KYIV: Russian drones bore down on the city of Kyiv early on Friday, with Mayor Vitali Klitschko and other officials reporting strikes on widely separated residential districts.
It was the sixth drone attack on the capital this month. At least two people were injured.
Klitschko said a drone had hit a block of flats in the Solomyanskyi district, south of the city center, triggering a fire. Two people were injured, including one being treated in hospital.
“The upper floors are in flames. Emergency crews are on site,” Mayor Klitschko said.
A video posted on social media showed a giant orange flame going skyward in the night.
Klitschko also said drone fragments had set fire to a house under construction in Darnytskyi district on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River that runs through the city.
He said there were no injuries. Pictures posted online showed construction materials strewn about the site.
Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, reported fragments from a downed drone had struck an apartment building in a third area — Holosiivskyi district — also south of the city center.
Popko posted pictures showing smashed windows and heavy damage to apartments.
Mass drone attack hits several districts in Ukrainian capital
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Mass drone attack hits several districts in Ukrainian capital

- A drone had hit a block of flats in the Solomyanskyi district, triggering a fire: Mayor Vitali Klitschko
Germany to seek direct contact with Taliban on deportations

“I envision us making agreements directly with Afghanistan to enable deportations,” Alexander Dobrindt said in an interview with Focus magazine.
Berlin currently has only indirect contact with the Taliban through third parties, an arrangement Dobrindt said “cannot remain a permanent solution.”
Germany stopped deportations to Afghanistan and closed its embassy in Kabul following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
But a debate over resuming expulsions has flared as migration becomes a key issue amid the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Twenty-eight Afghan nationals who had been convicted of crimes were deported in August last year after Germany’s previous government carried out indirect negotiations with the Taliban.
No further deportations have taken place. But the debate has continued to rage, especially since a series of deadly attacks last year blamed on asylum seekers — with several of the suspects from Afghanistan.
Germany’s new government, a coalition between the conservative CDU/CSU and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), has promised to expel more foreign criminals alongside a crackdown on irregular migration.
Dobrindt also said he was in contact with authorities to enable deportations to Syria, which have been suspended since 2012.
Longtime Syrian ruler Bashar Assad was toppled in December. The country is now under the control of Islamist leaders, some of whom were once linked with the Al-Qaeda jihadist network.
Germany has made tentative contact with the new authorities and has sent several delegations to Damascus for talks.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz this week said he believed “deportations to Syria are possible today, given the current circumstances and situation.”
Austria on Thursday deported a Syrian convict back to Syria, becoming the first EU country to do so officially in recent years.
Modi pushes further India-Africa cooperation on Ghana visit

- Narendra Modi: ‘Over 200 projects across the continent enhance connectivity, infrastructure and industrial capacity’
- Modi noted that the African Union had been admitted as a permanent member to the G20 while India held the rotating presidency
ACCRA: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday outlined plans for deeper ties between his country and Africa, as New Delhi increasingly vies for a stronger economic presence on the continent along with China and Russia.
In a speech to Ghana’s parliament, Modi highlighted a major rail project that opened in the west African nation last year, financed by the India Export-Import Bank.
He also underlined his country’s expanding diplomatic development and business footprint in Africa.
“Over 200 projects across the continent enhance connectivity, infrastructure and industrial capacity,” Modi said. On the political front he welcomed “the establishment of Ghana-India Parliamentary Friendship Society in your parliament.”
Modi’s visit is the first to Ghana by an Indian leader in three decades.
But India’s rival China remains the most important backer of infrastructure across the continent, a position only strengthened as the United States and other Western powers slash aid programs.
In a meeting Wednesday, Modi and Ghanaian President John Mahama agreed to deepen security and mining ties.
In November 2024, the Indian prime minister visited Nigeria, discussing trade and security at a time when Indian companies had expressed interest in investing in Nigerian industries including steel.
The Indian prime minister also on Thursday called for a greater global diplomatic role for both his country and Africa, warning that “the world order created after the Second World War is changing fast.”
Modi noted that the African Union had been admitted as a permanent member to the G20 while India held the rotating presidency of the bloc.
Progress on worldwide challenges including climate change, diplomacy, “terrorism” and pandemics “cannot come without giving voice to the Global South,” he added.
India, the world’s most populous country and a nuclear-armed power, has close ties with Russia but is often in rivalry with China.
Resource-rich Ghana is Modi’s first stop in a tour that will take the Indian premier to four other countries in Africa, the Caribbean and South America.
The visit to Accra came as he made his way to Brazil for a summit of the BRICS group of emerging economies on Sunday and Monday.
Highlighting his own country’s economic development aspirations to become a “developed nation by 2047,” Modi said “India remains a committed partner in Africa’s development journey.”
US recalls top diplomat in Colombia for ‘urgent consultations’

