
At least nine killed in Russian attack on civilian bus in Ukraine, officials say
A Russian drone hit a bus, killing nine people and injuring four more in the region of Sumy, Ukrainian officials said, in an attack that took place hours after Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in years . "This is not just another shelling — it is a cynical war crime," Ukraine's National Police said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. Ihor Tkachenko, head of Sumy's military administration, said on Telegram that a rescue operation was underway. The meeting of Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey on Friday failed to broker a temporary ceasefire. It was the first direct dialogue between the two sides since the early months of the war that Russia launched in February 2022 when it invaded its neighbour. Ukraine's police posted photos of a dark blue passenger van nearly destroyed, with the roof torn off and the windows blown out. Reuters could not independently verify the Ukrainian report There was no immediate comment from Moscow. Both sides deny targeting civilians in their attacks, but thousands have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainians. This is a developing story and this article will be updated.
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News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Russia says pushing offensive into Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region
Russia said Sunday it was pushing into Ukraine's eastern industrial Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its three-year offensive -- a significant territorial escalation amid stalled peace talks. Moscow, which has the initiative on the battlefield, has repeatedly refused calls by Ukraine, Europe and US President Donald Trump for a full and unconditional ceasefire. At talks in Istanbul last week it demanded Kyiv pull troops back from the frontline, agree to end all Western arms support and give up on its ambitions to join the NATO military alliance. Dnipropetrovsk is not among the five Ukrainian regions over which Russia has asserted a formal territorial claim. It is an important mining and industrial hub for Ukraine and deeper Russian advances into the region could have a serious knock-on effect for Kyiv's struggling military and economy. Dnipropetrovosk was estimated to have a population of around three million people before Russia launched its offensive. Around one million people lived in the regional capital, Dnipro. Russia's defence ministry said forces from a tank unit had "reached the western border of the Donetsk People's Republic and are continuing to develop an offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk region." The advance of Russian forces into yet another region of Ukraine is both a symbolic and strategic blow to Kyiv's forces afer months of setbacks on the battlefield. There was no immediate response from Ukraine to Russia's statement. Moscow in 2022 said it was annexing the frontline Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, which it did not have full control over. In 2014, it seized the Crimean peninsula following a pro-EU revolution in Kyiv. In a set of peace demands issued to Ukraine at the latest talks, it demanded formal recognition that these regions were part of Russia -- something Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out. - Strategic setback - Tens of thousands have been killed in Russia's three-year offensive, millions forced to flee their homes and cities and villages across eastern Ukraine devastated by relentless air attacks and ground combat. In more than a decade of conflict with Kremlin-backed separatists and the Russian army, Ukraine has never had to fight on the territory of the Dnipropetrovsk region until now. Ukrainian military personnel previously told AFP that Russia could advance relatively quickly in the largely flat region, given there are fewer natural obstacles or villages that could be used as defensive positions by Kyiv's forces. The region -- and in particular the city of Dnipro -- have been under persistent Russian strikes for the last three years. Russia used Dnipro as a testing ground for its "experimental" Oreshnik missile in late 2024, claiming to have struck an aeronautics production facility. Earlier on Sunday local Ukrainian officials said one person was killed in the region in an attack on a village close to the frontline.

