Israeli attack in Lebanon, 'three rescuers killed'. US and Gb intelligence chiefs call for ceasefire in Gaza

The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that three rescue workers were killed and two others wounded in an Israeli attack on a Civil Defence team putting out fires in southern Lebanon. "The Israeli enemy targeted a Lebanese Civil Defence team that was putting out fires caused by recent Israeli attacks in the village of Froun, which resulted in the death of three rescuers," the ministry said in a note, pointing out that the two injured people were in critical condition.

Donald Trump responded to former Vice President Dick Cheney's decision to endorse Kamala Harris by branding him an 'irrelevant RINO (republican in name only, ed)'. "Dick Cheney is an irrelevant RINO, along with his daughter, who lost by the largest margin in the history of Congress!" the former president attacked in a post on his Truth Social, referring to former Congresswoman Liz Cheney who lost the Midterm elections in 2022 to a Trump-backed candidate.

At least four people - two women and two children - were killed in the eastern part of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip by Israeli shelling. This was reported by al Jazeera.

The family of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, the 26-year-old Turkish activist with US citizenship who died yesterday after being shot in the head by Israeli forces, called for an independent investigation into her killing. This was reported by Ynet News. Eygi was shot while participating in the town of Beita, near Nablus, in a demonstration against the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Paramedici palestinesi trasportano il corpo di Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26 anni, uccisa da soldati israeliani mentre partecipava a una protesta contro gli insediamenti in Cisgiordania (AP Photo)

Gaza's 'civil defence' agency put the blood toll of the Israeli airstrike that hit a school turned into a shelter for displaced Palestinians in the Strip at at least three dead and more than 20 wounded. "Three martyrs and more than 20 wounded were recovered after an Israeli warplane fired two missiles at a prayer room and a classroom of the Amr Ibn al-Aas school, where displaced people were sheltering in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in northern Gaza City," Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the Civil Defence Agency, pointed out in statements to Afp. In recent months, Israeli forces have struck several schools housing displaced Palestinians, many of them in Gaza City, claiming the attacks targeted Hamas militants. Tens of thousands of displaced people have sought refuge in schools since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

"I suspect they're going to try and we can't let our guard down because of the kind of activities the Iranians might try to pursue in that direction." This was said by the head of the British spy agency MI6, Richard Moore, speaking - at an Ft event in London - of the possibility that Iran is still planning retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July. The Guardian reports.

Lithuania has installed a series of anti-mobility measures on the bridge connecting the Baltic country to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, in the municipal territory of Panemunė. The placement of the protective structures, which is part of the overall plan to strengthen security measures on the border with Russia and Belarus agreed upon in January by the prime ministers of the three Baltic countries, is intended to slow down the advance of adversary troops in the event of an invasion. "This is just a demonstration of how much our institutions can do by joining forces, expertise and coordinating actions to achieve the goals that are clearly visible to all: the security of our state and the strengthening of deterrence," said Lithuanian government chief of staff Giedre Balcytyte.

Il presidente lituano Gitanas Nauseda. EPA/Marcin Obara POLAND OUT

"Ukraine's victory continues to be our priority. The security of Lithuania and the whole of Europe is directly related to the security of Ukraine. We will continue to make every effort to ensure that Ukraine achieves victory and that the aggressor is defeated once and for all." This was stated yesterday by the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, during a telephone conversation with the new head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Andrii Sybiha. "Ukraine has the full right to defend itself against Russian aggression. It is a right enshrined in the UN charter,' the Lithuanian minister said, adding that Kiev must be able to freely use weapons supplied to it by the West on Russian territory.

Iran may still conduct a reprisal for the killing of the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, which took place in Tehran in late July and for which it blames Israel. This was claimed by the head of the British intelligence agency MI6, Richard Moore. "I suspect they will try and we cannot let our guard down over what the Iranians might try to do," Moore told the Financial Times.

Michel Barnier, the new French prime minister, "is a proven, pro-EU name who knows how to negotiate". This was said by Pierre Moscovici, former EU minister and commissioner, currently first president of the French Court of Auditors, intercepted by reporters on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio.

