Ukraine's drones target Moscow, other regions: Russian Defence Ministry
'More than half of the drones were destroyed over the Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk regions that border Ukraine,' the Russian Defence Ministry said on the Telegram messaging app. 'Three drones were destroyed over the Moscow region,' it added.
'One person was lightly injured and a civilian facility sustained minor damage in the Smolensk region that borders Belarus, regional Governor Vasily Anokhin,' it said on Telegram. 'A Ukrainian drone attack on Wednesday (July 16, 2025) killed three people and injured at least 17 others in the Belgorod region,' regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of targeting civilians, something both sides deny, in the course of the war, now well into its fourth year.

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Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Rwanda reached deal with US to take in up to 250 migrants, government says
By Daphne Psaledakis Rwanda reached deal with US to take in up to 250 migrants, government says WASHINGTON -The United States and Rwanda have agreed for the African country to accept up to 250 migrants deported from the U.S., the spokesperson for the Rwandan government and an official told Reuters, as President Donald Trump's administration takes a hardline approach toward immigration. The agreement, first reported by Reuters, was signed by U.S. and Rwandan officials in Kigali in June, said the Rwandan official, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that Washington had already sent an initial list of 10 people to be vetted. "Rwanda has agreed with the United States to accept up to 250 migrants, in part because nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement, and our societal values are founded on reintegration and rehabilitation," said the spokesperson for the Rwandan government, Yolande Makolo. "Under the agreement, Rwanda has the ability to approve each individual proposed for resettlement. Those approved will be provided with workforce training, healthcare, and accommodation support to jumpstart their lives in Rwanda, giving them the opportunity to contribute to one of the fastest-growing economies in the world over the last decade." The White House and State Department had no immediate comment. The Department of Homeland Security referred questions to the State Department. President Donald Trump aims to deport millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally and his administration has sought to ramp up removals to third countries, including sending convicted criminals to South Sudan and Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland. Rwanda has in recent years positioned itself as a destination country for migrants that Western countries would like to remove, despite concerns by rights groups that Kigali does not respect basic human rights. In May, the foreign minister said Rwanda was in the early stages of talks to receive immigrants deported from the United States. The Trump administration argues that third-country deportations help swiftly remove some migrants, including those with criminal convictions. Immigration hardliners see third-country removals as a way to deal with offenders who cannot easily be deported and could pose a threat to the public. Opponents have criticized the deportations as dangerous and cruel, since people could be sent to countries where they could face violence, have no ties and do not speak the language. US TO PROVIDE GRANT TO RWANDA Rwanda will be paid by the United States in the form of a grant, the official said, adding that the grant letter was finalized in July. The official declined to say how much the grant was for. The U.S. and Rwanda could extend the agreement beyond 250 people by mutual consent, the official said, adding that those deported to Rwanda do not have to stay in the country and can leave anytime they choose. Kigali will only accept those whose prison terms are complete or who have no criminal case against them, as there is no agreement with Washington that would allow people to serve out their U.S. sentence in Rwanda, the official said. No child sex offenders will be accepted. The Trump administration has pressed other countries to take migrants. It deported more than 200 Venezuelans accused of being gang members to El Salvador in March, where they were jailed until they were released in a prisoner swap last month. The Supreme Court in June allowed the Trump administration to deport migrants to third countries without giving them a chance to show they could be harmed. But the legality of the removals is being contested in a federal lawsuit in Boston, a case that could potentially wind its way back to the conservative-leaning high court. Western and regional leaders have praised President Paul Kagame for transforming Rwanda from the ruins of the 1994 genocide that killed more than 1 million people into a thriving economy. Rights groups have accused him of abuses and of supporting rebels in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, accusations that he denies. Rwanda has also engaged in peace talks led by the Trump administration to bring an end to fighting in eastern Congo. The two African nations signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement in Washington in June, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more this year. The agreement to accept migrants deported from the U.S. is not the first such agreement Rwanda has reached. Kigali signed an agreement with Britain in 2022 to take in thousands of asylum seekers, a deal that was scrapped last year by then newly-elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer. No one was sent to Rwanda under the plan because of years of legal challenges. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.


