A crown was blown off an ancient column in a UNESCO-listed site in Lebanon's port city of Tyre. A pilgrimage site for Muslims and Christians alike was destroyed in another southern town. Israeli strikes pummelled the Mamluk-era market in the city of Nabatieh and troops razed centuries-old Lebanese border towns. Israel's nearly four-month air and ground campaign that it says was targeting Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah has damaged or destroyed revered heritage sites across southern Lebanon, Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salame told Reuters. Despite a ceasefire that took hold a week ago, authorities have yet to build a full picture of the damage as Israeli troops still occupy a zone about 10 km (6.2 miles) deep into Lebanon that is off-limits to Lebanese, Salame said. "We cannot work under the shadow of occupation," he said. Read: Hezbollah chief rejects Lebanon-Israe...
France has recorded 1,000 excess deaths during the blistering heatwave sweeping Europe, the public health agency said on Sunday, warning that the true figure was likely to be higher. Detailing its preliminary count of excess deaths, Sante Publique said most of the fatalities involved older people and that it expected the mortality rate to rise as more information became available about deaths in residential care and homes. Read: Europeans told to protect themselves as deadly heatwave takes its toll Europeans have been enduring blistering conditions during a heatwave that has been linked to dozens of deaths - shattering records, disrupting power generation and damaging infrastructure. Scientists have said the heatwave, which began on June 20, was the worst recorded in Europe, where the climate is changing faster than the global average. Extreme heat eases in France The heatwave has been moving east. But while France's weather agency said the extreme he...