Ukraine targeted Moscow early on Tuesday in what seemed its biggest drone attack of the war on the Russian capital, killing at least one person, sparking fires and suspending air and train transport in the region, authorities said.
“Today at 4 a.m. a massive drone attack began on Moscow and the Moscow region,” Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. “At the moment, one person is known to have died and three were injured.”
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that at least 69 drones were destroyed that approached the city in several waves.
Moscow and its surrounding region, with a population of at least 21 million, is one of the biggest metropolitan areas in Europe, alongside Istanbul.
Russia’s aviation watchdog said flights were suspended at all four of Moscow’s airports to ensure air safety after the attacks. Two other airports, in the Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod regions, both east of Moscow, were also closed. Vorobyov said that at least seven apartments were damaged and residents forced to evacuate in a multi-story building in the Ramenskoye district of the Moscow region, about 50 km (31 miles) southeast of the Kremlin.
Rail infrastructure at the train station in the Domodedovo district, about 35 km south of Moscow, was damaged as result of falling drone debris, RIA news agency reported.
Baza, a news Telegram channel that is close to Russia’s security services, and other Russian news telegram channels posted videos of several residential fires around Moscow that they said were sparked by the attacks. The strikes came as the United States is pushing for an end to the three-year war that Russia started with its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. On Tuesday, US and Ukrainian teams are scheduled to meet for peace talks in Saudi Arabia.
Governors of Ryazan region, just southeast of the Moscow region, and the Belgorod region on border with Ukraine, also said that their regions were under drone attacks. Several settlements in the Belgorod region were left without power, the regional governor said.
A November drone attack on Moscow, the largest in the war at that point, led to the destruction of at least 34 drones. At least one civilian was killed and dozens of homes wrecked around the capital.
Kyiv has often said that its strikes inside Russia are aimed at destroying infrastructure key to Moscow’s overall war efforts and are in response to Russia’s continued bombing of Ukraine.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in the attacks, but thousands of them have died in the conflict so far, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.
Ukraine’s biggest drone attack on Moscow kills one, disrupts air and train transport
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Ukraine’s biggest drone attack on Moscow kills one, disrupts air and train transport
- Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that at least 69 drones were destroyed that approached the city in several waves
- Moscow and its surrounding region, with a population of at least 21 million, is one of the biggest metropolitan areas in Europe
Air India says Ahmedabad-London Gatwick flight ‘involved in an incident’
“Flight AI171, operating Ahmedabad-London Gatwick, was involved in an incident today, 12 June 2025,” an Air India spokesperson said in a statement on X. “At this moment, we are ascertaining the details and will share further updates at the earliest.”
Flight AI171 is listed as a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which can hold more than 200 passengers. Fire service officials told AFP that an aircraft had crashed, without giving further details, and thick plumes of black smoke were seen over the city’s airport, an AFP reporter said.
Beijing hails improving Vatican ties after Pope Leo names first Chinese bishop
- China recognizes appointment of Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou, capital of eastern Fujian province
- The Vatican and China do not have formal diplomatic relations because the Holy See recognizes Taiwan
BEIJING: Beijing hailed on Thursday improving ties with the Vatican after the first appointment of a Chinese bishop under Pope Leo XIV, signaling the new pontiff’s support for a controversial accord on nominations struck by his predecessor.
The Holy See expressed “satisfaction” on Wednesday at the recognition by China of the appointment of Joseph Lin Yuntuan as auxiliary bishop of Fuzhou, capital of eastern Fujian province. The pope made the nomination on June 5.
Beijing’s foreign ministry said the naming of the first Chinese bishop under the new pope had “enhanced understanding and mutual trust through constructive dialogue” with the Vatican.
“China is willing to work together with the Vatican to promote the continuous improvement of China-Vatican relations,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a regular news briefing.
The Vatican and China do not have formal diplomatic relations because the Holy See recognizes Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own territory.
However, they agreed in a historic deal in 2018 to let both sides have a say in the naming of bishops in China, home to about 12 million Catholics.
The deal – the text of which has never been made public – has drawn criticism within the Church, with some seeing it as allowing the Communist Party government a stranglehold over China’s Catholics.
The deal was renewed several times as Pope Francis sought to make inroads for the Church in China, most recently in October 2024 for four years.
“With the joint efforts of both sides, the provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops has been smoothly implemented,” Lin Jian said.
Rescuers in South Africa search for the missing after floods leave at least 49 dead
- The missing included four high school students who were swept away when their bus was caught up in the floods near a river on Tuesday
- The floods hit early Tuesday after an extreme cold front brought heavy rain, strong winds and snow to parts of eastern and southern South Africa
CAPE TOWN, South Africa: Rescue teams began a third day searching for missing people Thursday after floods devastated parts of South Africa’s rural Eastern Cape province and left at least 49 dead.
Authorities said they expected the death toll to rise.
The missing included four high school students who were swept away when their bus was caught up in the floods near a river on Tuesday. Six students on the bus were confirmed dead, while three were rescued after clinging onto trees and calling out for help, according to the provincial government.
