RUSSIA
Drones downed in Crimea
The Ministry of Defense yesterday said that it downed 42 Ukrainian drones near Crimea, in the largest recent air attack on the peninsula and a day after Kyiv claimed a special forces raid on the territory. Nine drones were “destroyed ... over the territory of the Republic of Crimea,” the ministry wrote on Telegram. Thirty-three others “were suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed without reaching the target,” it said, without specifying whether there had been any damage or casualties. Earlier, a local Russian-installed official said that several drones had been destroyed over the sea off Crimea’s Cape Khersones in the southwest of the peninsula near Sevastopol. Emergency services reported no damage to civilian infrastructure from those drones, Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on Telegram. It was not clear whether they were included in the 42 reported by the ministry. “All forces and services are in a state of combat readiness,” Razvozhayev said.
UNITED KINGDOM
Prigozhin fate unclear
There is not yet definitive proof that Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was onboard a plane that crashed with no survivors earlier this week, but it is “highly likely” he is dead, the Ministry of Defence said yesterday. Russian authorities have said that Prigozhin was listed as a passenger on the plane, which fell from the sky northwest of Moscow on Wednesday evening, two months after he led an abortive mutiny against the army top brass. Russian investigators have opened a probe into what happened, but have not officially confirmed the identities of the 10 bodies recovered from the wreckage. “There is not yet definitive proof that Prigozhin was onboard and he is known to exercise exceptional security measures. However, it is highly likely that he is indeed dead,” the ministry said in a defense intelligence update posted on X. “The demise of Prigozhin would almost certainly have a deeply destabilizing effect on the Wagner Group. His personal attributes of hyperactivity, exceptional audacity, a drive for results and extreme brutality permeated Wagner and are unlikely to be matched by any successor,” it said. “Wagner’s leadership vacuum would be compounded by the reports that founder and field commander Dimitry Utkin and logistics chief Valery Chekalov also died.”
SOUTH AFRICA
Xi and Modi meet
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, asking officials to work at resolving a border dispute. Xi and Modi have largely avoided direct talks since the border conflict began in May 2020, despite having crossed paths at international gatherings. Both leaders touched on the dispute, which sparked the worst armed clashes in four decades, with thousands of troops and weaponry rushed to the border. Several rounds of talks involving military officials and diplomats have made little progress in resolving the standoff. “Modi raised the border dispute with President Xi,” Indian Secretary of Foreign Affairs Vinay Kwatra said at a briefing in Johannesburg on Thursday. “The two leaders directed officials to resolve the border dispute expeditiously.” The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Xi told Modi that improving ties would be conducive to regional peace and economic development. “Both sides should properly handle the border issue and jointly maintain peace in the area,” it said.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
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