"We are closer to the end of the war than the situation we were in at the beginning," said the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview aired on Rai 1 and recorded from the Teha Forum in Cernobbio. 'With these steps, with conviction, with reconstruction conferences and with concrete agreements, we strengthen the economy and bring the end of the war closer,' he added. 'Today with Giorgia Meloni we talked about the preparations for the international conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine. To date we have no problems with Italy and in relations with Italy'.

The Ukraine is resorting to a fleet of dragon drones in the war against Russia, the modern version of a weapon already used to horrific effect in both world wars. A series of videos posted on social media, including Telegram, by the Ukrainian Defence Ministry shows the drones flying at low altitude, leaving behind torrents of fire on Russian-controlled positions. It is - Cnn specifies - a glowing mixture of aluminium powder and iron oxide, called 'thermite', which can reach temperatures of up to 2,200 degrees Celsius and can quickly burn trees and vegetation, exposing Russian troops, if not killing them.

Hundreds of Sudanese families fled a peripheral area of Khartoum today after intensified fighting between the army and paramilitaries around a military base, witnesses reported. On Wednesday, the paramilitaries' Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked the large base in the town of Bahri, which borders the Sudanese capital to the north. The war between the Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo has caused tens of thousands of deaths and displaced more than 10 million people, many of them to neighbouring countries, according to UN estimates.

"I have prepared a plan (for the ceasefire, ed) and I want to share it with the current US president because there are some points that depend on America. I hope I will have the opportunity to show this plan to Biden and the potential candidates for the US presidency, Harris and Trump, and get feedback and feedback. We want guarantees': thus the president of the Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview aired on Rai 1 and recorded in Cernobbio on the sidelines of the Teha Forum. At the moment we have not shared anything. The first contact will be with Biden. We are talking,' he explained, 'not only about weapons, but also about important global issues'. In short, 'we are talking,' the Ukrainian president concluded, 'about a concrete defence package. And if we have it, it will be a strong deterrent for Russia and for ending the war on diplomatic terms'.

Brazil's ten largest rivers are below the average level predicted for this time of year, revealing a critical scenario in Amazonia, which is facing its worst drought in decades. One of the most alarming cases, according to the National Centre for Monitoring and Warning of Natural Disasters (Cemaden), is that of the Madeira River, the fifth largest in the country, which, for the first time in history, recorded a level below one metre in Porto Velho, capital of the State of Rondônia. Even the Amazonian capital, Manaus, is practically isolated due to a lack of water. The great rivers of the rainforest, which occupy more than 4 million square kilometres, have stretches that are impassable or almost inaccessible to the largest ships.

Vietnamese authorities said Typhoon Yagi killed at least four people and injured 78 others after making landfall in the north of the country. Yagi, described by local meteorological officials as "one of the most powerful typhoons in the region in the past decade", headed towards the Southeast Asian country this afternoon after killing three people and injuring nearly a hundred in China's Hainan province. Four airports were closed, including the one in the capital Hanoi and the city of Haiphong.

Il passaggio del tifone Tagi a Hai Phong city il 7 settembre (Nhac Nguyen/Afp)

Social media Telegram poses a threat to Ukraine's national security, the head of the Kiev Defence Ministry's (Gur) main intelligence directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, said in an interview with Radio Charter. Rbc-Ukraine reports. "I have never been afraid to say it. I say it directly: Telegram is a threat to our national security. I say it absolutely directly and we have also documented it,' Budanov said. According to the senior official, studies confirm that Telegram has become the main source of information for Ukrainian society. At the same time, the Gur chief stressed that he was not in favour of closing Telegram in the country. "I am not in favour of closing it down. It is quite difficult to do, however, but it is possible. I am in favour of 'formalising' all these Telegram channels," he said. The military intelligence chief also stressed that blocking Telegram is technically more difficult, like the Russian social networks Odnoklassniki and Vkontakte, but it is possible. Budanov then noted that V (formerly Twitter) is not harmful to Ukrainians.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

"I very much agree, 100 per cent, with President Meloni today. She was very clear. But, by the way: why doesn't Italy allow Ukraine to use the weapons it supplies to hit Russian bases inside Russian territory? Nice words, but it would be much better if we allow Ukraine to defend itself efficiently, because otherwise Russia is destroying it with impunity'. So said EU High Representative Josep Borrell, speaking at the Teha forum in Cernobbio, according to the video published on the European Commission's channels.

