Israel's covert pager plot, fires ravage Portugal, Rotterdam attack

It happened while you were sleeping. Here’s what global agencies noted from Thursday night to Friday.

• Israel was involved in the production of pagers that exploded this week, killing members of Hezbollah. According to ABC News, citing a U.S. intelligence source, this type of “supply chain interdiction” operation had been planned for at least 15 years. Shell companies were involved in planning the attack. Israeli intelligence agents were at the helm of a legitimate pager manufacturing company. Some employees at the factories were unaware of who they were working for.

• The government of Portugal announced a one-day national mourning on Friday. It's in response to the country's numerous victims of forest and meadow fires. From Sunday to Thursday evening, seven people died, and 166 were injured in fires across Portugal.

• A man armed with "two long knives" attacked passersby in Rotterdam. According to media reports, one person was killed, and two were seriously injured. Witnesses said 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 show that 73 percent of power plants in the country are not operational.

• The flood situation is worsening in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, the same areas devastated by major flooding in May last year. The biggest battle against the elements is ongoing in the Ravenna area. Several thousand people have been evacuated, some by helicopter from the rooftops of houses where they were waiting for rescue. In this part of Italy, nearly 14 inches of rain fell over 48 hours, according to regional authorities.

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