Russian air defences intercept Ukrainian drones headed for Moscow, mayor says
Russian air defences intercepted drones heading for Moscow in a series of attacks, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.
Sobyanin, writing on Telegram, made no mention of casualties or damage in his accounts of air defence activity, but said 13 drones had been downed or destroyed after midnight. He said specialists were examining fragments where they had landed.
A tally of his posts showed 10 more drones were intercepted or destroyed in the previous 11 hours.
Russia's Defence Ministry, in a separate post, said its air defence units had downed 87 Ukrainian drones in different areas across central, western and southern Russia in a period of nearly five hours. Forty-eight of the drones were downed in Bryansk region, on the Ukrainian border.
The acting governor of Rostov region, on Ukraine's eastern border, said Ukrainian drones had triggered fires or knocked down power lines in a number of districts.
Ukraine has for some time launched drones against long-distance Russian targets, many associated with energy. In one attack last month, dubbed "Operation Spiders Web," Russian long-range military aircraft were targeted at several air bases.
Russia's military has in recent weeks intensified its attacks by swarms of drones and missiles against Ukrainian cities. REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
14 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Violent videos draw more French teens into ‘terror' plots, say prosecutors
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox French prosecutors are alarmed at an increasing number of teenage boys seemingly plotting 'terror' attacks, and say they all share an addiction to violent videos online. PARIS - One 14-year-old was allegedly planning to blow up an Israeli embassy, while a 16-year-old was convicted of having plotted to attack far-right bars incensed by 'injustice'. French prosecutors are alarmed at an increasing number of young teenage boys seemingly plotting 'terror' attacks, and say they all share an addiction to violent videos online. As communities worldwide worry about boys being exposed to toxic and misogynistic influences on social media, French magistrates say they are looking into what draws young teens into 'terrorism'. 'Just a few years ago, there were just a handful of minors charged with terror offences,' France's National Anti-Terror Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) said. 'But we had 15 in 2013, 18 in 2024 and we already had 11 by July 1' this year. They are aged 13 to 18 and hail from all over France, the PNAT said. Lawyers and magistrates told AFP these teens are usually boys with no delinquent past, many of whom are introverts or have had family trouble. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Terrorism threat in Singapore remains high, driven by events like Israeli-Palestinian conflict: ISD Singapore S'pore can and must meaningfully apply tech like AI in a way that creates jobs for locals: PM Wong Singapore 7, including child and firefighter, taken to hospital after fire breaks out in Toa Payoh flat Singapore ICA inspector obtained bribes in the form of sex acts from 6 foreign men in exchange for his help Singapore Doctor who forged certificates for aesthetic procedures gets 4 months' jail Singapore 12 motorists nabbed for providing illegal private-hire services: LTA Life Alone but not lonely: Tips from seniors who live solo and like it Asia Extreme weather turns Beijing into rain trap; 30 killed, over 80,000 evacuated The PNAT opened a special branch in May to better examine the profiles of minors drawn into 'terrorism', but it said it has already noticed they are all 'great users of social media'. 'Most are fans of ultra-violent, war or pornographic content,' it said. In France, 'terrorism' is largely synonymous with extremist Islamist ideas such as those of the Islamic State jihadist group. Only in recent months has the PNAT taken on cases different in nature – one an adult suspected of a racist far-right killing, and the other an 18-year-old charged with developing a misogynist plot to kill women. A 14-year-old schoolboy who stabbed to death a teaching assistant in June was a fan of 'violent video games', although his case was not deemed 'terrorist' in nature. 'Proving themselves as men' In the case of France's youngest 'terror' suspects, a judicial source told AFP, social media provides them with a flow of violent videos that are 'not necessarily linked to terrorism', such as from Latin American cartels. 'They think they're proving themselves as men by watching them,' the source said. Sociologist Farhad Khosrokhavar said the teens were 'neither children nor adults'. This 'leads them to violence in order to be recognised as adults – even if it's a negative adult,' he said. Ms Laurene Renaut, a researcher looking into jihadist circles online, said social media algorithms could suck adolescents in fast. 'In less than three hours on TikTok, you can find yourself in an algorithm bubble dedicated to the Islamic State' group, she said. You can be bathing in 'war chants, decapitations, AI reconstructions of glorious (according to IS) past actions or even simulations of actions to come,' she said. The algorithms feed users 'melancholic' content to boost their 'feeling of loneliness, with ravaged landscapes, supposed to reflect the soul,' she said. 