To combat local gangs, the President of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, announced a night curfew for minors in the Caribbean tourist area of Bocas del Toro. 'The crime rate in Bocas del Toro is very high. It is one of the top provinces for crime, murders and drug trafficking,' the head of state told a press conference. The measure comes just days after a curfew for minors was also decreed in the province of Colón and the district of San Miguelito. "Panamanian gangs today work for the Gulf Cartel or the Tren de Aragua (Mexican and Venezuelan clans respectively, ed.)".

Israeli air raids in the Gaza Strip killed more than a dozen people overnight and on Saturday morning, according to hospital and local authorities. In the urban refugee camp of Nuseirat, in central Gaza, the Al-Awda hospital said it had received the bodies of nine people killed in two separate air raids. One hit a residential building in the early hours of Saturday, killing four people and wounding at least 10, the hospital said, while five others were killed in an attack on a house in western Nuseirat.

The Ukrainian security services (Sbu) reported hitting an ammunition depot in a Russian region bordering Ukraine, where extensive fire broke out following a drone attack. "Last night the Russians lost a large cache of ammunition and equipment," an Sbu source told Afp news agency, adding that Kiev forces were targeting "military airfields, ammunition depots and infrastructure facilities" in order to "create a demilitarised zone in Russia's regions adjacent to Ukraine". The source described all the mentioned targets as 'legitimate'. For his part, the Russian governor of the Voronezh region said that debris from a downed drone caused a fire and a series of explosions, adding that he had ordered the evacuation of some settlements.

Donald Trump will not lift the US sanctions against Russia if he is elected president of the United States, because even though he is a 'wacky' guy, he is still part of the system. This was stated by Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy chairman of the National Security Council. Medvedev says he does not expect any surprises from a presidential Kamala Harris either. 'She is inexperienced,' writes the former Russian president, 'and, according to her enemies, simply stupid. They will prepare beautiful, meaningless speeches and boringly correct answers to questions, which she will read from the teleprompter, laughing infectiously."

Funerals were held in the eastern Ukrainian city of Poltava for the victims of one of the deadliest Russian air strikes since the beginning of the war, which hit a military training facility causing more than 50 dead and more than 300 injured. Hundreds of people gathered in the Assumption Cathedral in the city, some 350 kilometres southeast of Kiev, for the solemn ceremony. Sobbing relatives, many holding red carnations, stood in front of the coffins placed outside the church, wrapped in yellow and blue Ukrainian flags.

For the second day in a row, Israeli authorities continued to close the Kerem Shalom crossing, preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza from Egypt, citing shabbat, the weekly day of rest in Israel, as the reason. This was reported by an official Egyptian source in Sinai, recalling that the Rafah crossing is closed on the Palestinian side for the 126th consecutive day. I

The protest by local Serbs, who have been prevented from going to their workplaces after the police operation on 30 August to close down Serbian offices and institutions deemed to be parallel structures of Belgrade carrying out illegal activities in Kosovo, continued today in the north of Kosovo. While the managers of these offices are being summoned and interrogated by the Kosovo police to answer charges of having issued false documents - which the Serbs call a political trial - the protest since last night has also affected the three main border crossings with Serbia - Jarinje, Merdare and Brnjak, blocked by groups of Serb demonstrators who accuse the leadership in Pristina of not desisting from its hostile and discriminatory policy against the Serb population in Kosovo.

The Moscow Defence Ministry announced that the Russian troops have captured another settlement in eastern Ukraine. It is Kalinovo, in the Donetsk region. "As a result of the active actions of the units of the 'Centre' troop group, the settlement of Kalinovo, in the Donetsk People's Republic, has been liberated," the ministry reports.

In the night between Friday and Saturday a Russian drone attempted to attack the building of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada in Kiev. This was reported by MP Maksym Buzhanskyi, according to Unian news agency. "The drone tried to crash into the Council building, but was shot down," the MP stressed as the Verkhovna Rada confirmed that the remains of a downed drone were found near the Parliament building after an overnight attack by Russia.

