War Day 607: Strikes on Hezbollah Underground Sites, IDF Arming Gaza Clan – Anash.org

  1. War Day 607: Strikes on Hezbollah Underground Sites, IDF Arming Gaza Clan  Anash.org
  2. Lebanon: Israel strikes southern Beirut on eve of Eid Al Adha  BBC
  3. Israel attacks suburbs of Beirut, targeting alleged Hezbollah ‘drone factories’  CNN
  4. Behind the scenes: How Israeli intel uncovered Hezbollah’s drone network - interview  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Updates: Israel strikes south Beirut as Gaza daily death toll rises to 52  Al Jazeera
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Russia attacks Ukraine with missiles and drones – as it happened

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We’re about to wrap up this live coverage for now – thanks for reading. Here’s a recap of what happened this morning.

Russia attacked Ukraine with Russian ballistic missiles and drones during a nighttime attack early on Friday, wounding at least three people, officials said.

Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv, the capital, and falling debris triggered fires across several districts as air defence systems tried to intercept incoming targets, said the Kyiv city administration’s head, Tymur Tkachenko.

Authorities reported damage in several districts and rescue workers were responding at multiple locations. Officials urged residents to seek shelter.

The attacks came after Russia accused Kyiv of state terrorism over its drone operation striking Russian heavy bomber planes at air bases in Siberia and the far north at the weekend and said it would respond as and when its military saw fit.

In Friday’s Russian attacks a fire broke out in a 16-story residential building in Kyiv’s Solomyanskyi district and emergency services evacuated three people from the apartment. Rescue operations were continuing. Another fire broke out in a metal warehouse.

A Shahed drone exploded near an apartment building in Ukraine’s northern Chernihiv region, shattering windows and doors, the regional military administration chief said. Explosions from ballistic missiles were also recorded on the city’s outskirts, Dmytro Bryzhynskyi added.

US president Donald Trump said that during a call with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday he urged the Russian president to refrain from retaliating but fully expected Moscow to strike back over Ukraine’s assault on Russian heavy bomber planes.

The UN nuclear safety watchdog’s team at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine heard repeated rounds of gunfire that appeared to be aimed at drones reportedly attacking the site’s training centre, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Thursday. There were no immediate reports of damage to the centre, it said.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Trump in an Oval Office meeting to increase pressure on Russia to end the war.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to “unconditionally support” Russia in the war at a meeting with top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu, Pyongyang state media reported.
With agencies

How and when our military deems it appropriate.

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Eyes on Senate Republicans as Trump and Musk feud over tax and spend bill

Lawmakers still weighing whether to pass ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ at root of rift between US president and tech boss

As the simmering tensions between Donald Trump and his once top adviser, the billionaire Elon Musk, erupted into public view on Thursday, eyes turned to the Republican lawmakers still weighing whether to pass the president’s so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill”.

It was approved by just a single vote in the House of Representatives with no Democratic support last month, and nonpartisan analysts have found the sweeping legislation could add a whopping $2.4tn-$5tn to the $36.2tn US national debt and make deep cuts to Medicaid and food-assistance programs. Seen as an outline of Trump’s “America first” agenda, the bill would also extend tax cuts, fund beefed-up immigration enforcement and impose new work requirements for enrollees of federal safety net programs.

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Butter madness: New Zealanders turn to churning as price of dairy staple soars

Dairy is the country’s largest export industry, but recent figures from Stats NZ show domestic butter prices have surged 65% and people are getting desperate

New Zealanders are driving cross-country for hours in pursuit of cheap butter while some are ordering it from Australia or even churning their own cream, as the country battles sky-high dairy prices.

Despite dairy being the country’s largest export industry, recent figures from Stats NZ show domestic butter prices surged 65% in the year to March, pushing the average price for 500g to $7.42 (£3.30) – that’s up about $3 from this time last year.

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‘Total discrimination’: Chinese students facing US visa ban say their lives are in limbo

Across the US, hundreds of thousands of Chinese students are now uncertain about their academic future and some are considering moving away

Chinese students in the United States are questioning their future in the country after the state department announced last week that it would “aggressively” revoke visas for Chinese students and enhance scrutiny of future applications from China and Hong Kong.

Chinese students hoping to study at Harvard, the US’s oldest and wealthiest university, are under particular pressure after the Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it was banning the school from enrolling new foreign students. The presidential proclamation cited Harvard’s links with China as a particular cause for concern.

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Judge threatens to remove Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs from court for nodding at jury

Music mogul warned to desist from looking and nodding at jury during sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial

The judge in the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs threatened to remove the music mogul from court for looking and nodding at the jury during testimony on Thursday.

The court also heard from a woman, under the pseudonym “Jane” and who previously dated Combs, as she began testifying about their relationship and the drug-fueled sexual marathons that she said Combs orchestrated.

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Tesla share plunge amid Trump feud wipes $152bn off Elon Musk’s company

Car company’s shares dropped by 14.2% and its billionaire CEO’s net worth reduced by $8.73bn

Tesla’s shares dropped by about 14.2% on Thursday at market close, wiping roughly $152bn off the value of the company as a feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump erupted into public view. The former political allies traded threats and insults through posts on their respective social media platforms throughout the afternoon as the company’s price fell.

Trump suggested on Truth Social that he could cut Musk’s government subsidies and contracts, of which both Tesla and SpaceX have been immense beneficiaries. Musk meanwhile threatened to decommission the SpaceX spacecraft that Nasa relies on for transport missions, called for Trump’s impeachment, derided the president’s signature tariffs and accused him of being affiliated with the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Musk said late Thursday evening his company will not decommission its spacecraft.

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After Putin call, Trump suggests Ukraine, Russia should ‘fight for a while’ – The Washington Post

  1. After Putin call, Trump suggests Ukraine, Russia should ‘fight for a while’  The Washington Post
  2. Trump Live Updates: Merz White House Visit, Travel Ban and More  The New York Times
  3. Trump says it may be better to let Ukraine and Russia ‘fight for a while’  The Guardian
  4. Trump compares Ukraine-Russia war to kids’ brawl: ‘Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight’  CNN
  5. 'Deadline is in my brain' — Trump dismisses timeline to impose Russian sanctions  The Kyiv Independent
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State Dept. Imposes Sanctions on International Criminal Court Judges – The New York Times

  1. State Dept. Imposes Sanctions on International Criminal Court Judges  The New York Times
  2. Trump administration defends US and Israeli sovereignty with new sanctions against four ICC judges  Fox News
  3. Rubio unveils new sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court for attempts to investigate US and Israel  CNN
  4. US sanctions International Criminal Court judges linked to Israel, Afghanistan probes  Politico
  5. Trump administration imposes sanctions on four ICC judges in unprecedented move  Reuters
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