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Airports close across Mideast as Israel-Iran conflict shutters airspace

After Israeli strikes landed near the hotel where he was staying in the Iranian province of Qom, Aimal Hussein desperately wanted to return home. But the 55-year-old Afghan businessman couldn't find a way, with Iranian airspace completely shut down.

He fled to Tehran after the strike Sunday, but no taxi would take him to the border as the conflict between Iran and Israel intensified.

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Lebanese leaders urge Hezbollah to stay out of Israel-Iran conflict

Lebanon's president and prime minister have said that their country must stay out of the conflict between Israel and Iran because any engagement would be detrimental to the small nation engulfed in an economic crisis and struggling to recover from the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

Their remarks Monday amounted to a message to Hezbollah — an ally of both Iran and Hamas — to stay out of the fray.

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Israel opposition rallies behind Netanyahu's Iran operation

Roughly 24 hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a blistering assault on Iran, Israel's opposition was scheming to bring down his government.

Now, just days into the ongoing operation against Iran, the opposition has closed ranks behind the effort, suspending months of bitter criticism against Netanyahu and his handling of the war in Gaza.

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Zelensky visits Austria for first time since Russia's full-scale invasion

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Austria on Monday in his first trip to the European Union member country since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Austria is famously neutral — a stance it declared in 1955 after World War II — and Vienna has come under heavy criticism since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war for maintaining ties with Moscow.

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Ex-Syrian commander questioned in Beirut over missing US journalist

Former Syrian official and adviser to ousted President Bashar al-Assad has been interviewed in Beirut by the FBI and the CIA in April, in the presence of Lebanese officials, The Washington Post and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) said Sunday.

According to the reports, Bassam al-Hassan told the FBI that American journalist Austin Tice was killed in 2013 on the orders of al-Assad, after Tice briefly escaped from his prison cell.

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Spaniards turn water guns on visitors in Barcelona and Mallorca to protest mass tourism

Protesters used water guns against unsuspecting tourists in Barcelona and on the Spanish island of Mallorca on Sunday as demonstrators marched to demand a rethink of an economic model they believe is fueling a housing crunch and erasing the character of their hometowns.

The marches were part of the first coordinated effort by activists concerned with the ills of overtourism across southern Europe's top destinations. While several thousands rallied in Mallorca in the biggest gathering of the day, hundreds more gathered in other Spanish cities, as well as in Venice, Italy, and Portugal's capital, Lisbon.

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Flash flooding kills 5 in West Virginia

Flash flooding caused by torrential rains killed five people in northern West Virginia and rescue crews were searching for three other people who were missing Sunday as authorities assessed damage to roads, bridges, natural gas lines and other infrastructure.

Officials said 2.5 to 4 inches (6 to 10 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of Wheeling and Ohio County within about a half hour on Saturday night.

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IAEA head warns of radiological, chemical contamination inside Iran's main nuclear site

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday that there is a possibility of both radiological and chemical contamination within Iran's main nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz following Israeli strikes, although radiation levels outside the complex are presently normal.

IAEA director general Rafael Mariano Grossi said that the radiation poses a significant danger if uranium is inhaled or ingested. He added that the risk can be effectively managed with appropriate protective measures, such as using respiratory protection devices while inside the facilities.

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UN rights chief decries 'horrifying' suffering in Gaza

The U.N. human rights chief said Israel's warfare in Gaza is inflicting "horrifying, unconscionable suffering" on Palestinians and urged government leaders on Monday to exert pressure on Israel's government and the militant group Hamas to end it.

Volker Türk made the comments at the opening of the latest Human Rights Council session on Monday, in a broad address that also raised concerns about escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, the fallout from U.S. tariffs, and China's human rights record — alongside wars and conflict in places like Sudan and Ukraine.

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Israeli fire kills 38 Palestinians waiting for aid

At least 38 Palestinians were killed Monday in new shootings in areas of Israeli- and U.S.-supported food distribution centers in the south of the Gaza Strip, the local Health Ministry said.

The toll was the deadliest yet in the near-daily shootings that have taken place as thousands of Palestinians move through Israeli military-controlled areas to reach the food centers run by the private contractor Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Two witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire early Monday in an attempt to control the crowds.

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