Air

Missile and drone strikes target residential areas in numerous districts across Kyiv.

A “massive” Russian drone and missile attack has killed at least six people in Ukraine’s capital and the surrounding region, according to Ukrainian officials.

Officials said the strikes on Monday morning targeted residential areas in numerous districts across Kyiv. The assault on the city, the second huge overnight blitz in a week, suggests Russia is eager to raise the pressure as global attention is dominated by the United States’s decision to join Israel’s escalating air campaign against Iran.

“Another massive attack on the capital. Possibly, several waves of enemy drones,” Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said in a statement.

“The Russians’ style is unchanged – to hit where there may be people,” Tkachenko said on Telegram. “Residential buildings, exits from shelters – this is the Russian style.

As well as residential buildings, hospitals, sports infrastructure, and the entrance of a metro station being used as a bomb shelter were hit during the large-scale attack, emergency services said.

The attack caused damage in six of Kyiv’s 10 districts and wounded at least 10 people, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.

“At least four people were killed in Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district, where the entire entrance of a residential high-rise building was destroyed,” Klymenko said.

“There are still people under the rubble,” he added.

Meanwhile, a Russian short-range drone attack in the Chernihiv region late on Sunday killed two people and wounded 10 others, including three children, according to authorities.

Another person was killed and eight were wounded overnight in the city of Bila Tserkva, some 85km (53 miles) southwest of Kyiv.

Sabotage

Russia has not commented on the strikes. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched in February 2022, but thousands of civilians have been killed in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian.

Russia’s deadliest attack on Kyiv came last week as it unleashed hundreds of drones, killing 28 people and injuring more than 150, with Ukrainian officials saying nearly 30 sites were hit in waves of attacks.

Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskii, amid the rise in attacks on the capital, has pledged to intensify strikes on Russia.

“We will not just sit in defence. Because this brings nothing and eventually leads to the fact that we still retreat, lose people and territories,” he said, according to the AFP news agency.

To that end, Ukraine “will increase the scale and depth” of its attacks on Russian military targets, he added.

Russian forces launched at least 47 drones against Ukraine and fired three missiles overnight on Sunday, the Ukrainian air force said.

Kyiv has accused Moscow of deliberately sabotaging efforts towards agreeing a peace deal, which has been pushed by US President Donald Trump, to prolong its full-scale offensive on the country and to seize more territory.

EastEnders fans were left gutted when it was announced Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris) would be leaving the show – and next weeks spoilers have teased a possible exit storyline

Last month, it was revealed that Clair Norris would be leaving EastEnders after playing the role of Bernie Taylor for eight years. Now, in spoilers for next week, the soap appears to have teased the star’s upcoming exit storyline.

Bernie arrived in Walford in 2017 alongside mum Karen Taylor (Lorraine Stanley) and late brother Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters).

However, she’s the last one of her family members left on the Square with her mum Karen leaving EastEnders in 2023, shortly followed by the murder of her brother Keanu on Christmas Day.

Lately, fans have noticed a lack of the character on their screens, but spoilers for next week reveal a huge storyline for the star – which could be teasing towards her exit.

We’re revisiting The Six storyline once again at the start of the week. It starts when Bernie’s cousin Felix wants him to give Johnny her seal of approval, unaware that he helped cover up Keanu’s murder.

Denise then fears that if Johnny doesn’t win Bernie over, it could bring the past back to haunt them all.

However, that’s not Bernie’s only problem – as she’s tied up with the Panesars. Vicki notices some unusual invoices, although Bernie dismisses her concerns. However, Bernie isn’t getting away with things too quickly, as she’s later confronted by Ravi and Suki about the irregularities.

We know Bernie will be making her exit from the soap soon – but could next week’s dramatic storylines be leading to her departure?

Following Bernie’s exit, an EastEnders spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Clair will be leaving EastEnders later this year and we wish her all the best for the future.” Clair remained silent on her departure for a couple of weeks, until she attended the British Soap Awards at the end of last month.