'Injustice' One such teenager said he was motivated by a sense of 'injustice' after seeing a video online of an attack on a mosque in New Zealand. White supremacist Brenton Tarrant went on a rampage, killing 51 worshippers at mosques around Christchurch in March 2019 in the country's deadliest modern-day mass shooting. The French suspect was convicted in 2024 for planning 'terror' attacks on far-right bars. He told investigators it started when he was 13 and playing Minecraft, a video game, on gamer social media platform Discord. 'Someone sent Tarrant's video,' he said. 'I thought it was unjust to see the men, women and children be massacred.' 'I then watched the videos of imams telling people to stay calm and those of terrorists from the far right, and I thought it was unjust,' he added. 'Then I saw those of jihadists urging help,' he said. 'I thought that by defending this cause, my life would make sense.' A French appeals court in July 2024 sentenced him to four years in jail, including two suspended, after he contacted an undercover agent to find out about weapons. The court justified the sentence with the 'gravity' of his planned actions, but noted he lacked signs of 'deeply rooted ideological radicalisation'. Rather, it said, the defendant was the child of fighting parents from a very violent neighbourhood, who had been 'significantly deprived of affection' and had sought to 'fit in' with internet users. His lawyer Jean-Baptiste Riolacci told AFP he was an 'essentially lonely, sad and good kid, whose only occupation beyond his computer was gliding around on his scooter'. 'Guesswork' The judicial source, who spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the French system favoured early intervention through charging youth for associating with 'terrorist' criminals, and then adapting their punishment according to the severity of the accusations. But attorney Pierre-Henri Baert, who defended another teenager, said the system did not work. His client was handed three years behind bars in May for sharing an ISIS propaganda post calling for attacks against Jewish people as a 16-year-old. 'It's a very harsh sentence considering his very young age, the fact he had no (criminal) record, and was really in the end just accused of statements online,' he said. Another lawyer, who worked on similar cases but asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue, agreed. 'When the judiciary goes after people for terrorist criminal association, it's basically doing guesswork,' she said, adding that the 'terrorist' label could be very stigmatising. 'There's no differentiation between a kid who sent aggressive messages and a suspect who actually bought weapons,' she added. Two judicial sources said teens prosecuted for alleged 'terrorism' are usually only spotted through their behaviour on social media. They are then charged over other actions, such as moving to an encrypted messaging app, sharing recipes to make explosives or looking for funding, the sources said. A Paris court will in September try three teenagers who, aged 14 and 15, allegedly planned to blow up a truck outside the Israeli embassy in Belgium. They had been spotted at high school for their 'radical remarks', but were then found in a park with 'bottles of hydrochloric acid' containing 'aluminium foil', a homemade type of explosive, the PNAT said. Their telephones showed they had watched videos of massacres. Ms Jennifer Cambla, a lawyer who represents one of the defendants, said accusations against her client were disproportionate. 'My client may have had the behaviour of a radicalised person by consulting jihadist websites, which is forbidden. But he is far from having plotted an attack,' she said. But another lawyer, speaking anonymously, said arresting teenagers 'fantasizing about jihadism' could be an opportunity to turn their lives around – even if it involved 'a monstruous shock'. 'The arrests are tough,' with specialised forces in ski masks pulling sacks over the suspect's head, they said. But 'as minors, they are followed closely, they see therapists. They are not allowed on social media, and they do sport again,' the lawyer said. One of the judicial sources warned it was not clear that this worked. It 'makes it look like they are being rapidly deradicalised, but we do not know if these youth could again be drawn in by extremist ideas,' they said. AFP
Straits Times
14 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Foreigner forged MOM letters, cheated maid of over $2k with promise of S'pore jobs for her relatives
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The court heard that Indian national Charanjeet Singh and the victim, a 29-year-old Indian domestic worker, met in October 2024 at a temple in Singapore. SINGAPORE – Tricking a domestic worker into thinking he could help her relatives secure jobs in Singapore, a foreigner swindled her of more than $2,000 to pay for their purported work pass applications. To keep up the ruse, Indian national Charanjeet Singh even sent the victim forged Ministry of Manpower (MOM) documents. On July 29, Singh, 20, was sentenced to 13 weeks' jail after pleading guilty to a cheating offence and two charges of using a forged document. Three other charges were taken into consideration for his sentence. The court heard that Singh and the victim, a 29-year-old Indian domestic worker, met in October 2024 at a temple in Singapore. Singh told her he had been working in Singapore for several years and offered to help her land a job with his employer, a cleaning services company. In reality, that was his former co-tenant's company. Singh was unemployed and staying in Singapore on a special pass after his employment with another firm had been terminated over salary disputes. As the victim had one year remaining on her employment contract as a domestic worker, she asked if Singh could arrange for jobs in Singapore for her relatives in India instead. