Prime Minister Benjamin *Netanyahu has said he okayed a deadly September attack on Hezbollah communications devices* which exploded in Lebanon, the first time Israel has admitted involvement. 🇮🇱 🇱🇧 *Hezbollah had previously blamed its arch-foe for the blasts* that dealt a major blow to the Iran-backed militant group, and vowed revenge. *_"Netanyahu confirmed Sunday that he greenlighted the pager operation in Lebanon,"_* his spokesman Omer Dostri told AFP of the attacks. *Hand-held devices used by Hezbollah operatives detonated two days in a row* in supermarkets, on streets and at funerals in mid-September. *They killed nearly 40 people and wounded nearly 3,000*, and preceded Israel's ongoing military operation in Lebanon.

*US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said _"now is the time"_ to end the conflict in Gaza,* and urged Israel to avoid further escalation with Iran. 🇮🇱 🇵🇸 *Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon,* and has pledged to hit back against Iran's October 1 missile strike. 🇺🇸 *Blinken's visit to the region is his 11th since the start of the war in Gaza* and his first since Israel-Hezbollah violence escalated to all-out war late last month. 🇱🇧 *In Lebanon, state media reported an Israeli drone strike on Tyre,* after the military warned residents of parts of the coastal city to flee ahead of operations targeting Hezbollah. *The warning sparked a new exodus from the city,* which is perched on the Mediterranean coast, and *AFPTV footage showed a plume of thick black smoke* rising after the strike.

🎾 Rafael Nadal has announced he will retire after the Davis Cup finals in November, ending a career which brought 22 Grand Slam titles, global respect and inspired epic, iconic rivalries with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. 🇪🇸 "I am retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially," Nadal said in a video on social media. "It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make. But in this life everything has a beginning and an end." The 38-year-old Spaniard is set to end his two decades as a professional with 92 titles and prize money alone of $135 million. #AFP

🎖️ The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to South Korean author Han Kang, whose work confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life. 🇰🇷 She was honoured "for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life," the Swedish Academy said. #AFP

*Rescuers in Spain's Valencia region have resumed their grim search for bodies* as the country reels from a week of loss after its worst floods in decades that have left 218 people dead. 🇪🇸 The *devastating Mediterranean storm that lashed eastern Spain a week ago triggered surging torrents* of muddy water that have left a trail of destruction and an unknown number of missing. ⚠️ *Around 17,000 security force and emergency services personnel are working around the clock* to repair damaged infrastructure, distribute aid and search for bodies in Spain's largest peacetime deployment of its armed forces. *Firefighters painstakingly combed through piles of damaged vehicles and pumped out water* from inundated garages and car parks where more victims may be discovered, AFP journalists witnessed.

🇺🇸🗳️ Harris or Trump: America decides in knife-edge election AFP is live at polling stations across the US, bringing you images from New York, Atlanta, Dearborn, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Palm Beach and more. LIVE FEED: https://youtube.com/live/CtL4_mXO4eA

Different men showed me marriage cards and said I was married to them,” she shared with the AFP. After numerous attempts to escape, Zarin eventually fled, only to face accusations of kidnapping from her captors.

Manchester City midfielder *Rodri was awarded the men's Ballon d'Or* after helping Spain win Euro 2024, but Real Madrid boycotted the ceremony in Paris. 🏅 The decision to award the prize for the world's best player to Rodri came as a surprise, with *Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior widely seen as the favourite* after helping the Spanish giants win the Champions League and La Liga. ⚽ The *European champions defended their decision to skip the event* , telling AFP that _"it is clear that Ballon d'Or-UEFA does not respect Real Madrid. And Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected."_ Barcelona star *Aitana Bonmati won her second successive women's Ballon d'Or* and and Lamine Yamal was awarded the Raymond Kopa trophy for best young player.

3️⃣ *EU countries have given a definitive green light to hefty additional tariffs on electric cars made in China,* despite strong opposition led by Germany and fears it will spark a trade war with Beijing. 🇪🇺 🇨🇳 *The European Commission* -- which provisionally approved the step in June after an inquiry found Beijing's state aid to auto manufacturers was unfair -- *now has free rein to impose steep tariffs for five years from the end of October.* 🚗🔌 *Ten member states including France, Italy and Poland supported imposing the tariffs of up to 35.3%,* coming on top of existing duties of 10%, several European diplomats told AFP. *Only five including Germany and Hungary voted against,* while 12 abstained including Spain and Sweden.

The poliovirus was detected in July 2024 in environmental samples from Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah. Worryingly, three children presenting with suspected acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), a common symptom of polio, have since been reported in the Gaza Strip. Their stool samples have been sent for testing to the Jordan National Polio Laboratory.