Taking to her Instagram to post a picture of herself all glammed up in a teal dress on the night, Clair penned: “My last @thebritishsoapawards with my EE family. We [broom emoji] up last night, 8 awards & I couldn’t be prouder to be apart of this team! What a way to end this amazing journey, head held high & beaming from ear to ear.”

Clair was supported by both fans as colleagues in her post, with James Farrar, who plays Zack Hudson writing: “Head held HIGH,” along with a number of red heart emojis.

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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The tourism balloon carrying 21 people went up in flames in the early hours of Saturday, crashing in the city of Praia Grande

At least eight people have been killed and 13 injured when a hot air balloon they were on caught fire and crashed in Brazil’s southern state of Santa Catarina.

The tourism balloon carrying 21 people went up in flames in the early hours of Saturday, crashing in the city of Praia Grande on the Atlantic coast, according to Santa Catarina’s military fire brigade.

Footage shared by local news outlet G1 showed billows of smoke coming from the balloon as it plummeted dozens of metres toward the ground.

The survivors were transported to nearby hospitals, said firefighters.

“We are in mourning. A tragedy has happened. We will see how it unfolds, what happened, why it happened. But the important thing now is for the state structure to do what it can,” said Jorginho Mello, governor of Santa Catarina, in a video on X.

Mello said he had asked authorities to head to the municipality “to do as much as possible to rescue, to help, to take to hospital, to comfort the families”.

Praia Grande is a common destination for hot-air ballooning, a popular activity in some parts of Brazil’s south during June festivities that celebrate Catholic saints such as St John, whose feast day is on June 24.

Last Sunday, a balloon came down in Sao Paulo state, killing a 27-year-old woman and injuring 11 other people, G1 reported.

Danai Nesta Kupemba

BBC News

Getty Images

At least eight people have died in a hot air balloon accident in Brazil, a state governor has said.

There were 21 people on board the balloon in the city of Praia Grande on Saturday morning, Governor of Santa Catarina Jorginho Mello said in a post on X.

Rescue teams attended the site of the incident to search for survivors. Mello later said 13 people had survived and eight had died.

“We are all shocked by the accident,” he added.

“Our teams continue to provide all necessary support to families and victims.

“We continue to monitor the situation.”

Praia Grande is in southern Santa Catarina and is a popular tourist destination. It is known as the “Capital of Canyons” as it has 11 canyons in its territory, including some in the Aparados da Serra and Serra Geral National Parks.

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A young boy in Gaza was filmed wailing over the boy of his father, who was killed in an Israeli air attack on Jabalia. Israel’s bombing of Gaza has not subsided despite it’s escalating military campaign on Iran.

Jets of searing hot molten lava spewed over 1,000 feet into the Hawaiian air Friday from the Kilauea volcano. Pictured is a May 4, 2018 column of robust, reddish-brown ash plume from a Kilauea eruption following a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on the South Flank of Kilauea shook the Big Island of Hawaii. File Photo by USGS/UPI | License Photo

June 20 (UPI) — Jets of searing hot molten lava spewed more than 1,000 feet into the Hawaiian air Friday from the Kilauea volcano.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a statement that the “eruption began at approximately 1:40 a.m. HST, June 20, with lava fountains and flows erupting from the north vent. Fountain heights are well over 1,000 feet. Plume is over 20,000 ft.”

Kilauea is one of six active volcanoes in Hawaii, including Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world.

The cloud released by the lava eruption can include hazards like volcanic glass called Pele’s hair and rock fragments known as tephra.

The observatory said that has the potential to cause “far-reaching effects downwind.”

The current eruption was Kilauea’s 26th since December 2024.

The lava jet is known as lava fountaining.

The Hawaii Volcano Observatory predicted in a June 16 statement: “Episode 26 lava fountaining will likely begin between June 18 and 20 based on current rates of summit inflation.”