The heads of the intelligence agencies of the USA and the UK have issued a joint appeal for a ceasefire in Gaza. In an article published in the Financial Times, CIA director William Burns and MI6 chief Richard Moore said they were 'working tirelessly' for a ceasefire in Gaza and that their agencies were 'leveraging their intelligence channels to push hard for restraint and de-escalation'. The two stated that a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas "could end the suffering and appalling loss of life of Palestinian civilians and bring the hostages home after 11 months of hellish captivity".

"We are closer to the end of the war". So said Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview broadcast live on Rai 1 as part of the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio. This is why Zelensky emphasised the importance of the meetings dedicated to reconstruction. "With reconstruction conferences and concrete agreements we strengthen the economy and bring the end of the war closer". To achieve the goal, however, the president of Ukraine stressed the importance of Russia taking the first steps. "We cannot accept ultimatums about ceding 30 per cent of our territory and our people and condone massacres," Zelensky said. "He is the one who started the war," Zelensky explained, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, "and he is the one who should take the first steps. He should stop the bombing and show the world that he wants to end the war, regardless of how he sees this ending."

Multiple Russian attacks have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine. This is according to the Tass news agency, which quotes a senior military source. "More than 250 foreign mercenaries, including 70 French and Romanian air defence specialists, were eliminated during an attack on 4 September in Krivoy Rog," the source says. And again: 'Some 500 specialists, including instructors from Poland, France, Germany and Sweden, died or sustained injuries after the 3 September attack on a Ukrainian Armed Forces training centre in Poltava,' the source told Tass, adding that among the victims were servicemen from the Ukrainian Army and National Guard Service, as well as 'foreign mercenaries from Poland, France, Germany and Sweden, who were training Ukrainian troops'. In Konstantinovka, 'about 50 French militants were killed in an attack with Iskander missiles at a temporary facility for the deployment of foreign mercenaries'. The same source reports that at least 50 Ukrainian soldiers, including 19 mercenaries from the UK, were killed in a raid carried out on 2 September also with Iskander-M missiles against 'the temporary deployment site of foreign mercenaries stationed in a hotel in the city of Zaporizhzhia'.

In the USA the first human case of avian influenza A (H5) without any contact with animals. The infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported, was registered in Missouri. The person was hospitalised and has recovered. The case was detected - according to the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services - thanks to the surveillance system for influenza, which is different from the one the US put in place after the epidemic among cattle, which only affects workers in the industry. "This is the 14th human case of H5 avian influenza in the US, but the first that authorities say has had no contact with any type of animal," the CoC report states. "In Missouri there have been no reported outbreaks of H5 in cattle, but in 2024 there were reported outbreaks of H5 in commercial and backyard poultry flocks. In the past, H5N1 avian influenza has been detected in wild birds in that state'.

The military administration of the city of Kiev reported that none of the drones, of the Shahed type, launched from Moscow reached the target. "The drones approached Kiev at around 3am. The air alert announced in the capital lasted 18 minutes,' he reported, specifying that all drones launched against the capital were shot down. In the Pechersk district, falling debris was recorded at four different addresses. A fire was detected in an open area that was later extinguished.

Interviewed on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky confirmed that he did not share Ukraine's 'defence package' with the US, ahead of an upcoming visit to the US. "There will be an initial contact with Biden," Zelensky said, "We will talk not only about weapons but about global issues. We will talk about a defence package for Ukraine, a comprehensive package that can be a strong deterrent for Russia and have peace on the basis of diplomatic conditions."

Ukrainian authorities reported that Russia launched a massive drone attack against Kiev overnight, which also targeted the building of the Verchovna Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament. The drones were shot down and fragments of them were found near the parliament as well as near a kindergarten and buildings, Ukrainian news agency Unian reported. No injuries were reported as a result of the attack.

