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Hezbollah leader says exploding device attacks crossed ‘all red lines’
Hezbollah’s leader has said bomb attacks using thousands of the Lebanese armed group’s pagers and radios “crossed all red lines”, and accused Israel of what he said represented a declaration of war.
In a much-anticipated speech, Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged Hezbollah had suffered an “unprecedented blow”, but he vowed it would continue fighting and inflict a “just punishment”.
Israel has not said it was behind the blasts on Tuesday and Wednesday, which Lebanese authorities said killed 37 people and wounded 3,000.
As Nasrallah spoke, Israeli warplanes caused sonic booms over Beirut, scaring an already-exhausted population, and others struck targets in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military said it was operating to “degrade Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure” and to “bring security to northern Israel”.
Eleven months of cross-border fighting between Hezbollah and Israel sparked by the war in Gaza have killed hundreds of people, most of them Hezbollah fighters, and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border.
Hezbollah has said it is acting in support of the Palestinian armed group Hamas. Both are backed by Iran and proscribed as terrorist organisations by Israel, the UK and other countries.
There were no surprises in Hassan Nasrallah’s televised address on Thursday afternoon – his first public reaction to the exploding device attacks which created panic across Lebanon and raised fears of another major war between Hezbollah and Israel.
In what was a humiliating security breach, 12 people were killed, including two children, when pagers used by Hezbollah members to communicate blew up almost simultaneously across the country on Tuesday, according to Lebanon’s health minister. Another 25 were killed when walkie-talkies exploded the next day.
Reports citing Lebanese and US sources said Israeli intelligence operatives were likely to have planted small amounts of explosives inside the devices or their batteries.
“The enemy crossed all rules, laws and red lines. It didn’t care about anything at all, not morally, not humanely, not legally,” Nasrallah said.
“This is massacre, a major aggression against Lebanon, its people, its resistance, its sovereignty, and its security. It can be called war crimes or a declaration of war – whatever you choose to name it, it is deserving and fits the description. This was the enemy’s intention,” he added.
The Hezbollah leader acknowledged that this was a massive and unprecedented blow for his group, but he insisted that its ability to command and communicate remained intact.
Nasrallah’s tone was defiant and he vowed a harsh punishment. But, again, he indicated that Hezbollah was not interested in an escalation of its current conflict with Israel.
The group’s cross-border attacks, he said, were going to continue unless there was a ceasefire in Gaza, and that no killings or assassinations would return residents to northern Israel.
Shortly before the speech, crowds of Hezbollah supporters gathered in the capital’s southern suburbs to bury two members killed on Tuesday. Some people said they had been shaken by the explosions, but that they were determined to resist.
On Thursday morning, Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon fired two anti-tank missiles across the border, followed by drones.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said two Israeli soldiers were killed and a third seriously wounded.
The latest exchanges come at a time when Israel says its military focus has shifted away from Gaza to the situation in the north.
The IDF said on Thursday that its chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, had “recently completed approval of plans for the northern arena”.
Later, at a meeting of military and intelligence chiefs, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: “In the new phase of the war there are significant opportunities but also significant risks.”
“Hezbollah feels that it is being persecuted and the sequence of military actions will continue,” he added.
“Our goal is to ensure the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes. As time goes by, Hezbollah will pay an increasing price.”
It is not clear how Israel intends to achieve this goal. But reports earlier this week suggested that the general in charge of the IDF’s Northern Command favoured the creation of an Israeli-controlled buffer zone inside southern Lebanon.
In his speech, Hassan Nasrallah called the general a fool and said that any such move would have dire consequences for Israel.
(BBC)
United States President Donald Trump says there will be a three-day ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Posting on Truth Social on Friday, the US leader said the truce would last from Saturday to Monday.
“I am pleased to announce that there will be a THREE DAY CEASEFIRE (May 9th, 10th, and 11th) in the War between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump posted.
Soon after, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed on X that a three-day truce had been arranged as part of US efforts to negotiate an end to the more than four-year-old war.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov later said “an agreement on this matter was reached during our telephone contacts with the US administration. In turn, US representatives were in contact with Kyiv.” He said the agreement followed a recent telephone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and Trump, in which the two presidents “emphasised that our countries were allies during World War II and also discussed the possibility of a ceasefire during the Victory Day celebrations.”
Russia had previously announced a two-day unilateral ceasefire to mark its May 9 World War II Victory Day on Saturday. Ukraine previously stated that it too had offered a truce but that this had been ignored by Moscow.