The Hindu
26 minutes ago
- The Hindu
U.S. reverses pledge to link disaster funds to Israel boycott stance
The Trump administration on Monday (August 4, 2025) reversed course on requiring U.S. cities and States to rebuke boycotts of Israeli companies in order to receive disaster funds, according to a statement, and deleted the earlier policy from its website. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security removed its statement that said States must certify they will not sever 'commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies' to qualify for the funding. Reuters reported on Monday that the language applied to at least $1.9 billion that states rely on to cover search-and-rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries and backup power systems, among other expenses, according to 11 agency grant notices reviewed by Reuters. This is a shift for the administration of President Donald Trump, which has previously tried to penalise institutions that don't align with its views on Israel or antisemitism. Economic pressure on Israel The disaster funding requirement took aim at the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement designed to put economic pressure on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories. The campaign's supporters grew more vocal in 2023, after Hamas attacked southern Israel and Israel invaded Gaza in response. 'FEMA grants remain governed by existing law and policy and not political litmus tests,' said DHS Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin in a statement on Monday afternoon. DHS oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA in grant notices posted on Friday said states must follow its 'terms and conditions' to qualify for disaster preparation funding. Those conditions required that they not support what the agency called a 'discriminatory prohibited boycott,' a term defined as refusing to deal with 'companies doing business in or with Israel.' The new terms, posted later on Monday, do not include that language.


NDTV
44 minutes ago
- NDTV
Brazil Supreme Court Orders House Arrest Of Ex-President Bolsonaro
Brasilia: Brazilian authorities placed former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is standing trial on charges of plotting a coup, under house arrest on Monday, in a move that could escalate tensions with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued the arrest order, saying in his decision that the right-wing firebrand did not comply with judicial restraining orders imposed on him last month. Bolsonaro is facing charges that he conspired with dozens of his allies to overturn his 2022 electoral loss to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Moraes also banned Bolsonaro from receiving visits, with exceptions for lawyers and people authorized by the court, and use of a cell phone either directly or through third parties. A press representative for Bolsonaro confirmed that he was placed under house arrest late afternoon on Monday and that a cell phone had been seized. In a statement, Brazil's federal police said it had complied with the Supreme Court's orders for house arrest and to seize cell phones, though it did not name the target of the operation. The restrictions on Bolsonaro had been imposed over allegations that he courted the interference of Trump, who recently tied steep new tariffs on Brazilian goods to what he called a "witch hunt" against Bolsonaro, his ideological ally. The house arrest order follows over two years of investigations into Bolsonaro's role in an election-denying movement that culminated in riots by his supporters that rocked Brasilia in January 2023. The unrest drew comparisons to the riots at the U.S. Capitol after Trump's electoral defeat in 2020. In contrast with the tangle of criminal cases which mostly stalled against Trump, Brazilian courts and investigators moved swiftly against Bolsonaro, threatening to end his political career and fracture his right-wing movement. Bolsonaro's son Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian congressman, moved to the U.S. around the same time the former president's trial kicked off to drum up support for his father in Washington. The younger Bolsonaro said the move had influenced Trump's decision to impose new tariffs on Brazil. Trump last month shared a letter he had sent to Bolsonaro. "I have seen the terrible treatment you are receiving at the hands of an unjust system turned against you," he wrote. "This trial should end immediately!" Washington late in July hit Moraes with sanctions, accusing the judge of authorizing arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppressing freedom of expression. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Bolsonaro's house arrest. However, Trump's tactics may be backfiring in Brazil, compounding trouble for Bolsonaro and rallying public support behind Lula's leftist government. In an interview with Reuters last month, Bolsonaro called Moraes a "dictator" and said the restrictive measures against him were acts of "cowardice."