Volcanic eruption kills 10, burns houses in Indonesia
Maumere, Nov 4: Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency said on Monday that at least 10 people have died as a series of volcanic eruptions widens on the remote island of Flores. The eruption at Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki around midnight spewed thick brownish ash as high as 2,000 metres (6,500 feet) into the air and hot ashes hit several villages, burning down houses including a convent of Catholic nuns, an official said. He said volcanic material was thrown up to 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from its crater, blanketing nearby villages and towns with tons of volcanic debris and forcing residents to flee. (AP)
Iran executes Jewish citizen convicted of murder
Tehran, Nov 4: Iran on Monday executed a Jewish citizen convicted of murdering another man in 2022 following a personal dispute, reports said. It was a rare case of an execution of member of a religious minority in the predominately Muslim nation. Mizanonline.ir, a website affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, said 23-year-old Arvin Ghahremani was put to death after the country’s Supreme Court affirmed the capital punishment handed down in the case earlier last year. (AP)
Imran Khan’s wife breaks down in tears in court
Islamabad, Nov 4: A court in Pakistan on Monday witnessed emotional scenes when jailed former premier Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi burst into tears, expressing her utter helplessness against the inefficient justice system and her husband’s “unjust sentencing”. The former first lady appeared before Islamabad District Magistrate Afzal Majoka’s court to acquire bail for her husband in six cases and herself in another case. During the hearing held at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Khan was not produced in the court. He was also not allowed to appear through a video link. When Bushra took to the rostrum to speak, she became emotional. “I have been facing injustice by those responsible for serving justice for the past nine months. I and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder were unjustly sentenced,” she said. (PTI)
Israel claims killing senior Hezbollah commander
Jerusalem, Nov 4: An Israeli airstrike has killed senior Hezbollah commander Abu Ali Rida in Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Monday. Rida, targetted near Baraachit, was described by the IDF as a key operative coordinating rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on Israeli forces and overseeing Hezbollah’s activities in the region. The IDF did not specify when the strike took place. However, Lebanese military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that 13 people, including Rida, were killed on Monday in Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon. According to the sources, Israeli forces conducted 13 airstrikes and artillery shelling, launching approximately 45 shells across 12 towns and villages near the border, resulting in casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, Xinhua news agency reported. (IANS)