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This is the world in brief from The Economist.

Our top stories.

The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point.

The cut, the first since 2020, was expected, but some investors thought the Central Bank would opt for a smaller

reduction.

One of the Fed's 12 governors voted to lower rates by a quarter point.

The more aggressive move signals that the Fed is confident that it has

brought inflation under control. Price rises have slowed to an annual pace of

about 2.5 percent. Meanwhile the unemployment rate of 4.2 percent. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate of 4.2 percent is low by historic standards,

but nearly a full percentage point higher than early last year.

A day after thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah militants

blew up, their walkie-talkies exploded in Lebanon, killing at least 14 people and injuring hundreds, according to the health

ministry.

Hezbollah has accused Israel of being behind the attacks, but the country has yet to comment.

On Wednesday,

Jowav Galant, Israel's defense minister, said the country had entered a new phase

in the war.

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