标签： Asia

In a significant escalation of tensions, Israel conducted its first strike on Beirut since June, targeting and killing Haytham Ali Tabatabai, Hezbollah’s most senior military figure. This marks the highest-ranking Hezbollah official to be eliminated since the ceasefire in Lebanon was established a year ago. Tabatabai, also known as Abu Ali, had risen through the ranks to become Hezbollah’s top military chief after Israel decimated much of the group’s senior leadership. During last year’s conflict, he headed Hezbollah’s operations division and was later appointed chief of staff following the ceasefire. Hezbollah mourned him as a foundational leader who ensured the group’s strength and victories. The Israeli military stated that Tabatabai had been instrumental in restoring Hezbollah’s readiness for war. Born of Iranian and Lebanese descent, Tabatabai joined Hezbollah in the 1980s, holding various senior positions, including leadership of the elite Radwan Force. He played a pivotal role in military operations against Israel since the 1990s, including the 2006 war, and later oversaw Hezbollah’s interventions in Yemen and Syria. The US had designated him a terrorist in 2016, offering a $5 million reward for information. His assassination has sparked warnings from Hezbollah, with the group’s executive council head, Ali Damoush, stating that Israel had made a grave mistake. The strike, which hit a densely populated area in Beirut’s southern suburbs, killed five and wounded 28. Lebanese security analyst Ali Rizk views this as part of a broader Israeli escalation, highlighting Israel’s intelligence superiority and its strategy to weaken Hezbollah without engaging in full-scale war. Recent weeks have seen increased Israeli operations in Lebanon, with over 300 killed since the ceasefire, including civilians. Israel’s actions, including occupying strategic positions and conducting daily raids, aim to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its military capabilities. Despite Hezbollah’s reduced arsenal and leadership losses, Israeli officials remain cautious of the group’s potential to inflict damage. Rizk concludes that Israel seeks unrestrained operational freedom in Lebanon, mirroring its actions in southern Syria.

The BBC has been exonerated from claims of institutional bias by the very author of a damning report that had previously thrown the broadcaster into turmoil. Michael Prescott, a former editorial adviser, compiled a comprehensive dossier highlighting several issues within BBC News, including mishandling in the editing of a Trump speech, accusations of bias in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, and contentious reporting on transgender issues. Despite the severe repercussions of the leaked report—which led to the resignations of Director General Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness, as well as a $5 billion lawsuit threat from former President Trump—Prescott maintains that the BBC is not inherently biased. Speaking to a committee of lawmakers, Prescott acknowledged the BBC’s world-class factual and non-factual programming and praised its political reporting from Westminster. He emphasized that his memo was intended to address systemic issues and spur improvements, not to condemn the institution. Prescott also shared his findings with the Department of Media and Ofcom, the media regulator, to ensure the corporation could better handle bias-related concerns.

In the coastal regions of Bangladesh, where the mighty rivers of the Himalayas meet the sea, life is intricately tied to water. However, the escalating impacts of climate change are transforming this vital resource into a source of hardship. Rising sea levels and increasingly severe storms are driving saltwater inland, contaminating wells and lakes, and rendering once-fertile land barren. For millions of people living in the ecologically fragile deltas of mudflats and mangrove forests, accessing clean drinking water has become a daily struggle. The 2009 Cyclone Aila marked a turning point, as breached embankments allowed saltwater to flood homes and farmland, leaving behind a legacy of salinity and displacement. Today, communities in the Khulna and Satkhira districts navigate a precarious existence. Families live in bamboo-stilted houses to escape tidal floods, while children grow up in a landscape of constant erosion and displacement. Men often migrate for work, leaving women and children to walk for hours across cracked, parched soil to fetch water from distant ponds or rely on rainwater stored in charity-supplied tanks. Each household carefully rations its limited water supply, enduring the daily ritual of collection and storage. This story is part of a photography series by Muhammad Amdad Hossain, supported by AFP’s 2025 Marai Photo Grant, which highlights the impact of climate change on daily life in South Asia. The grant honors Shah Marai, the former AFP photo chief in Kabul, who was killed in a 2018 suicide attack.

A significant volcanic eruption in Ethiopia has caused widespread disruptions to air travel across Asia and the Middle East, forcing airlines to reroute flights and authorities to monitor the situation closely. The Hayli Gubbi volcano, located in Ethiopia’s Afar region, erupted on Sunday, November 23, 2025, for the first time in nearly 12,000 years. The eruption sent massive ash clouds soaring up to 14 kilometers into the atmosphere, which subsequently drifted over Yemen, Oman, India, and northern Pakistan. One notable incident involved an Abu Dhabi-bound Indigo flight, which was diverted to Ahmedabad, Gujarat, after departing from Kannur, Kerala. The airline confirmed that all passengers landed safely and arrangements are being made to return them to their original destination. Indian authorities and airlines, including low-cost carrier Akasa Air, are actively assessing the impact of the volcanic activity on flight operations, particularly in regions like Delhi and Jaipur. Akasa Air emphasized its commitment to passenger safety, stating that it is closely monitoring the situation and adhering to international aviation advisories. The Hayli Gubbi volcano, situated approximately 800 kilometers northeast of Addis Ababa near the Eritrean border, lies within the geologically active Rift Valley, where two tectonic plates converge. The Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program highlighted the rarity of this eruption, as Hayli Gubbi has no recorded activity during the Holocene epoch. Meanwhile, Oman issued an advisory regarding potential air quality impacts from the volcanic emissions, though no significant rise in pollutant levels has been detected so far.