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Mass Ukraine drone barrage kills four in Russia

The Japan Times

Russian rescuers work in a heavily damaged house following an air attack at an undisclosed location in the Moscow region. Moscow - A huge wave of almost 600 Ukrainian drones attacked Russia overnight, killing three people in the Moscow region and one in the Belgorod region, authorities said on Sunday. Air defenses shot down 556 drones overnight across the country, Russia's defence ministry said, with another 30 drones neutralized after dawn in one of the largest Ukrainian barrages of the conflict so far. These interceptions -- far above the few dozen more often reported -- took place across 14 Russian regions, as well as the Crimean Peninsula annexed from Ukraine and the Black and Azov seas, the ministry added, with the region around the capital among the worst-hit. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.


India's Tata and Dutch giant ASML sign semiconductor deal during Modi visit

Al Jazeera

India's Tata Electronics has signed a deal with Dutch technology giant ASML to build a major semiconductor plant in western India, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Netherlands during his European tour. The agreement, announced on Saturday, will support the development of Tata's semiconductor facility in Dholera, Gujarat - Modi's home state. The Dutch company said it would help "establish and ramp up" production at the plant by supplying its cutting-edge chipmaking tools. Tata Electronics plans to invest $11bn in the facility, which is expected to manufacture chips for artificial intelligence, the automotive industry and other sectors. ASML chief executive Christophe Fouquet said the company saw "many compelling opportunities" in India's growing semiconductor industry.


Large-scale Ukrainian drone attack kills three in Moscow region, says Russia

BBC News

Three people were killed overnight in a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on the Moscow region, Russian officials have said. A woman died in a house in Khimki, north of the capital, where a person was trapped under rubble, regional governor Andrei Vorobiev said. A man and a woman were killed in the village of Pogorelki. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 12 people were injured in strikes on a city oil refinery. Russia's military said 556 drones were intercepted.


British jets to get new anti-drone missile systems

BBC News

British fighter jets in the Middle East will be equipped with new missile systems to make it cheaper to intercept Iranian drones. Royal Air Force Typhoon jets will be fitted with an Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) to destroy targets more precisely and at a fraction of the price of missiles currently in use, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced. Gulf countries and allies in the region have been grappling with how to counter Iran's Shahed drones, which are relatively cheap to make and have been causing considerable damage. During the 2024 conflict between Israel and Iran, the UK was reported to have shot down some drones with missiles worth around £200,000 each. Defence experts have estimated APKWS rockets used by other countries cost around $30,000 (£22,377) each.


India missed ot on AI and now its run as market darling may be over

The Japan Times

India stands out as one of the biggest losers as the artificial intelligence trade reshapes global investment flows. In a stark shift, the country's stock market is on the verge of dropping out of the world's five biggest for the first time in three years. Without the AI-driven rallies powering Taiwan and South Korea, there's a growing risk that India falls further behind rather than regaining lost ground. The rationale goes far beyond Indian equities being relatively expensive or corporate earnings slowing. Global investors, who not long pushed India close to rivaling China in emerging-market portfolios, are now chasing themes the country's market largely lacks: chip manufacturing, computing infrastructure and AI models. While India has talent, demand and digital scale, few of its corporate champions are directly linked to that buildout.


'Look Mum, one point': Why does the UK keep getting Eurovision wrong?

BBC News

'Look Mum, one point': Why does the UK keep getting Eurovision wrong? The UK has self-destructed at Eurovision all over again. Look Mum No Computer, aka musician Sam Battle, got one solitary point, ending up in last place. It's the third time we've been at the bottom of the table since 2020. We've made the top 10 once since 2010.


Bangaranga! Bulgaria wins Eurovision - but UK comes last

BBC News

Bangaranga! Bulgaria wins Eurovision - but UK comes last Bulgarian pop star Dara has won the Eurovision Song Contest with her pneumatic dance anthem Bangaranga. The 27-year-old topped both the public and the jury vote in a nail-biting conclusion, soaring ahead of Israel in second and Romania in third to score a massive 516 points. Dara was far from a front-runner going into the contest, but her intricate choreography and naggingly catchy chorus helped her eclipse the competition - giving Bulgaria its first ever Eurovison title. The UK, however, continued its run of disastrous results. Look Mum No Computer's song Eins, Zwei, Drei took last place, with one solitary point.


Hezbollah drone strike videos show evolving tactics against Israel

BBC News

Hezbollah has increased its use of small first-person view (FPV) drones to attack Israel, including systems controlled by fibre-optic cables to evade sophisticated defences. BBC Verify has geolocated 35 videos shared by the Lebanese armed group since 26 March which show strikes on Israeli soldiers, armoured vehicles and air defence systems in southern Lebanon and northern Israel. Experts told BBC Verify the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has so far been unable to develop any effective countermeasures, as the small drones can easily bypass detection systems. The drones can also be made from commercially available and 3D-printed components - and are cheap compared to the high-value targets they can destroy, experts also said. The use of cheap FPV drones became widespread during the Russia-Ukraine war and has changed modern warfare.



Latvia's president asks opposition leader to form new government

Al Jazeera

What are Russia's gains from the Iran war? 'We are not losers; we are winners' Latvia's president asks opposition leader to form new government Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has backed opposition lawmaker Andris Kulbergs to replace Evika Silina for the top job after the prime minister resigned over an incident involving Ukrainian drones. Kulbergs, leader of the United List of smaller parties, which forms the largest opposition bloc in parliament, will take office if lawmakers approve him and his cabinet. "Considering recent events, I think the new prime minister should come from opposition parties," President Rinkevics told a news conference on Saturday. Last weekend, the former Prime Minister Silina fired her defence minister, Andris Spruds, after two Ukrainian drones strayed into Latvia from Russia and exploded at an oil storage facility. The incident is only the latest in a series of such events in NATO members Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania.