Iran has launched approximately 180 missiles towards Israel in a significant attack marking the second offensive this year following a similar barrage in April. Israeli military officials reported that most missiles were intercepted, some struck Israeli territory causing damage to military bases, restaurants and schools.

The Iranian missile attack is said to be a retaliation for the killing of key Iranian figures including IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoshan and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed that 90% of their projectiles hit their intended targets notably using hypersonic missiles for the first time.

While Israeli defenses including the Iron Dome and other advanced systems like David’s Sling and Arrow interceptors successfully thwarted most incoming missiles. The Palestinian civil defense authority reported one fatality in Jericho from falling debris.

In response to the missile strikes, U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed support for Israel ordering military assistance to aid in missile interceptions. The Pentagon confirmed multiple interceptions by the U.S. Navy and UK forces reportedly assisted in defense efforts as well.

As tensions escalate, Netanyahu indicated that Iran would “pay for” this attack and warned of potential retaliation. Meanwhile, Iran’s IRGC threatened a more severe response should Israel retaliate. The Israeli military has also intensified air strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut issuing evacuation warnings to residents in affected areas.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, met with a group of elites in Tehran today attributing regional tensions and conflicts to “the US and some European countries,” which he accused of falsely claiming to bring peace. He urged them to “get lost” from the region for peace to prevail.

Despite mourning the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Khamenei continued with the meeting emphasizing that mourning serves as a “reviving and driving” force for Iran. Reports indicate that he ordered a missile launch at Israel this week resulting into around 200 ballistic missiles being fired and making interception challenging due to their speed and trajectory.

The recent missile attack which came in contrast to Iran’s previous assault in April where approximately 300 missiles were launched, saw US and UK forces intervening and successfully intercepting many of the incoming threats.

The situation remains dire for civilians in Lebanon with the Lebanese Prime Minister reporting nearly one million displaced individuals due to ongoing Israeli airstrikes. Many are forced to sleep outdoors as emergency shelters are overwhelmed. Residents express desperation over worsening conditions facing extreme cold and a lack of basic resources.

In Israel, the Defense Forces have warned communities in Haifa and Western Galilee of rocket fire from Lebanon. Alerts were issued for approximately 25 villages in southern Lebanon urging evacuation to ensure safety amid ongoing conflict.

Storm Helene has wreaked havoc across six southeastern states, resulting in over 116 fatalities and extensive destruction particularly in western North Carolina. The mountainous region has seen homes, bridges and entire villages washed away with the tourist town of Asheville completely cut off.

Rescue teams are trying to reach isolated communities amidst challenging terrain and numerous road cut offs. North Carolina Governor, Roy Cooper has emphasized the difficulties, stating, “The Mountains in North Carolina are beautiful but there is a lot of rugged terrain” and urged residents to stay off the roads to facilitate rescue efforts.

Initially, hurricane Helene became a tropical storm as it moved through the Carolinas causing majority of fatalities in North and South Carolina. North Carolina has recorded at least 46 deaths, while South Carolina has seen 27.

Over 119 rescues have so far been done with significant efforts in Buncombe County, where 30 lives have been lost and around 1,000 residents remain unaccounted for. Power outages have affected over 500,000 people in North Carolina and Georgia while over 750,000 in South Carolina have been impacted.

The American Red Cross has set up over 140 shelters for evacuees currently housing more than 2,000 individuals. Recovery costs are projected to range between $95 billion and $110 billion nationwide as Helene leaves a legacy of “historic proportions” in North Carolina. As remnants of the storm move into the mid-Atlantic, officials warn of potential new storms ahead of the hurricane season’s end on November 30.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama energized the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, rallying support for Kamala Harris in her presidential campaign against Republican Donald Trump. With a powerful endorsement, Obama emphasized Harris’s potential to make history as the first woman and first Black and South Asian president, urging Americans to reject the chaos of the past four years.

“We do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos. We’ve seen that movie before, and we all know the sequel is usually worse,” Obama stated, highlighting the need for change and a new narrative for America under President Kamala Harris. He praised Joe Biden’s legacy as a defender of democracy and expressed pride in their long-standing friendship.

Michelle Obama, who introduced her husband, echoed his call for hope and progress. She cautioned that Trump would attempt to distort Harris’s truths, recalling his past racist rhetoric and asserting that his worldview was threatened by the success of Black individuals like Harris.

Harris, participating virtually from a rally in Milwaukee, responded to Trump’s remarks regarding the Supreme Court’s controversial decision on abortion rights, asserting, “Bad behavior should result in a consequence… and that will be at the ballot box in November.” She emphasized abortion rights as a key issue for many voters and pledged to uphold women’s rights as part of her campaign.

