Fires in Israel, Kenya, Iran, the world's oldest: the night's news

Jerusalem region devastated by fires. Israeli emergency services were on high alert Wednesday after several fires, mainly west of the holy city, broke out, the largest in years, causing several minor injuries and leading to the evacuation of several communities. The highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv was also closed. Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the army to deploy to control the fires, which are spreading rapidly due to strong winds and high temperatures, describing the situation as a “national emergency.” Croatia and Italy provided assistance by sending aircraft. The fires come as the Jewish state commemorated Memorial Day Wednesday, a day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism. “On Israel’s saddest day of the year, the country was on fire – literally and figuratively,” Ha’Aretz notes .

Kenyan MP shot dead in Nairobi. Charles Ong'ondo Were was shot dead in the street on Wednesday, the Speaker of the National Assembly said, confirming media reports. Eyewitnesses reported that the MP was attacked by two assailants riding a motorcycle, according to Citizen TV. Were was a member of Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement, which contested the results of the 2022 election, which he lost to President William Ruto. However, the center-left party had entered into a political alliance with the head of state in recent months. According to the Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation , the MP had claimed two months ago that his life was under threat.

Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel. Tehran announced Wednesday that it had hanged Mohsen Langarneshin, whom the Iranian regime describes as a “high-ranking spy” and claims was involved in the 2022 “assassination” of Sayyad Khodai, a colonel in the Revolutionary Guards, the country’s ideological army. “Langarneshin’s family and human rights groups believe the former IT consultant was innocent and that confessions were extracted through torture or blackmail,” the Guardian reports . Iran has repeatedly announced the arrest of agents working for foreign intelligence services, including its arch-enemy Israel. But according to the Guardian , “Human rights activists fear Iran is scapegoating innocent people after failing to catch the real culprits, who have often fled abroad by the time investigators identify them.”

World's oldest nun, Brazilian, dies at 116. Inah Canabarro Lucas died Wednesday, the Congregation of Teresian Sisters, where she lived in Porto Alegre, announced. She was a fervent supporter of Sport Club Internacional, a soccer club in her city, founded in 1909, a year after her birth, Correio Braziliense reports . Inah Canabarro Lucas is the second-oldest nun in history, after Frenchwoman Lucile Randon, who lived to the age of 118. The new oldest nun is Englishwoman Ethel Caterham, who lives in Surrey County and is now 115 years old, according to the U.S. Gerontology Research Group (GRG) and LongeviQuest.