The main hazards of the lava fountaining include volcanic gas, primarily water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide; and volcanic haze or smog, known as vog, which can blow downwind.”

Residents of area affected by the lava fountaining cloud are advised to minimize exposure due to the glass and other fragments within it.

EastEnders fans have dealt with a number of schedule changes over the past few weeks – and things are about to change once again – with fans set for double bills of the BBC soap

It’s been a dramatic few weeks in EastEnders with shock returns, a new executive producer, and huge schedule changes. However, it looks like things aren’t set to calm down anytime soon.

Last week, for Kat and Alfie’s wedding, the soap moved it’s scheduling from Tuesday – Friday due to the football. This Monday, fans were unable to sit down and watch EastEnders with their morning cuppa. The soap delayed it’s usual 6am iPlayer release for Ben Wadey’s first episode – in which Zoe Slater made her shock return.

Fans will be happy to know that the soap will resume to it’s normal Monday – Thursday schedule next week, with episodes dropping at 6am on iPlayer. However, the week after that will see a huge schedule shakeup due to Wimbledon coverage.

For the first time in a while, the soap will air a double bill on Monday June 30 and Tuesday July 1, meaning fans will get their two hour fix of EastEnders over two days.

On Monday June 30, the BBC soap will begin at the earlier time of 7pm, airing back to back episodes.

The second episode of the day will air straight after, meaning things will wrap up at 8pm. It will be the exact same schedule on Tuesday (July 1) with the soap airing a double bill from 7pm – 8pm.

That’s not the only major change though, as the soap will be airing on BBC Two for those two days as BBC One will be airing coverage from the first two days of Wimbledon. The soap will be off air on Wednesday and Thursday – with the next episodes airing the following week.

Spoilers have revealed a huge week before the double bills, with the Kat and Alfie drama continuing. Kat continues to worry about how things are between them and she soon confides in someone about their lack of communication.

Elsewhere, she soon makes an alarming discovery about her ex Phil Mitchell. Phil’s worried about Nigel deteriorating amid his dementia diagnosis, and some of his actions next week leave Phil struggling.

He then ends up injured when he and Nigel grapple over a pan of boiling water, as Kat suggests he gets some extra support to care for Nigel. She’s not the only one, as ex-Denise also tells him he needs to look after himself.

Phil isn’t the only one sparking concern however, as Elaine Peacock is also sparking concern as she struggles after her split from George Knight.

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The NAACP filed an intent to sue Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI on Tuesday over concerns about air pollution generated by a supercomputer near predominantly Black communities in Memphis.

The xAI data center began operating last year, powered by pollution-emitting gas turbines, without first applying for a permit. Officials have said an exemption allowed them to operate for up to 364 days without a permit, but Southern Environmental Law Center attorney Patrick Anderson said at a news conference that there is no such exemption for turbines — and that regardless, it has now been more than 364 days.

The SELC is representing the NAACP in its legal challenge against xAI and its permit application, now being considered by the Shelby County Health Department.

Musk’s xAI said the turbines will be equipped with technology to reduce emissions — and that it’s already boosting the city’s economy by investing billions of dollars in the supercomputer facility, paying millions in local taxes and creating hundreds of jobs. The company also is spending $35 million to build a power substation and $80 million to build a water recycling plant to the support Memphis Light, Gas and Water, the local utility.

Opponents say the supercomputing center is stressing the power grid, and that the turbines emit smog and carbon dioxide, pollutants that cause lung irritation such as nitrogen oxides, and the carcinogen formaldehyde, experts say.

The chamber of commerce in Memphis made a surprise announcement in June 2024 that xAI planned to build a supercomputer in the city. The data center quickly set up shop in an industrial park south of Memphis, near factories and a gas-powered plant operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The SELC has claimed the use of the turbines violates the Clean Air Act, and that residents who live near the xAI facility already face cancer risks at four times the national average. The group also has sent a petition to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Critics say xAI installed the turbines without any oversight or notice to the community. The SELC also hired a firm to fly over the site and saw that 35 turbines — not 15 as the company requests in its permit — are located there.