"The autopsy of the Turkish-American activist has confirmed that she was killed by a gunshot fired by an occupation army marksman," the governor of Nablus told Al Jazeera, as reported on X pan-Arab TV referring to the 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi who died yesterday during a demonstration in the West Bank. Quoting its correspondent, Al Jazeera points out that "Palestinian forensic medicine proved" that Aysenur Ezgi Eygi "was killed by a shot to the head fired by an Israeli sniper".

Venezuelan security forces have surrounded the embassy of Argentina in Caracas: this is what two Venezuelan opponents who have taken refuge in the diplomatic headquarters denounce on social media, describing the situation as a 'siege' by the government of President Nicolás Maduro. According to Pedro Urruchurtu, international coordinator of opposition leader María Corina Machado, there are patrols and hooded and armed agents at the site. The embassy siege comes shortly after the Argentine Foreign Ministry urged the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant against Maduro.

"If the rules are broken there will be a multiplication of chaos and crises and thus a natural fragmentation of the geo-economic space. That is what I said to China". This was stated by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in her speech at the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio. "That is why China and India must and can play a role to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine, she said. "The only thing that cannot be thought of is to leave Ukraine to its fate because it will lead to even more chaos and the possibility of war coming closer to home."

Andrew Farrand, director for the Middle East andNorth Africa at geopolitical risk consultancy Horizon Engage, said that both opposition candidates are aiming more for the legislative elections in 2025 than the presidential elections in 2024. Since Algerian law funds political parties based on the number of seats won in legislative elections, they hope the campaign will position them for a strong performance in 2025. 'It's a long game: how can I mobilise my base? How can I build an electoral machine? And how can I get into the good graces of the authorities so that I am able to increase my seats?" he said, "We saw this in their choice not to openly criticise the president, combined with a very strong message to Algerians to go out and vote. Some boycotted the vote, denouncing it as a cosmetic operation that could only strengthen the power of Tebboune and the elites who rule the country.

The meeting of about forty minutes with Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky went 'well'. This was said by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as she descended the stairs on the first floor of the Villa d'Este in Cernobbio before reaching the room where she is expected to attend a panel.

"Ukrainian drones can strike military facilities of the Russian Federation at a distance of up to 1,800 kilometres," the head of the Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov made this known on Facebook, as reported by Rbc-Ukraine. "The (Russian) military airports, which are a source of constant threat to peaceful Ukrainian cities, are trembling because of (Ukrainian) air strikes. The entire infrastructure of Russia, which works for the war, has suffered and will suffer losses,' the senior official added, congratulating the military on Military Intelligence Day.

The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, dismissed the idea of allowing Kiev to launch deep strikes inside Russia, stressing that this capability would not represent a breakthrough. "There is no capability that will be decisive in this war per se," Austin said at the end of Ukraine's allies' summit held yesterday at the Ramstein air base in Germany. At the meeting, Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky reiterated his call for the West to lift restrictions on their use to strike targets inside Russia.

Yesterday afternoon, in the presence of Davide Romano, director of the Museum of the Jewish Brigade in Milan, exponents of the majority parties and lists covered the writing that had been standing on a wall in front of Il Pertini for days, comparing the Star of David to the Nazi swastika.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has arrived at the Teha Forum in Cernobbio. Upon her entrance at Villa d'Este, the premier made no statements and went upstairs, accompanied by Teha's CEO Valerio De Molli, where a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is now underway. 

Investigators from the Trapani Mobile Squad have stopped three alleged Tunisian smugglers who, driving a dinghy in poor sailing conditions, allegedly brought seven migrants to Italy. The boat, which had left Tunisia and was heading towards the Marsala coast, landed on the shores of Marettimo due to buoyancy difficulties, where it was abandoned by the refugees. The migrants told of having entrusted the organisation of their journey to some compatriots who, for a payment of 5,000 dinars (1,500 euro), loaded them on board a rubber dinghy led by three compatriots. During the trip, the three were supposedly in charge of manoeuvring the engine, refuelling it with petrol and keeping the route by using a compass, provided by the organisation.

