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 Al Jazeera


Ukraine under Russian missile, drone attacks for second night, 12 killed

Al Jazeera

Russia has targeted Ukraine for a second consecutive night with drones and missiles, killing at least 12 people as the two countries pursue a major prisoner swap. Ukraine's air force said on Sunday that Russian forces attacked Ukrainian regions with 298 drones and 69 missiles overnight, one of the largest aerial attacks of the war. "Most regions of Ukraine were affected by the hostile attack. Enemy air strikes were recorded in 22 areas, and downed cruise missiles and attack UAVs (drones) fell in 15 locations," the air force said on Telegram. Ukraine's security service reported that at least four people were killed and 16 were injured in the capital, Kyiv.


How commercial drones turn deadly in Gaza

Al Jazeera

In Gaza, the sound of drones can be heard everywhere. An analysis by Al Jazeera's digital investigations team, Sanad, has revealed that Israel is repurposing commercial drones to use as weapons of war in the Strip. And as drones become ever more accessible, the line between their civilian use and their military use is becoming increasingly blurred.


Ukraine calls for new sanctions as Russia hits Kyiv amid prisoner exchanges

Al Jazeera

Ukrainian officials have renewed their calls for more sanctions on Russia after Russian forces launched dozens of attack drones and ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight ahead of a second exchange of soldiers and civilians. Ukraine's military on Saturday said overnight attacks launched from multiple Russian regions used 250 drones and 14 ballistic missiles to hit Kyiv, damaging several apartment buildings and a shopping mall, and injuring at least 15 people. Sites in the Ukrainian regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Zaporizhia were also hit, with Ukrainian forces saying six of the ballistic missiles were shot down by its air defences, along with 245 drones, many of which were said to be Iranian-designed. Oleh Syniehubov, head of Kharkiv's regional state administration, said on Saturday morning that four Ukrainians were killed and several others injured over the past 24 hours in the region as a result of multiple Russian attacks. Meanwhile, Russia's Ministry of Defence on Saturday said at least 100 Ukrainian drones attempted to strike Russian targets overnight.


Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,183

Al Jazeera

Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences shot down 105 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, including 35 over the Moscow region, after the ministry said a day earlier that it had downed more than 300 Ukrainian drones. Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said one person was killed in a Russian artillery attack on the region. H said over the past day, 35 areas in Kherson, including Kherson city, came under artillery shelling and air attacks, wounding 11 people. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said the "most intense situation" is in the Donetsk region, and the army is continuing "active operations in the Kursk and Belgorod regions". Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences shot down 105 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, including 35 over the Moscow region, after the ministry said a day earlier that it had downed more than 300 Ukrainian drones.


Biden camp denies cancer was diagnosed earlier amid cover-up claims

Al Jazeera

Former United States President Joe Biden was not diagnosed with prostate cancer before last week, and received his "last known" blood test for the disease more than a decade ago, his office has said. The Biden camp's statement on Tuesday came as critics, including current President Donald Trump, stoked scepticism over the timing of the diagnosis, which has reanimated questions about whether the former president misled the public about his health while in office. "President Biden's last known PSA was in 2014," Biden's office said in the brief statement, referring to the prostate-specific antigen test used to detect prostate cancer. "Prior to Friday, President Biden had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer." On Monday, Trump said he was "surprised" that the public had not been notified about Biden's diagnosis "a long time ago".


EU, UK leaders speak with Trump before his Putin call as Ukraine hit

Al Jazeera

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has discussed the war in Ukraine with leaders of the United States, Italy, France and Germany, a 10 Downing Street spokesperson has said, in advance of US President Donald Trump's planned call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Monday. The flurry of diplomacy comes shortly after inconclusive direct Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, Turkiye on Friday. The leaders discussed the need for an unconditional ceasefire and for Putin to take peace talks seriously, the spokesperson said late on Sunday, adding that they also raised the use of sanctions if Russia failed to engage seriously in a ceasefire and concerted peace talks. In remarks to reporters earlier on Sunday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he discussed the issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio while the two men were attending the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. Merz said he also spoke at length at the Vatican with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.


Trump hails growing ties with UAE on last leg of Gulf tour

Al Jazeera

President Donald Trump has hailed deepening ties between the United States and the United Arab Emirates and said that the latter will invest 1.4 trillion in the former's artificial intelligence sector over the next decade. "I have absolutely no doubt that the relationship will only get bigger and better," Trump said on Thursday at a meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on the final leg of his three-country tour of the Gulf region that saw him strike a series of lucrative tech, business and military deals that he said amounted to 10 trillion. Sheikh Mohammed said the UAE remained "committed to working with the United States to advance peace and stability in our region and globally". The deal with UAE is expected to enable the Gulf country to build data centres vital to developing artificial intelligence models. The countries did not say which AI chips could be included in UAE data centres.


Factcheck: Was cocaine on the table in Macron video with Starmer, Merz?

Al Jazeera

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones seized on a May 9 video of a train car meeting among three European leaders to claim they had used drugs and were trying to hide it. The video showed French President Emmanuel Macron sitting at a table with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer. On the table before them were two blue folders, two drinking glasses and a small white object. The three men smiled for photographers who had gathered. Just as the shutter clicks started, Macron removed the crumpled white object from the tabletop and held it in his fist.


Trump visits Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE: What to know

Al Jazeera

United States President Donald Trump will undertake a three-day tour of the Gulf for his first state visit since retaking office in January. The trip begins in Saudi Arabia, followed by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. It marks Trump's second foreign visit as president after he attended Pope Francis's funeral in Rome in April. Trump will fly out of the US on Monday and start his trip in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday. He is expected to attend a Gulf summit in the city on Wednesday, visit Qatar later that day and conclude his visit in the UAE on Thursday.


Fact-checking Trump's claim of securing 10 trillion in investments for US

Al Jazeera

Since returning to the White House, US President Donald Trump has touted corporate and foreign US investment announcements as proof he is ushering in "the golden age of America". On January 21, Trump said that before he'd finished the "first full business day" of his second term, the United States had "already secured nearly 3 trillion of new investments". On April 2, he said, "It looks like we're going to have about 6 trillion of investments". Six days later, Trump told National Republican Congressional Committee Dinner attendees that the investment total was "now revised up to about 7 (trillion)". During an April 30 NewsNation town hall, Trump speculated that "it could be more than 8 trillion".