- Bruce said the United States “is pursuing other measures to make clear our deep concern”
- Petro claimed a far-right “leader,” had spoken to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
WASHINGTON: The United States recalled its top diplomat in Colombia on Thursday for “urgent consultations” and expressed “deep concern” over the relationship between the two countries.
Charge d’affaires John McNamara was being recalled “following baseless and reprehensible statements from the highest levels of the Government of Colombia,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
Bruce did not specify what the offending remarks were.
In addition to McNamara’s recall, Bruce said the United States “is pursuing other measures to make clear our deep concern over the current state of our bilateral relationship,” without detailing the actions.
She stressed, however, that Colombia remains an “essential strategic partner” despite Washington’s “policy differences with the current government.”
“We are committed to close cooperation on a range of shared priorities, including regional security and stability,” Bruce added.
Colombia’s leftist President Gustavo Petro accused the United States and “right-wing extremists” last month of plotting to overthrow him.
Without providing further details, Petro claimed a far-right “leader,” who he did not identify, had spoken to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Colombia leftist government also recently refused a US request to extradite two prominent guerrilla leaders wanted by Washington for drug trafficking.
Colombia was until recently one of the United States’ closest partners in Latin America.
Freight shipping on Mosel river in Germany blocked after accident

- The river, known as the Moselle in France, is an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France
- Vessels cannot pass the Sankt Aldegund lock in either direction, the spokesperson said
HAMBURG: Freight shipping on the river Mosel in west Germany has been blocked to shipping after an accident involving a passenger ship that damaged a lock, authorities said on Thursday.
The river, known as the Moselle in France, is an important transit route for grains and rapeseed between Germany and France. Transit was halted after an accident on Wednesday damaged a lock at Sankt Aldegund between Koblenz and Trier, a police spokesperson said.
Vessels cannot pass the Sankt Aldegund lock in either direction, the spokesperson said.
Technical experts on Thursday were examining the lock, and it is not yet possible to comment on the level of damage or say how long the impact on shipping will last, river navigation authority WSA said.
German federal transport minister Patrick Schnieder said in a statement he will visit the accident site later on Thursday.
“I will do everything in my power to ensure that the lock can resume operations as soon as possible,” Schnieder said.
The river was closed to inland waterways shipping in December after an accident that damaged a lock at Mueden, south of Koblenz, and only reopened in February after lengthy repairs.
Initial indications are that the lock’s concrete structure and drive mechanism were not damaged in the accident, WSA head Eric Oehlmann said in a statement.
Technicians are currently assessing whether it is possible to resume limited lock operations for the waiting vessels to pass, he said.
“If not, we will find another solution, for example, through emergency locks with temporary water control barriers, which have already proven effective,” Oehlmann said.
A temporary lock was successful in allowing ships to transit during the winter disruption.
“Despite the accident, there is determination that shipping on the Moselle will not come to a complete standstill," Oehlmann said.
Japan ‘seriously concerned’ after Iran stops cooperating with IAEA

- ‘The engagement of the IAEA is essential for resolving Iran’s nuclear issue,’ the Japanese Foreign Ministry says
TOKYO: Japan has expressed “serious concern” over Iran’s decision to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“Japan attaches great importance to the activities of the IAEA in verifying Iran’s nuclear program and expresses serious concern over this announcement,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
“The engagement of the IAEA is essential for resolving Iran’s nuclear issue.”
Iranian authorities announced on Wednesday that they would no longer cooperate with the agency. Japan had been urging Iran to continue to cooperate with the IAEA and said all necessary diplomatic efforts to achieve this will go on, in cooperation with the international community and relevant organizations.
“Japan has consistently emphasized the importance of resolving Iran’s nuclear issue through dialogue, based on the position that Iran’s development of nuclear weapons must never be allowed, for the sake of maintaining the international nuclear non-proliferation regime,” the Foreign Ministry added.