The permit itself says emissions from the site “will be an area source for hazardous air pollutants.” A permit would allow the health department, which has received 1,700 public comments about the permit, to monitor air quality near the facility.

At a community gathering hosted by the county health department in April, many of the people speaking in opposition cited the additional pollution burden in a city that already received an “F” grade for ozone pollution from the American Lung Association.

A statement read by xAI’s Brent Mayo at the meeting said the company wants to “strengthen the fabric of the community,” and estimated that tax revenues from the data center are likely to exceed $100 million by next year.

“This tax revenue will support vital programs like public safety, health and human services, education, firefighters, police, parks and so much more,” said the statement, a copy of which was obtained by the Associated Press.

The company also apparently wants to expand: The chamber of commerce said in March that xAI had purchased a 1-million-square-foot property at a second location, not far from the current facility.

One nearby neighborhood dealing with decades of industrial pollution is Boxtown, a tight-knit community founded by freed slaves in the 1860s. It was named Boxtown after residents used material dumped from railroad boxcars to fortify their homes. The area features houses, wooded areas and wetlands, and its inhabitants are mostly working-class residents.

Boxtown won a victory in 2021 against two corporations that sought to build an oil pipeline through the area. Valero and Plains All American Pipeline canceled the project after protests by residents and activists led by State Rep. Justin J. Pearson, who called it a potential danger to the community and an aquifer that provides clean drinking water to Memphis.

Pearson, who represents nearby neighborhoods, said “clean air is a human right” as he called for people in Memphis to unite against xAI.

“There is not a person, no matter how wealthy or how powerful, that can deny the fact that everybody has a right to breathe clean air,” said Pearson, who compared the fight against xAI to David and Goliath.

“We’re all right to be David, because we know how the story ends,” he said.

Sainz writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Travis Loller contributed to this report from Nashville, Tenn.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he wanted a return to a tariff-free agreement for civil aviation.

Airbus has struck a deal with Vietnamese budget airline Vietjet for up to 150 single-aisle jets at the Paris Air Show as the aviation industry’s hopes to return to a tariff-free trade agreement were given a boost by United States Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

The French planemaker announced the deal on Tuesday.

Airbus is the main supplier of jets to Vietnam, accounting for 86 percent of the planes currently operated by Vietnamese airlines. The export-dependent Southeast Asian country is under pressure from Washington to buy more US goods.

Vietjet Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao said the scale of the airline’s orders was backed by plans to develop a major aviation hub in Vietnam, which Airbus says has seen its aviation market grow by 7.5 percent a year.

A deal for 150 A321neos could be worth around $9.4bn, according to estimated prices provided by Cirium Ascend.

The agreement was the latest in a flurry of business announced by Airbus at the world’s biggest aviation trade fair in Paris, France.

Airbus has made gains against its chief competitor Boeing as airlines reconsider purchases of the US-made jets amid ongoing tariff threats in recent months. In May, budget airline Ryanair threatened to pull orders of Boeing aircraft amid tariff threats.

A tariff truce?

Duffy said he wanted civil aviation to return to a 1979 zero-tariff trade agreement, in one of the clearest signs yet that the administration of US President Donald Trump might favour such a move. However, Duffy added that while the White House was aware that the US is a net exporter in aerospace, it was also dealing with a complex tariff situation.

“Now, again, you look at what free trade has done for aviation. It’s been remarkable for them. It’s a great space of net exporters,” Duffy said. “And so the White House understands that, but if you go over there and you see the moving parts of what they’re dealing with, it is pretty intense and it’s a lot.”

 

Trump’s sweeping 10 percent import tariffs are a headache for an industry already battling supply chain challenges and facing fresh turbulence from last week’s deadly Air India crash and conflict in the Middle East.

In early May, the US Commerce Department launched a “Section 232” national security investigation into imports of commercial aircraft, jet engines and parts that could form the basis for even higher tariffs on such imports.