News.com.au
10 hours ago
- News.com.au
Italy holds referendum on citizenship, workers' rights
Italians vote on Sunday and Monday in a referendum on easing citizenship rules and strengthening labour laws, with Giorgia Meloni's government opposing both changes and urging people to abstain. A non-EU adult resident without marriage or blood ties to Italy must currently live in the country for 10 years before they can apply for citizenship -- a process which can then take years. The referendum proposal, triggered by a grassroots campaign led by NGOs, would cut this to five years, putting Italy in line with Germany and France. Campaigners say around 2.5 million people could benefit from the reform, which is being backed by the centre-left Democratic Party. Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party has prioritised cutting illegal immigration even while increasing the number of legal work visas for migrants, is strongly against it. She said Thursday that the current system "is an excellent law, among the most open, in the sense that we have for years been among the European nations that grant the highest number of citizenships each year". More than 213,500 people acquired Italian citizenship in 2023, double the number in 2020 and one fifth of the European Union total, according to EU statistics. More than 90 percent were from outside the bloc, mostly from Albania and Morocco, as well as Argentina and Brazil -- two countries with large Italian immigrant communities. Ministers agreed in March to restrict the rights to citizenship of those with blood ties to Italy from four to two generations. Meloni and her coalition partners have encouraged voters to boycott the referendum, which will only be valid if 50 percent of eligible voters plus one participate. Even if it passes, the reform will not affect the migration law many consider the most unfair, that children born in Italy to foreign parents cannot request nationality until they reach 18. Prominent rapper Ghali, who was born in Milan to Tunisian parents, has been an outspoken advocate changing the law for children, but nevertheless urged fans to back Sunday's vote as a step in the right direction. "With a 'Yes' we ask that five years of life here are enough, not 10, to be part of this country," he wrote on Instagram. - Interests of workers - Under Italy's constitution, a referendum can be triggered by a petition signed by at least 500,000 voters. This week's ballot includes one question on citizenship and four others on increasing protections for workers who are dismissed, in precarious situations or involved in workplace accidents. The changes are being pushed by the left-wing CGIL trade union. "We want to reverse a culture that has prioritised the interests of business over those of workers," CGIL general secretary Maurizio Landini told AFP. The Democratic Party is also backing the proposals -- even if it introduced some of the laws the CGIL wants to repeal while in office in the past. The proposals are notably aimed at measures of the so-called Jobs Act, passed a decade ago by the government of the Democratic Party prime minister, Matteo Renzi, in order to liberalise the labour market. Supporters say the act boosted employment but detractors say it made work more precarious. Under new leadership, the Democratic Party -- which is polling at around 23 percent, behind Meloni's Brothers of Italy at about 30 percent, according to an SWG survey this week -- is seeking to woo working-class voters by backing the referendum reform.

News.com.au
16 hours ago
- News.com.au
British comedian Dawn French faces backlash over October 7 video, apologises to fans
IN LONDON Dawn French has apologised 'unreservedly' after posting a since-deleted video about the ongoing conflict in Gaza, admitting it was done 'clumsily'. The British actress and comedian, 67, faced backlash after sharing her thoughts on the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, and was accused of belittling the horror of the event which triggered the war when she described the murder of 1,200 people as a 'bad thing'. In the 40-second video, French attempted to critique supporters of Israel's ongoing military action in Gaza, saying in an exaggerated tone that the situation is 'complicated, no, but nuanced. But [the] bottom line is no. 'Yeah, but you know they did a bad thing to us … and we want that land … and we have history … Those people aren't really even people, are they?' she continued, ending each statement with 'no'. The video was originally posted on Thursday but was taken down by Saturday, with the star releasing an apology statement. 'OK, it's important to address this. I posted a video in the style I've been using for social media in an effort to convey an important point. I clumsily used a mocking tone,' French said. 'My intention was NEVER to mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror of what happened on Oct 7 2023 and what continues to unfold from that brutal, unthinkable, unforgivable, savage attack.' The Vicar of Dibley star insisted her intention had been 'to mock and point the finger of shame at the behaviour of the cruel leaders on all sides of this atrocious war'. She added: 'THEY were my target, but clearly I failed to do that, and that's on me. I apologise unreservedly, and I'm particularly sorry that my disgust at Hamas didn't figure. It appeared one-sided and that is wrong.' French also said her 'heart broke' for all the innocent people who were 'killed, tortured, [raped] and kidnapped', and that she'd been 'feeling increasingly helpless and hopeless' witnessing the 'carnage and destruction worsen', especially with the images of 'starving children'. 'History has taught us never to stand by and allow this kind of inhumane violence to be wrought on anyone, especially innocent children,' she wrote. 'I have felt my silence is complicit or even somehow sanctioning. So in my small way, I wanted to voice my desire to say NO – to both sides – to any further violence. 'I hope you will understand my intention was not to offend, but clearly I have. For which I am sorry and I have removed the video.' English actress Tracy-Ann Oberman was one of the high-profile voices who spoke out against French's post, describing herself as 'saddened' by it. 'This mocking voice 'bad thing' of October 7 that Dawn (who I revere by the way) appears ro [sic] be mocking involved the most horrific terrorist attack,' she wrote on social media. Meanwhile, comedy writer Lee Kern also called out the actress for her 'sneering' tone. 'What you sneeringly mock as a 'bad thing' included the grieving children I met in hospital whose friends and family had been murdered, kidnapped and raped and who themselves were coming to terms with their own life-altering injuries,' he wrote. 'It also includes the 1,200 people murdered and tortured on October 7 … You proactively broadcast – with misplaced pride – a wicked glee in your mockery and dismissal of Jewish suffering, pain and death.' Approximately 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage during the Hamas-led attack on October 23, 2023, to which Israel responded with a large-scale ground offensive in Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has stated that more than 50,000 people have been killed as a result, many of whom are reportedly women and children.