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Body of Hezbollah Leader Recovered As Israel Kills Another Top Leader

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The body of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Beirut, has been recovered, a source close to the movement told AFP on Sunday.

Friday’s air strike also killed Ali Karake, the group’s top commander in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah said on Sunday. It has not named others who died alongside Nasrallah and Karake.

A medical source and a security source said Nasrallah’s body was found intact at the site of an Israeli air attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

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Meanwhile, the Israeli military, on Sunday, disclosed it has also killed Nabil Kaouk amid an exchange of strikes between the two sides. Kaouk had been a member of Hezbollah since the 1980s, previously serving as deputy director general of the southern region.

READ ALSO: Israel Extends Ban On Al Jazeera For Another 45 Days, Cites Security Threats

“His body was recovered on Saturday and was placed in a shroud on Sunday after being washed,” the source said, requesting anonymity. The funeral ceremony and his burial have not yet been arranged,” the source added.

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Before his death on Friday when Israeli jets attacked Hezbollah’s heartland in the south of the Lebanese capital, Nasrallah was considered the most powerful man in the country. For more than three decades, he headed the Iran-backed movement that was Israel’s sworn enemy.

Israel’s military said on Sunday that “more than 20 other terrorists of varying ranks” were also killed in the attack.

Hezbollah has not commented on Kaouk’s fate, but supporters have been posting mourning messages for him since yesterday. “The IDF continues to attack and eliminate the commanders of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation and to act against anyone who threatens the citizens of the State of Israel,” said the Israeli military.

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It said Kaouk had been a member of Hezbollah since the 1980s, previously serving as deputy director general of the southern region.

Israel’s army hits about 120 Hezbollah targets in latest Lebanon strikes.

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The Israeli military said Sunday evening it hit dozens more Hezbollah targets in Lebanon during a new barrage “a short while ago”, as frequent cross-border air raids continued.

“During the intelligence-based strikes, the (air force) struck approximately 120 Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon and deep inside Lebanese territory,” a military statement said, adding that the targets included Hezbollah’s infrastructure and “significant headquarters used by Hezbollah’s different units.”

AFP

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UK Nursery Worker Jailed For Abusing 21 Babies

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A judge on Friday jailed a nursery worker for eight years for a string of “gratuitous” and “sadistic” attacks on babies.

In one incident, Londoner Roksana Lecka, 22, kicked a little boy in the face several times.

Lecka, who blamed cannabis for her crimes, admitted seven counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 and was convicted after a trial of another 14 counts.

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Sentencing her for attacks on 21 babies, Judge Sarah Plaschkes said she had committed “multiple acts of gratuitous violence” at two London nurseries where she worked.

You pinched, slapped, punched, smacked and kicked them. You pulled their ears, hair and their toes. You toppled children headfirst into cots,” she said.

READ ALSO:UK Set To Announce Recognition Of Palestinian State

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“Often the child would be quietly and happily minding its own business before you deliberately inflicted pain… Your criminal conduct can properly be characterised as sadistic,” she added.

Lecka’s cruelty was revealed in June 2024 after she was seen pinching a number of children.
Police were called in and found multiple incidents recorded on the nursery CCTV.

Victim impact statements submitted to London’s Kingston Crown Court from parents of Lecka’s victims told how they were left heartbroken and guilt-stricken by the attacks.

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These children were so innocent and vulnerable,” one mother told the court.

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“They couldn’t speak, they couldn’t defend themselves and they couldn’t tell us as parents that something had happened to them,” she added.

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They were totally helpless and Roksana preyed upon them.”

The hearing was told that she had apologised to the parents in a letter to the court in which she said cannabis had turned her into a different person.

She had been addicted to the drug around the time of the offences, but had not told the nursery.
She was found not guilty of three further counts of child cruelty.

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Italy Fines Six Oil Firms $1bn Fine For Restricting Competition

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Italy’s antitrust regulator said Friday it has slapped Italian energy giant Eni and five other companies with fines totalling more than 936 million euros ($1.1 billion) for “restricting competition” in the sale of fuel.

The authority said in a statement that Eni, Esso, Ip, Q8, Saras and Tamoil “coordinated to set the value of the bio component factored into fuel prices”, which tripled between 2019 and 2023.

READ ALSO:PICTORIAL: NDLEA Intercepts Cocaine, Opioid Shipments Meant For US, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Poland

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A probe following a whistleblower’s complaint revealed that “the companies implemented parallel price increases — largely coinciding — which were driven by direct or indirect information exchanges among them”, the authority said.

“The cartel began on 1 January 2020 and continued until 30 June 2023,” it added.

AFP

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Trump Signs Order For TikTok’s Sale, Valued At $14bn

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United States President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order declaring that his plan is to sell TikTok’s US operations to American and global investors.

As reported by Reuters on Friday, the order requires companies bidding for TikTok to meet the national-security requirements of the 2024 law that otherwise would ban the app unless its Chinese owners divest.

Speaking to reporters at an Oval Office briefing on Thursday, Vice President James Vance said the newly created US entity would be “valued around $14 billion.

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We actually think this is a good deal for investors, but they will make a determination about what they want to invest and what they think is the proper value,” he said.

READ ALSO:Antitrust Trial: US Asks Court To Break Up Google’s Ad Business

The White House on Thursday pushed back the law’s enforcement date to January 20 to allow time for the transaction, investor commitments, and negotiations with Chinese authorities.

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The publication of the executive order shows Trump is making progress on the sale of TikTok’s US assets.

However, details remain to be worked out, including how the U.S. company would handle TikTok’s most valuable asset: its recommendation algorithm.

“There was some resistance on the Chinese side, but the fundamental thing that we wanted to accomplish is that we wanted to keep TikTok operating, but we also wanted to make sure that we protected Americans’ data privacy as required by law,” Vance said.

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According to Reuters, Trump’s order says the algorithm will be retrained and monitored by the U.S. company’s security partners, and operation of the algorithm will be under the control of the new joint venture.

Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had indicated approval of the plans. “I spoke with President Xi,” Trump said. “We had a good talk, I told him what we were doing, and he said go ahead with it.”

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Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. TikTok did not immediately comment on Trump’s action.

READ ALSO:Judge Throws Out Trump’s $15bn ‘Rage’ Lawsuit Against New York Times

Trump has credited TikTok, which has 170 million U.S. users, with helping him win reelection last year. Trump has 15 million followers on his personal TikTok account. The White House also launched an official TikTok account last month.

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“This is going to be American-operated all the way,” Trump said.

He said that Michael Dell, the founder, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies; Rupert Murdoch, the chairman emeritus of Fox News owner Fox Corp, and newspaper publisher News Corp, and “probably four or five absolutely world-class investors” would be part of the deal.

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