The convention also featured Republicans disillusioned by Trump, such as former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who described her transformation from a loyalist to an advocate for change, and Arizona Mayor John Giles, who urged moderates to abandon what remains of the Republican Party under Trump.

While the event unfolded amid protests against U.S. support for Israel in Gaza; an issue raised by Senator Bernie Sanders. Most convention speakers focused on the presidential race and unity within the Democratic Party. The challenge remains for Harris and the Democrats to galvanize support from disaffected Republicans and encourage high voter turnout in November.

Joe Biden, president of the United States of America, in a recent interview, addressed his decision to drop out of the 2024 re-election race, emphasizing that he wanted to avoid an intraparty conflict that could detract the Democratic Party’s focus on defeating Donald Trump in the upcoming elections in November 2024. At 81 years old, Biden reassured the public that he has “no serious problem” with his health, attributing any debate performance issues to being unwell at that time. He dismissed worries about his age and mental sharpness.

Biden expressed his commitment to supporting his Vice President Kamala Harris in her campaign and indicated his willingness to assist her in any way that she deems helpful. His central message remains clear: the imperative to unite Democrats to ensure Trump’s defeat in November.

Biden explained that continuing his campaign could have led to a contentious race which many of his Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate felt could hurt their chances in the elections. He revealed his worry that if he had remained in the race, it would shift critical issues, resulting into a significant distraction.

The stress around Biden’s candidacy intensified following his lackluster debate performance against Republican’s candidate, Donald Trump on June 27th, fueling speculation that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was advocating for his exit. However, Pelosi denied the claim. In the pre-recorded interview, Biden made a number of verbal missteps though he was coherent unlike during the live debate. He attributed his earlier performance issues to illness and factors like jet lag and lack of enough rest.

Following a mounting pressure, Biden announced his decision to stepdown from the race on July 21 making it easy to identify his replacement on the Democratic ticket as party support quickly fell behind Vice President Kamala Harris, who has consistently surpassed Biden in opinion polls.

Tim Walz appeared for the first time as Kamala Harris’s running mate at a raucous Democratic Party rally, but he touted his rural roots and said Donald Trump would take the United States of America backwards. This was in Philadelphia on the night of Tuesday August 6 where the party’s new nominee for vice-president revealed that their rivals of the Republican Party in the November elections are “weird as hell”.

Walz was speaking in front of thousands of supporters hours after he had been announced as Harris Kamala’s choice for the role but Trump’s camp was quick to attack Walz as a “dangerously liberal extremist”.

The 60-year-old is looked at as someone who could win back the rural and working-class voters who have moved to Donald Trump’s camp in the vital midwestern states. In a key swing state of Pennsylvania, Harris, the US vice-president, said that Walz and her were the “underdogs” in what is expected to be a close election.

She introduced Walz as “a fighter for the middle class and a patriot” giving him chance to recount his small-town roots in Nebraska and his career as a national guardsman and a teacher, before attempting to draw a contrast with Trump.

“He doesn’t know the first thing about service – because he’s too busy serving himself,” said the former army sergeant and football coach receiving the loudest cheers of the night when he took aim at the former president’s criminal record, with chants of “lock him up” from those in the arena.

Walz showed the plain-spoken, folk style that has won praise from Democrats, as he took a jab at Republicans on the issue of abortion access.

“Mind your own damn business!” he said, drawing an ovation from the crowd of more than 10,000 at Temple University.

Harris and Walz have just launched a five-day tour of key battleground states and they will also speak at the Democratic National Convention, which runs from 19 to 22 August in Chicago.

The current two-term governor of Minnesota, Walz has overseen one of the most productive legislative periods in state history, implementing a sweeping left-wing agenda. Democrats have used control of the state legislature to guarantee abortion rights, pass gun control measures and institute paid family leave.

Republicans have criticised Walz for Minnesota’s mask mandate and a shutdown of businesses and schools during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as his delay to deploy the National Guard to deal with rioting after George Floyd’s murder in 2020.

While in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Vance, Trump’s running mate, assailed the new Democratic White House ticket telling reporters that Harris’s choice of Walz shows that “when given the opportunity she will bend the knee to the most radical elements of her party”.

Trump’s campaign said in a statement: “Just like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American’s nightmare.”

Hamas’ political chief, Ismail Haniyeh was killed in the early hours of Wednesday July 31 in what has been described as “a treacherous Zionist raid on his residence in the Iranian capital, Tehran”. The Iranian president has vowed to make Israel ‘regret their cowardly action’ while the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said avenging Haniyeh’s killing is Tehran’s duty.