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Terrorism threat in Singapore remains high, driven by events like Israeli-Palestinian conflict: ISD Singapore S'pore can and must meaningfully apply tech like AI in a way that creates jobs for locals: PM Wong Singapore 7, including child and firefighter, taken to hospital after fire breaks out in Toa Payoh flat Singapore ICA inspector obtained bribes in the form of sex acts from 6 foreign men in exchange for his help Singapore Doctor who forged certificates for aesthetic procedures gets 4 months' jail Singapore 12 motorists nabbed for providing illegal private-hire services: LTA Life Alone but not lonely: Tips from seniors who live solo and like it Asia Extreme weather turns Beijing into rain trap; 30 killed, over 80,000 evacuated Singh agreed and requested 250,000 Indian rupees (S$3,700) for each applicant, adding that the purported jobs involved packing and cleaning. To assure the victim, he sent video recordings purportedly showing himself at work and the accommodation provided by the company. The victim then asked Singh to proceed with job applications for three of her relatives, and paid him $2,135 between Nov 17 and Dec 1, 2024. Singh sent the victim several forged letters from MOM over the next two months, including supposed in-principle approvals for her relatives' work permits. He did so by altering an original document he had obtained from his former co-tenant without the latter's knowledge or consent. The victim then asked her employer for help to verify one of the applications on MOM's website. Deputy Public Prosecutor Maximilian Chew said: 'When the victim discovered that there was no such application and asked the accused about it, the accused lied to the victim that the approval was not shown on the website as full payment had not been made. 'The accused assured the victim that he would give her a password to access the information on MOM's website after full payment was made.' After the victim made full payment to Singh, he became uncontactable. She lodged a police report on Dec 26, 2024, and Singh was arrested on April 24. DPP Chew noted that Singh 'spun a web of lies' over two months to cheat the victim and asked for him to be jailed for 14 weeks. Handing down the sentence, District Judge Koh Jiaying said the victim is a foreign domestic worker who would have been more impacted by the loss of money. The judge also said his act of forging MOM documents could erode public trust in the government. Singh said through an interpreter during his mitigation that he felt sorry for what he did. The foreigner, who did not have a lawyer, said: 'I've done a crime and I hope to be punished... only by being punished will I understand the consequences of my actions.'
Straits Times
14 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Kremlin says it 'noted' Trump's statement on shorter deadline for a ceasefire in Ukraine
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: A Ukrainian service member walks on a street protected with anti-drone nets, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the frontline town Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine July 23, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo MOSCOW - The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it had "taken note" of a statement by U.S. President Donald Trump that he was shortening his deadline for Moscow to sign up to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face sanctions. Trump set a new deadline on Monday of 10 or 12 days for Russia to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine or face consequences, underscoring frustration with President Vladimir Putin over the 3-1/2-year-old conflict. Asked about Trump's statement on Tuesday during a conference call with reporters, the Kremlin kept its remarks short. "We have taken note of President Trump's statement yesterday. The special military operation continues," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, employing the term that Moscow uses for its war effort in Ukraine. "We remain committed to a peace process to resolve the conflict around Ukraine and to ensure our interests in the course of this settlement." Trump threatened on July 14 to impose new sanctions on Russia and buyers of its exports within 50 days, a deadline which would have expired in early September. But on Monday, during a visit to Britain, he shortened that deadline and said: Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Grace Fu apologises for Tanjong Katong sinkhole, says road may stay closed for a few more days Singapore Terrorism threat in Singapore remains high, driven by events like Israeli-Palestinian conflict: ISD Singapore S'pore can and must meaningfully apply tech like AI in a way that creates jobs for locals: PM Wong Singapore 7, including child and firefighter, taken to hospital after fire breaks out in Toa Payoh flat Singapore ICA inspector obtained bribes in the form of sex acts from 6 foreign men in exchange for his help Singapore Doctor who forged certificates for aesthetic procedures gets 4 months' jail Singapore 12 motorists nabbed for providing illegal private-hire services: LTA Life Alone but not lonely: Tips from seniors who live solo and like it "There's no reason in waiting... We just don't see any progress being made." Trump, who has held half a dozen calls with the Kremlin leader since returning to the White House in January, also said he was "not so interested in talking any more". Peskov declined to comment on that remark. REUTERS
