas already saturated by downpours earlier in the week.
A yellow rain warning has been issued by the Met Office meaning further heavy rain is likely to cause some travel delays and flooding.
It covers much of southern England and South Wales between 4pm on Sunday and 9am on Monday.
Between 20mm and 30mm of rain could be seen within the warning area across nine to 12 hours on Sunday and 50mm to 80mm could fall in some localised places on higher ground, the Met Office said.
Advertisement
Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell said it was “not a huge amount of rain”.
But because of the recent weather “river levels are quite high and grounds are quite saturated” so more flooding could develop.
The Environment Agency had 44 flood warnings and 84 flood alerts in place across England on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile a yellow warning for wind is also predicted to cause disruption across south-west England and Wales between 9am on Sunday until the end of the day.
Advertisement
Gusts of between 50mph and 60mph could be seen with large waves, trees brought down, travel disruption and some power cuts, Miss Mitchell said.
There could potentially be further rain warnings issued for Monday but it is forecast to be drier later in the week, she added.
The Met Office said temperatures on Sunday will be 3C-4C below average in the low double figures.
I tried must-have knitted jumper from Dunnes Stores – it’s perfect for ‘sweater weather’
Craig Snell, Met Office meteorologist, advised people travelling on Sunday to plan ahead.
Advertisement
He said: “Check rail conditions before setting off, check buses are running on time, and allow extra time for your journeys.
“For the areas affected under the yellow rain warning, if you are concerned about flooding, for people in England the main advice is to check the Environment Agency website or Floodline, if you live in Wales it will be Natural Resources Wales.”
UK 5 day weather forecast
Advertisement
Sunday:
Low pressure will bring wet and windy weather to southwestern parts through the day.
Northern and eastern areas staying largely dry with increasing cloud. Temperatures remaining a little below average.
Outlook for Monday to Wednesday:
Advertisement
Staying unsettled on Monday, with heavy rain and brisk winds and temperature on the cool side.
Slowly brightening up from the west as we head through Tuesday and into Wednesday.
It comes after areas across England suffered heavy rain and localised flooding in recent days with commuters facing widespread disruption on road and rail services.
According to the Met Office, some counties in southern and central England have already had more than 250 per cent of their average September rainfall.
Advertisement
Parts of the country had more than the monthly average rainfall on Monday and there were further downpours on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
About 650 properties were flooded in Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and the home counties, according to the Environment Agency, which estimated around 8,200 properties had been protected.
Rail services between Shrewsbury in Shropshire and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands were cancelled on Friday after severe flooding at Wellington station and a tree on the line earlier.
The pitch at the SEAH Stadium in Wellington, home to Telford United FC, was completely flooded on Thursday evening.
Advertisement
The Marston Vale line in Bedfordshire, which operates services between Bedford and Bletchley, is suspended until Monday because of standing water on the track.
Regions and local authorities affected:
London & South East England
Brighton and Hove East Sussex Hampshire Isle of Wight Oxfordshire Portsmouth Southampton Surrey West Berkshire West Sussex
Advertisement
South West England
Bath and North East Somerset Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole Bristol Cornwall Devon Dorset Gloucestershire North Somerset Plymouth Somerset South Gloucestershire Swindon Torbay Wiltshire
ONE of the most popular autumn activities in the UK is pumpkin picking, with many farms offering tickets throughout October.
Pumpkin patches have become increasingly popular among families in the UK, where you can not only pick them but have photoshoots and even decorate them.
Here are 11 of the best from all over the UK for you to visit this year.
Advertisement
Kenyon Hall, Warrington
Tickets for Kenyon Hall are already on sale, with more than 20,000 pumpkins expected to grow on their patch this autumn.
Family photo shoots with professional photographers can be booked on certain days as well, while there’s also a maize maze and fruit picking on site too.
Entry tickets start from £2.95 for adults and children; infants under 18 months go free.
The patch will be open from September 28 until October 31, although there are limited dates left.
Advertisement
Balgone Barns, North Berwick, Scotland
Scotland‘s largest pumpkin patch promises to let everyone “experience the countryside and Halloween to its fullest”.
More than 60,000 pumpkins are growing on the site across more than 10 acres. Prices for the pumpkins depend on the weight.
There is also a spooky haunted trail stretching 2km around Balgone Barns’ lake, while visitors can toast marshmallows at the Crooked Cauldron.
Advertisement
Visitors should book ahead online, with tickets range from £12 to £15, with select dates throughout October.