At least 13 people were killed and 15 injured in new Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip, one of which hit a school housing Palestinian refugees in the camp of Jabalya, in the north of the enclave. According to reports by the Wafa news agency, eight people died and 15 others were injured in the attack that hit the Halima Saadia school, while five other victims are counted after a raid hit a house in the eastern part of the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Russian forces last night launched over Ukraine 67 kamikaze drones, 58 of which were shot down, six left Ukrainian airspace and fell back on Russia, Belarus and the occupied Lugansk region, and three others were allegedly blocked with electronic defence systems, the Kiev Air Force announced on Telegram. Ukrainian air defences were activated in the regions of Vinnytsia, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, Kiev, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Sumy, Kherson and Poltava.

Not only Liz Cheney, her father, former vice-president of George W. Bush, has also announced that he will vote for Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for the White House, against Donald Trump in November. In a note, Dick Cheney explained his decision as follows: 'In the 248-year history of our nation, there has never been an individual who poses a greater threat to our Republic than Donald Trump. He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to stay in power after the voters rejected him. He can never be trusted again'. And still the former vice president who has served in numerous Republican administrations said again that he will vote for Harris to fulfil his civic duty to 'put the country above partisanship to defend our Constitution'. Cheney thus becomes the most high-profile Republican to have sided with the Democratic nominee, while personalities such as Bush, Trump's own former vice president Mike Pence or his former chief of staff John Kelly have for the time being limited to not giving their endorsement to the tycoon.

A Pakistani citizen resident inCanada was arrested at the US border, accused of planning 'a terrorist attack' against a Jewish centre in New York. This was announced by US Justice Secretary Merrick Garland in a note, in which he pointed out that the suspect wanted to strike 'on 7 October', the anniversary of the Hamas attack, 'with the stated goal of slaughtering, on behalf of the Islamic State, as many people of the Jewish religion as possible'. Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, also known as Shazeb Jadoon, 20, is accused of "attempting to provide material support and resources" to the terrorist organisation and will appear in court in Montreal, Canada, on 13 September, Ctv News reported. According to the US authorities, who will request his extradition, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The arrest took place on Wednesday in the Canadian town of Ormstown, 20 kilometres from the US border, where the accused had attempted to enter to carry out a 'mass shooting in support' of Isis against a 'Jewish centre' in Brooklyn.

Russian forces have attacked the region of Zaporizhzhia with 113 drones of various types, multiple-launch missile systems and artillery over the past 24 hours, the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, announced on Telegram, as Ukrinform reports. No civilians were killed or injured, but more than 10 residential buildings and infrastructure were damaged. Overall, 10 villages were hit 265 times.

Iranian President Massud Pezeshkian will attend the Brics summit in Kazan, Russia, where he plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told the Tass news agency. "I believe he will attend the Brics summit in Kazan. We are currently preparing for this visit so that it will be useful and successful for our bilateral relations," Jalali said. "As for bilateral relations, a meeting is planned with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as well as bilateral meetings with other leaders and the Iranian Community," he added.

The Pope, in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, delivered the first of his speeches, meeting with the authorities and civil society: "These goods are destined by God for the entire community and, even if it is necessary to involve broader competences and large international enterprises for their exploitation, it is right that in the distribution of the proceeds and in the employment of labour, due account be taken of the needs of the local populations, so as to produce an effective improvement in their living conditions". The Pope reminded everyone of their responsibilities: "This environmental and cultural wealth represents at the same time a great responsibility, because it commits everyone, the rulers together with the citizens, to favour every initiative necessary to valorise natural and human resources, in such a way as to give life to a sustainable and equitable development, which promotes the wellbeing of all, no one excluded, through concretely executable programmes and through international cooperation, in mutual respect and with agreements that are advantageous to all parties".

L’arrivo del Papa al Port Moresby International Airport, in Papua Nuova Guinea il 6 settembre 2024 (Ansa/Alessandro Di Meo)

The Russian Defence Ministry announced that its forces last night shot down two Ukrainian drones on the territory of the Kursk region and another two on that of the Belgorod region.

The United Nations has called for "a thorough investigation" into the killing of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi yesterday during a protest in Beita, near Nablus, in West Bank: the BBC reports. "We would like to see a thorough investigation into the circumstances" of his death, said UN Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric, adding that civilians "must be protected at all times".