In Syria And Beyond, A Dangerous New Era Dawns

U. S., U. K. and United Nations officials urged restraint as tensions ramped up between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. After days of escalating conflict, Israel carried out extensive airstrikes targeting Southern Lebanon on Sept. 19 and Hezbollah retaliated on Sept. 20, prompting fears of further conflict and a wider Middle East war.

TOKYO — Shohei Ohtani’s feat of becoming the first major leaguer with at least 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season was met with extra editions of newspapers for fans to read on their way to work on Friday morning in Japan. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Ohtani raced past the 50-50 milestone as he hit three home runs and stole two bases in a game during the 20-4 rout of the Miami Marlins on Thursday, securing a playoff berth for the Dodgers. Read More: Shohei Ohtani Is What Baseball Needs The news topped morning headlines, and “Ohtani-san” was the No.

Taiwan’s Constitutional Court upheld the legality of the death penalty but moved to limit its use, in a decision that strikes a balance between keeping the punishment’s deterrent effect and preventing its abuse. The court on Friday affirmed the constitutionality of capital punishment but restricted its use to only the most serious crimes, while emphasizing the need for better safeguards.

First, on Tuesday, there were exploding pagers. On Wednesday, walkie-talkies began detonating, along with other electronic devices. Panic took hold of whole areas across Lebanon—particularly in Shia communities where Hezbollah are present—as devices designed to be held in the hand and close to the face blew fingers off hands and took out eyes. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “We were confused at first,” Joumana, who was visiting loved ones at a hospital in Lebanon’s capital Beirut on Wednesday, tells TIME.

Japan’s Icom Inc., whose brand appears on walkie-talkies that exploded in Lebanon, said it halted production a decade ago of the model allegedly used in the attacks and is still investigating the situation. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Icom exported its IC-V82 two-way radio to regions including the Middle East until October 2014, when it stopped making and selling the devices, the Osaka-based company said in a statement Thursday.

A lot has changed since my last conversation with Anwar Ibrahim 10 years ago, when he jumped on a crackly phone call between court hearings to reveal his chances of beating a trumped-up sodomy charge “didn’t look good.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Things looked considerably brighter for Malaysia’s Prime Minister when we caught up last month at the opening of German semiconductor giant Infineon’s new Malaysia plant.