Avon Valley Adventure & Wildlife Park, Bristol
Avon Valley has the ” South West’s biggest Pumpkin Extravaganza” this year.
Halloween lovers rush to Amazon to snag viral pumpkin pillow – it’s identical to Pottery Barn’s but almost $20 cheaper
There’s also a small fairground, as well as theatrical performers and fire shows taking place on site.
Advertisement
Pumpkin Paintball, Seasonal Slingshot and an apple cannon add to the Halloween activities available for families to enjoy.
The patch is open on selected days between September 28 and October 31.
Tickets can be booked online for up to £8.99 per person.
Tulleys Farm, Crawley, West Sussex
Tulleys Farm declares itself to be the UK’s number one pumpkin festival, with more than a million pumpkins grown across 100 acres of farmland.
Live roaming characters ox wizards and scarecrows can be seen mingling among the pumpkins.
Street food stalls and a pumpkin bar serving cocktails and beers enhance the experience, while live music will be performed at Pumpkin Nights shows.
Tickets are available online for selected dates between September 28 and October 31.
Advertisement
Day time tickets range from £5-8, while evening tickets range from £8-12.
Mr Pumpkin, Derby
Located just outside of Derby in Morely, Mr Pumpkin has become a favourite for pumpkin pickers since it first opened in 2017.
They have more than 90,000 pumpkins planted for visitors this year from more than 40 different varieties.
Advertisement
A pumpkin trail will also be raising money for the air ambulance, with more than £12,000 raised in recent years.
The event is running on most dates between September 29 nd October 31.
Tickets are £2.50 for adults, kids up to the age of 15 go free.
Spilman’s Farm, Thirsk
This family-run farm in Yorkshire has more than 125,000 pumpkins ready to be picked on the 25 acre patch.
Tickets, which cost £7.50 per person, will grant each guest £5 to spend on either pumpkins or Spilman’s activities.
It also allows visitors to watch the family-friendly show Fright Delight.
Twilight picking evenings are back for another year too, with live music, a bar, street food and cosy fire pits.
Advertisement
The patch is open on weekends from September 30 until October 31.
Manorafon Farm Park, Abergele, Wales
North Wales‘ largest selection of pumpkins is also home to a pumpkin carving tent for visitors to decorate their veg on site.
A mad scientist’s trick or treat show, creepy crawly handling, walkabout characters and the “horrid hallows” all add to the farm’s spooky Halloween atmosphere.
Advertisement
There’s also street food, a shooting range, a slime lab and special pumpkin festival nights, with a bar for adults and live music.
Tickets are £15.30 for adults and £16.20 for children if you book ahead, with one pumpkin per child’s ticket included.
Pumpkin fest will be running on a select few dates in October.
Pumpkin Moon, Kent
Pumpkin Moon has three different locations in Kent – Maidstone, Faversham and Rainham.
There is street food and drinks available, while fancy dress is actively encouraged by those who run the patch.
Everyone needs to book before visiting, with prices from £3.75.
It will run for the weekends of September 5-6 only in Faversham, following by all of the farms from September 12 – October 13, and then October 19 – 31.
Advertisement
Whitehouse Farm, Morpeth
From October 21-19 this Northumberland farm will be changing its name to Frighthouse Farm and running a Halloween ‘spooktacular’.
As well as pumpkin picking, there’ll be Magic Merlin’s School, with Halloween themed games and prizes to be won.
There’s also a walkway of terror a spider’s lair, catacombs, a bat chamber and an eerie grave yard.
Advertisement
A fancy dress contest will see the winner claim a gift voucher to use at the farm, while visitors can get up close and personal with owls and critters.
Tickets are available for £15.45 for adults and children and the event will run from October 12 to October 31.
Forage Farm, Glamorgan
This South Wales pumpkin patch comes with pigmy goats, pigs, alpacas, tractor rides, pumpkin catapults, an interactive maize maze and face painting among many attractions.
Advertisement
There’s also a hay bale tower and plenty of other picture perfect backdrops to create lasting memories with.
The patch will be open on select weekends – October 5-6, 12-13, 19-20 and 26-30, as well as October 25 and 31. After dark pumpkin picking experiences are also available.
Daytime tickets cost £9 per car, while evening tickets are £6 per person.
Arnprior Farm, Glasgow
Scotland‘s “original” pumpkin festival will run for more than three weeks in October this year, with more than 20,000 pumpkins to choose from.
As well as pumpkins, they have a quad pod ride, pumpkin cannon, bale mountain, an indoor hay barn, face painting, bouncy castle, lots of photo opportunities and a polytunnel shop.
