Israeli Military Says It Killed Two Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commanders

25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. (dpa)
25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. (dpa)
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Israeli Military Says It Killed Two Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commanders

25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. (dpa)
25 June 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is pictured in Jerusalem. (dpa)

Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that the military had killed a veteran commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' overseas arm, in a strike in an apartment in Iran's Qom province. 

The commander, Saeed Izadi, led the Palestine Corps of the overseas arm, or Quds Force, Katz said in a statement. 

The Israeli military later said that it killed a second commander of the Guards' overseas arm, who it identified as Benham Shariyari, during a strike on his vehicle overnight in western Tehran. 

It said the commander "was responsible for all weapons transfers from the Iranian regime to its proxies across the Middle East". 

Shariyari supplied missiles and rockets launched at Israel to Hezbollah, Hamas and Yemen's Houthis, according to the Israeli military. 

There was no confirmation from the IRGC on the killing of the two commanders. 

The Quds Force built up a network of allies known as the “Axis of Resistance”, establishing Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1982 and supporting the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

But the Iran-aligned network has suffered major blows over the last two years, as Israeli offensives since Hamas' October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel have weakened both the Palestinian group and Hezbollah. 

Katz said Izadi financed and armed Hamas during the initial attacks, describing the commander's killing as a "major achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Air Force". 

Izadi was sanctioned by the US and Britain over what they said were his ties to Hamas and Palestinian armed faction Islamic Jihad, which also took part in the October 7 attacks. 



NATO Will Not Tolerate Hybrid Actions Against Members, US Envoy Says

The US flag is lowered to half staff to honor country music legend Dolly Parton following her passing, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. (EPA)
The US flag is lowered to half staff to honor country music legend Dolly Parton following her passing, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. (EPA)
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NATO Will Not Tolerate Hybrid Actions Against Members, US Envoy Says

The US flag is lowered to half staff to honor country music legend Dolly Parton following her passing, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. (EPA)
The US flag is lowered to half staff to honor country music legend Dolly Parton following her passing, at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, 27 August 2026. (EPA)

NATO members should not tolerate deliberate actions of hybrid war, and the United States will stand by countries as they deal with these incidents, Matthew Whitaker, the US ambassador to NATO, said on Saturday.

Whitaker said last month's attempted drone attack at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport, which Berlin ‌has blamed ‌on Russia, was more worrying ‌than ⁠other recent incidents ⁠NATO members have faced due to Russian drones targeting Ukraine that strayed off course.

"Then you have what I would call the more concerning hybrid actions like we saw ⁠in Leipzig, like we ‌have seen ‌in Poland," Whitaker said speaking on the sidelines ‌of a business conference in Italy.

NATO ‌members must be prepared, vigilant and also deliver a strong message when they are challenged by these events, ‌he said.

"If we can identify who's doing it — which Germany ⁠did — ⁠we make sure we express strongly that is unacceptable and we will not tolerate it," Whitaker said.

Critical infrastructure, including energy assets, could be targeted and should be monitored by national authorities, he added.

The response to these challenges is primarily national, but the United States supports countries when they are dealing with these acts, he said.


Thousands March for Democracy Ahead of Eastern German Vote

People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)
People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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Thousands March for Democracy Ahead of Eastern German Vote

People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)
People attend a demonstration as part of a democracy festival, a day before the Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Thousands of people joined a march for "democracy" in eastern Germany on Saturday, a day ahead of a regional election expected to result in a historic win for the far right.

The march in Magdeburg, capital of the Saxony-Anhalt region, drew demonstrators holding up placards proclaiming "more love, less hate", "a better life without Nazis", and "the potato is also of foreign origin".

The march was organized by a coalition of groups dubbed "Saxony-Anhalt: Open to the World".

The far right, anti-migrant, pro-Russian and pro-Donald Trump Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is leading in the polls for the Saxony-Anhalt election, and is expected to top the vote in the small state of 2.1 million inhabitants.

It would be the first regional election win for the AfD, marking an unprecedented breakthrough for the far right in Germany in the postwar era.

However, the party is not assured of managing an absolute majority that would allow it to govern alone.

So far, all other parties have ruled out governing with the AfD, with the exception of the pro-Russian left-wing party BSW, whose members are divided on the issue.


Wedding Party Fire in Kinshasa Leaves at Least 22 Dead

A general view of a wedding reception hall that was damaged by fire in Kinshasa on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
A general view of a wedding reception hall that was damaged by fire in Kinshasa on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
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Wedding Party Fire in Kinshasa Leaves at Least 22 Dead

A general view of a wedding reception hall that was damaged by fire in Kinshasa on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
A general view of a wedding reception hall that was damaged by fire in Kinshasa on September 5, 2026. (AFP)

At least 22 people were killed in a fire at a wedding party in Congo 's capital, Kinshasa, the regional mayor said Saturday.

Several other people were injured in the fire that started overnight Friday and continued into early Saturday morning in a building in Lingwala in northern Kinshasa.

The mayor of Lingwala, Norbert Mushinga, told the Congolese Press Agency that the provisional toll is 22. He noted the toll could rise further.

The exact cause of the fire is unconfirmed.

“It is a tragedy,” Jacquemin Shabani, Congo's deputy prime minister and interior minister, said. The minister visited the site Saturday morning

Deadly fires are common in densely populated areas of Kinshasa where urban development is not complemented with provisions such as fire services. The fires are common during the dry season and several have occurred this year, according to local media.