Israel behind deadly pager bomb attack on Hezbollah members and other overnight reports

It happened while you were sleeping. Here is what the world's agencies reported during the night from Thursday to Friday.

• Israel was involved in the production of pagers that exploded this week, killing Hezbollah members, with this type of "supply chain interdiction" operation planned for at least 15 years - ABC News reports, citing a US intelligence source. Front companies were involved in planning the attack. Israeli intelligence agents were at the head of a legitimate pager manufacturing company. Some factory employees were unaware of whom they were working for.

• The government of Portugal declared a one-day national mourning on Friday. It is related to the numerous victims of forest and meadow fires in the country. From Sunday to Thursday evening, 7 people died and 166 were injured in the fires in Portugal.

• A man armed with "two long knives" attacked passersby in Rotterdam. According to media reports, one person died, and two were seriously injured. According to witnesses, the attacker was shouting "Allahu Akbar."

• Experts surveyed by the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) predict that power outages will last from 4 to 18 hours a day in winter. Data collected in June shows that 73% of the country’s combined heat and power plants are not operational.

• The flood situation is worsening in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, in the same areas devastated by the major flood last May. The biggest battle with the elements is taking place in the Ravenna area. Several thousand people have been evacuated, some by helicopter from rooftops where they were waiting for help. According to regional authorities, over 350 mm of rain fell in this part of Italy within 48 hours.

• A monument called Angel of Harmony, sculpted by Polish artist Wiktor Szostalo, was severely damaged in front of the Catholic Basilica Cathedral in St. Louis. The monument was installed in 1999, a few months after Pope John Paul II's visit to the city. According to the police, a 35-year-old man threw a heavy object at the monument using construction equipment. The suspect has been arrested. The motive for the vandalism is not yet known.