“The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime martyred our dear guest in our house and made us bereaved,” Khamenei said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that “it also prepared the ground for a harsh punishment for itself.”

Haniyeh was the tough-talking face of the Palestinian group’s international diplomacy while war took rage back in Gaza, where three of his sons were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Despite the rhetoric, he was seen by many diplomats as a moderate compared to the hardliner members of the Iran-backed group inside Gaza.

He was appointed to the Hamas top job in 2017 compelling him to move between Turkey and Qatar’s capital Doha while escaping the travel restrictions of the blockaded Gaza Strip which enabled him to act as a negotiator in ceasefire talks.

The Israel authorities did not make any comment about the death but revealed that the military was conducting a situational assessment.

The killing of Haniyeh came barely 24hours after three people including two children were killed and over 74 others wounded in an Israel led attack on Beirut.

Israeli military described the attack as one that targeted an assassination operation against Fuad Shukr, a Hezbollah commander.

At least 39,400 people have been killed and 90,996 wounded in a war waged by Israel on Gaza. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 were taken captive.

Patrice Lumumba, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) independence hero’s gold-crown tooth has been buried more than 60 years after he was assassinated.

Lumumba’s remains were dissolved in acid with the tooth being the only part of his body that still exists after it was preserved as a trophy by the Belgian policeman who oversaw the disposal.

The tooth which was returned to the family last week has toured several parts of DRC in a coffin which enabled the people of DRC to pay their respects before the funeral took place in the capital, Kinshasa.

President Félix Tshisekedi, together with Lumumba’s family and other dignitaries were at the private service which took place just before the coffin was transferred to a specially built mausoleum on a road named in his honour.

“May the land of our ancestors be sweet and mild to you,” said the president adding that “Finally, we are ending… mourning we started 61 years ago. The Congolese people can have the honour of offering a burial to their illustrious prime minister,” said President Tshisekedi.

Lumumba was DRC’s first prime minister and one of the pioneers of the struggle towards the country’s independence.

On 30^th June, DRC marked 62 years since Belgium, the country’s colonial power gave control of the vast country back to its natives.

Belgium viewed Lumumba as a barrier to its efforts to maintain influence as well as hold on to important economic interests and as such, he is regarded as one of the most prominent voices in Africa’s anti-colonial movement.

In a famous speech on independence day in 1960, delivered before dignitaries from Belgian including King Baudouin, Lumumba, aged 34, castigated Belgium saying that the Congolese had been held in “humiliating slavery.”

The statement stunned Belgians who believed that no a black African would ever speak like this in front of Europeans. The speech also made other Western powers suspicious of him, including the USA, and they plotted to assassinate him.

Two months after he took over power, Lumumba was overthrown as prime minister and in January 1961, he was shot by a firing squad of Belgium, along with his two allies.

A Belgian policeman, Gerard Soete, was assigned to get rid of the evidence, however, during the same process, he pocketed the victim’s tooth and took it back with him to Belgium.

Decades later, Soete revealed that he still had the tooth and two years ago, a Belgian court ruled that it should be returned to the family. The Covid-19 pandemic delayed the process but last week, it was handed over in Brussels.

On Thursday, hundreds gathered in a vast square for the occasion, waving flags and looking upon a large photo of Lumumba as his remains were laid down his final resting place.

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera has fired his head of police and announced that he has stopped delegating duties to Vice President Saulos Chilima on allegations of receiving money from business man Zuneth Sattar.

Chakwera announced his decision after receiving a report from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on investigations into businesman Zuneth Sattar who is accused of  giving bribes worth $150m (£123m) to public officers in exchange for securing government contracts.

Chakwera said a total of 53 current and former public officers received money from Sattar between March 2021 and October 2021. There are also 31 individuals from the private sector, media and civil society who allegedly received money from Sattar.

Chakwera said the officers include those from Office of the President and Cabinet, Malawi Police Service, Office of the Vice President, State House, Reserve Bank of Malawi, ACB, Malawi Broadcasting Station and various ministries.

The president added that the bureau has found that among the 84 individuals accused of receiving money from Sattar, there are 13 who have been extensively investigated such that the bureau has concluded that they “conducted themselves corruptly.”

Speaking on the action that he is taking, Chakwera noted that the constitution does not provide for the suspension of the Vice President or his removal from office by the president.

“As such, the best I can do for now, which is what I have decided to do, is to withhold from his office any delegated duties while waiting for the Bureau to substantiate its allegations against him and to make known its course of action in relation to such,” said Chakwera.

Story by Tinyefuza Naboth