There’s also a selection of food and drink each day including Loops and Scoops’ infamous churros, Skinners of Kippen burgers and pumpkin soup, pizzas, hot chocolates, Lous home baking and Gin fizz.
The event runs from October 9-29 and tickets start from £15.70, including a pumpkin voucher.
Advertisement
What is it like to go pumpkin picking?
Mum Catherine Lofthouse took her boys to a pumpkin picking patch – here’s what you can expect.
With one million pumpkins over 300 acres, Cattows Farm in Leicestershire rebrands itself as Halloween Farm every October and attracts thousands of visitors from across the UK.
The family-friendly fun starts from the moment you arrive – even the entrance tent is decorated to the max, with spooky spiders hanging down and pumpkins columns setting the scene.
Advertisement
I took my four-year-old during unseasonably warm weather at the start of October and it was lovely to see all the little ones running round the pumpkins in their costumes, which would normally have to be covered by coats at this time of year.
Although my little one took one look at the huge skeletons by the door and the dark inside and decided he’d rather stay out in the sunshine.
Hundreds of Americans have filed lawsuits in multiple states against pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, claiming that their weight loss drugs, Ozempic and Mounjaro, have caused life-altering injuries. The legal actions come as these medications have generated billions in revenue for the companies.
Three Bad Cases
According to Ziare, Dana Filmore, a 55-year-old grandmother from Ohio, can no longer eat solid foods and has to puree her meals.
She was prescribed Ozempic to manage her type 2 diabetes and experienced severe nausea that led to a diagnosis of gastroparesis, a condition that impairs the stomach’s ability to empty. “Solid foods are very difficult for me. My body just rejects them,” she stated.
Jacqueline Barber from Louisville suffered similarly, battling uncontrollable vomiting that left her dangerously malnourished. After being prescribed Ozempic in 2021, she lost 140 pounds and struggled with severe depression as her condition worsened.
Advertisement
Bob Tuttle, a Tennessee oil worker, was also affected, suffering excruciating stomach pain that forced him to quit his job. He was diagnosed with gastroparesis after being unable to eat for four days while working offshore.
The Foreign Office has warned British nationals to leave Lebanon immediately, with Foreign Minister David Lammy saying the Government has worked to “increase flights and secure seats”.
It is understood the UK Government has successfully asked airlines to increase capacity on routes out of Lebanon, with Foreign Office teams in Beirut to support British consulate services.
Advertisement
It is thought they are ready to facilitate evacuations by sea or air, which could be triggered if the security environment deteriorates further and British nationals are no longer able to leave the Middle East through other routes.
Around 700 extra troops were moved to the UK’s airbase in Cyprus earlier this week.
Meanwhile the government has repeated its plea for calm in the Middle East following the death of Hezbollah’s leader in an Israeli air strike.
Advertisement
The Lebanese militant group issued a statement on Saturday confirming the death of Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader since 1992, saying he had “joined his fellow martyrs”.
Nasrallah’s death in the strike on Beirut late on Friday has added to concerns that the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah could escalate into a full-scale regional war.
Following news of his death, British officials reiterated the Foreign Secretary’s message to the UN earlier this week in which he called for a ceasefire and a political solution to the conflict.
Mr Lammy told the UN Security Council on Wednesday: “A full-blown war is not in the interests of the Israeli or Lebanese people.”
But pleas for a ceasefire from Western leaders including US President Joe Biden have so far proved unsuccessful, with both Israel and Hezbollah vowing to fight on.
Advertisement
In its statement confirming Mr Nasrallah’s death, Hezbollah vowed to “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine”, while Israeli chief of staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said the elimination of the militant leader was “not the end of our toolbox”, suggesting further action was planned.
Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose government is Hezbollah’s main backer, issued his own message saying “regional resistance forces” should “stand by and support Hezbollah”.
Friday’s strike on what the Israeli military said was Hezbollah’s headquarters was followed by additional air strikes on southern Beirut, prompting civilians to move north in an effort to find safety.
Ettie Higgins, Unicef’s deputy representative in Lebanon, said “thousands and thousands” of people have fled southern Beirut while hospitals were “overwhelmed” and water pumping stations have been destroyed.
She told the BBC’s Today programme: “Even the most basic essential services of healthcare and water are now being rapidly, rapidly depleted.
Advertisement
“There was already a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon given that it’s been hosting over one million refugees from Syria for over a decade, so it’s rapidly escalating into a catastrophe.”
She added that 50 children had been killed and she expected that figure to rise as the air strikes continued.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login