The floods hit the province early Tuesday after an extreme cold front brought heavy rain, strong winds and snow to parts of eastern and southern South Africa. Forecasters had warned about the damaging weather last week.
Eastern Cape provincial government officials said they believed people were still missing but did not give an exact number. They were working with families to find out who was still unaccounted for, they said.
On Wednesday, rescue teams brought bodies out of the water in blue body bags, while witnesses said many people had taken refuge on the top of buildings or in trees.
The floods centered on the town of Mthatha and its surrounding district, which is around 430 kilometers (267 miles) south of the east coast city of Durban.
Officials said at least 58 schools and 20 hospitals were damaged, while hundreds of families were left homeless after their houses were submerged under water or washed away by the floods. Critical infrastructure including roads and bridges has been badly damaged, Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane said.
He said it was one of the worst weather-related disasters his province had experienced.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced he had activated the National Disaster Management Center to help local authorities in the Eastern Cape, while national officials were expected to visit the province on Thursday.
Ukrainian pea prices may rise amid expected exports to China, producers say
- UAC said an increase in demand could push pea prices up to as much as 16,000 hryvnias ($385.33) per metric ton
KYIV: Prices for Ukrainian peas may rise significantly by mid-summer on the back of expected significant supplies to China, which opened its market to Ukrainian peas this spring, Ukrainian producers union UAC said on Thursday.
Farmers sowed 250,000 hectares of peas in 2025 compared with 212,000 hectares in 2024, farm ministry data shows.
“China has opened its market, and a significant part of the peas will probably go there,” UAC said in a statement.
UAC said an increase in demand could push pea prices up to as much as 16,000 hryvnias ($385.33) per metric ton ex works (EXW) in late summer against the current 14,000 hryvnias.
The farm ministry has said pea production in Ukraine could increase to 476,000 metric tons in the 2025/26 July-June season from 409,000 tons in 2024/25.
Ukraine exports its peas mostly to Turkiye, India, Italy, Malaysia, the ministry said.
Australia ‘confident’ in US nuclear sub deal despite review
- The 2021 AUKUS deal joins Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States in a multi-decade effort to balance China’s growing military might
SYDNEY: Australia said Thursday it is “very confident” in the future of a US agreement to equip its navy with a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, after the Trump administration put the pact under review.
The 2021 AUKUS deal joins Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States in a multi-decade effort to balance China’s growing military might.
It aims to arm Australia with a fleet of cutting-edge, nuclear-powered submarines from the United States and provides for cooperation in developing an array of warfare technologies.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has advised Australia and the United Kingdom that it is reviewing AUKUS, a spokesperson for the Australian Department of Defense confirmed Thursday.
Defense Minister Richard Marles said he was “very confident” Australia would still get the American submarines.
“I think the review that’s been announced is not a surprise,” he told public broadcaster ABC.
“We’ve been aware of this for some time. We welcome it. It’s something which is perfectly natural for an incoming administration to do.”
Australia plans to acquire at least three Virginia Class submarines from the United States within 15 years, eventually manufacturing its own subs.
The US Navy has 24 Virginia-class vessels, which can carry cruise missiles, but American shipyards are struggling to meet production targets set at two new boats each year.
In the United States, critics question why Washington would sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia without stocking its own military first.
Marles said boosting the US production of US Virginia Class submarines was a challenge.
“That’s why we are working very closely with the United States on seeing that happen. But that is improving,” he said.
Australia’s focus is on “sticking to this plan and on seeing it through,” Marles said.
He criticized Australia’s previous conservative government for “chopping and changing” its submarine choice.
On the eve of announcing its participation in AUKUS in 2021, the government of the time abruptly scrapped plans to buy diesel-powered submarines in a lucrative deal with France — infuriating Paris.
The AUKUS submarine program alone could cost the country up to $235 billion over the next 30 years, according to Australian government forecasts, a price tag that has contributed to criticism of the strategy.
Australia should conduct its own review of AUKUS, said former conservative prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, noting that Britain and now the United States had each decided to re-examine the pact.
“Australia, which has the most at stake, has no review. Our parliament to date has been the least curious and least informed. Time to wake up?” he posted on X.
Former Labour Party prime minister Paul Keating, a vehement critic of AUKUS, said the US review might “save Australia from itself.”
Australia should carve its own security strategy “rather than being dragged along on the coat tails of a fading Atlantic empire,” Keating said.
“The review makes clear that America keeps its national interests uppermost. But the concomitant question is: Why has Australia failed to do the same?”
Any US review of AUKUS carries a risk, particularly since it is a Biden-era initiative, said Euan Graham, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
But it is “fundamentally a good deal for the US,” he said, with Australia already investing cash to boost American submarine production as part of the agreement.
“I just do not think it is realistic for Australia, this far backed in, to have any prospect of withdrawing itself from AUKUS,” Graham said.
“I don’t think there is a Plan B that would meet requirements and I think it would shred Australia’s reputation fundamentally in a way that would not be recoverable.”