“This request was made directly by me,” Trump said on Friday, thanking his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts for agreeing to it.
“The Celebration in Russia is for Victory Day but, likewise, in Ukraine, because they were also a big part and factor of World War II. This Ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prison swap of 1,000 prisoners from each Country,” Trump said. Zelenskyy also confirmed the prisoner swap would take place.
[Aljazeera]
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Heat Index is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the North-central and Eastern provinces and in Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts during the daytime
Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 08 May 2026, valid for 09 May 2026
The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the North-central and Eastern provinces and in Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts during the daytime
The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.
Effect of the heat index on the human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.
ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.
Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.
Kolkata Knight Riders picked up their fourth win on the trot, their spin bowlers (12-0-76-3) capturing Delhi Capitals in a vice-like grip and never letting go Finn Allen made sure that wouldn’t repeat in the second innings. He pulverised DC’s spinners (9-0-102-1) to score his first IPL century even though he only had 143 to chase.
Pathum Nissanka scored a good half-century. He made 50 of DC’s first 85 runs at a strike rate of 172. The other end could only contribute 33 at a strike rate of 103. It was symbolic of how hard it was for a new batter to settle in and how much pressure comes on the set batter on a pitch like this. Even though he was going at a good clip, and had hit the previous ball for four, he still left his crease looking for more and was stumped off Anukul Roy. The left-arm spinner took another wicket, four balls later.
DC were 74 for 2 after eight overs. But only four of those overs were from spin bowlers and three of them were inside the powerplay. Given the comfort of five fielders on the boundary, and a pitch that was slow and turning, Roy, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy started to dictate proceedings. At one point, DC scored just 11 runs in 30 balls. This was between overs 12 to 16. No IPL team in nearly two decades has ever been this sluggish in this period of play.
Roy set this choke up, stumping Nissanka out with a slower and wider delivery and bowling Tristan Stubbs out with the exact opposite of that. That was solid range for a bowler with no mystery about him.
With DC at 89 for 5, Axar Patel in wretched form (his 44 runs, with only three boundaries, are the fewest by any batter this season having faced at least 50 balls) and the conditions not helping run-scoring, all Narine and Varun had to do was what they do so well. Amp up the mystery. Aim at the stumps. Narine finished with 4-0-17-1. Varun, badly limping when he bowled his final over which cost 16 runs, finished with 4-0-28-0.
Ashutosh Sharma broke a boundary drought that last 38 balls in the 17th over. He reverse swept Vaibhav Arora, coming around the wicket, for six in the 19th over. His cameo – 39 off 28 balls – carried KKR to 142 for 8.
For the first time in his IPL career, Allen played through the powerplay. This was his eighth innings. He might have felt bad for running out his captain Ajinkya Rahane when his straight drive flicked Mitchell Starc’s outstretched finger and deflected onto the stumps but he quickly got over it. DC played a part in that a well with Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam bowling balls right in the slot. Allen is superb down the ground and needed no second invitation. From 20 off 17, he launched 10 sixes, the last of them when KKR needed two to win and he needed six to bring up 100.
Allen had a strike rate of 235 against spin (73 off 31). The next best, from both teams, was Rahane with 167, benefiting from playing just three balls and scoring five runs.
In a match where his former team’s spinners held so much sway (economy rate 6.33), Kuldeep suffered, going at 13.66 an over even though he was spared the trouble of bowling in the powerplay. Axar bowled three with the field up and still finished with figures of 4-0-27-1.
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 147 for 2 in 14.2 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 13, Finn Allen 100*, Cameron Green 33*; Axar Patel 1-27 ) beat Delhi Capitals 142 for 8 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 50, KL Rahul 23, Axar Patel 11, Ashutosh Sharma 39; Kartik Tyagi 2-25, Anukul Roy 2-31, Vaibhav Arora 1–29, Sunil Narine 1-17, Cameron Green 1-12) by eight wickets
[Cricinfo]
Trade, Investment and Tourism Cooperation Forum strengthens economic ties between Sri Lanka and Vietnam
Accelerate projects related to resolving the public’s drinking water issues – President Instructs Officials
President of Vietnam and delegation departs Sri Lanka
Trump announces three-day ceasefire in Russia-Ukraine war
Heat Index is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the North-central and Eastern provinces and in Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts during the daytime
Finn Allen’s 47-ball ton powers Kolkata Knight Riders to huge win over Delhi Capitals
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