Airlines, planemakers and several US trading partners have been lobbying Trump to restore the tariff-free regime under the 1979 agreement.

Boeing was having a subdued show and parking announcements while focusing on the probe into last week’s fatal crash of an Air India Boeing 787 and after it racked up huge deals during Trump’s recent tour of the Middle East.

Attention turned to another big Airbus customer, AirAsia, long associated with buzzy show finales and looking at buying 100 A220s, with Brazil’s Embraer seeking to wrest away the deal after losing a key contest in Poland, delegates said. Airbus was also expected to reveal Egyptair as the airline behind a recent unidentified order for six more A350s.

Even so, Airbus’s hopes of using the event as a showcase for its first significant deal with Royal Air Maroc faded after the airline postponed plans to announce a larger Boeing deal, delegates said.

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Iran’s air defence batteries have been firing overnight in the capital Tehran to counter a fourth night of Israeli strikes. Iranian officials say Israeli attacks have killed more than 224 people, including 70 women and children.

Five people have been killed and dozens injured as Iran launched fresh strikes across central Israel overnight, according to Israel’s national emergency service. Footage shows explosions and damage in Tel Aviv and Haifia. Officials say at least 19 people have been killed in Israel and 224 people in Iran since Friday, when the two countries began launching attacks.

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Videos show fire and thick plumes of smoke rising from Mashhad Hashemi Nejad airport in eastern Iran following an Israeli missile attack. Israel claims it targeted an Iranian refuelling plane. It would be the furthest strike since the start of the military operation, at a distance of approximately 2,300km.

Explosions and air raid sirens are being heard again in Iran and Israel as the two nations continue to exchange missiles and drones, a day after the Israeli military killed top Iranian generals and nuclear scientists in the worst such escalation in decades.

Iran’s retaliatory strikes have killed at least four people and wounded more than 200 others in Israel since Friday, as a barrage of dozens of Iranian missiles lit up the skies over Jerusalem and Tel Aviv overnight.

On the Iranian side, at least 80 people, including women and children, have been killed and more than 320 others injured, as the Israeli army targeted residential areas in capital Tehran, military sites and nuclear facilities, killing at least nine nuclear scientists so far.

Accusing Israel of initiating a war, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said it “must expect severe punishment” for killing several top-level military commanders and scientists.

In a message on state TV, he said Israel “should not think that it is over because they attacked and it is finished”.

“No. They started this and initiated the war. We won’t allow them to escape unscathed from this great crime they have committed,” Khamenei said.

Following decades of enmity and conflict by proxy, it is the first time that Israel and Iran have traded fire with such intensity, with fears of a prolonged conflict engulfing the region.

‘Tehran will burn’

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz warned on Saturday that “Tehran will burn” and its residents will pay dearly if Iran continues its missile strikes against Israeli civilians.

“The Iranian dictator is turning the citizens of Iran into hostages and bringing about a reality in which they – especially the residents of Tehran – will pay a heavy price because of the criminal harm to Israeli civilians,” said Katz.

“If Khamenei continues to fire missiles towards the Israeli home front, Tehran will burn,” the minister added.

On Saturday, two projectiles hit Tehran’s Mehrabad airport which hosts an air force base with fighter jets and transport aircraft, and is located close to key Iranian government buildings.

“The attacks caused explosions at the airport but did not affect any runways, buildings or facilities,” Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA said.

The Israeli military also continued to launch strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran.

“There has been limited damage to some areas at the Fordow enrichment site,” ISNA news agency reported Atomic Energy Organization of Iran spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying on Saturday.

“We had already moved a significant part of the equipment and materials out, and there was no extensive damage and there are no contamination concerns.”

Israel’s Iron Dome penetrated

Meanwhile, several Iranian missiles penetrated Israel’s Iron Dome defence system and struck central Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion and Ramat Gan areas.

Air raid sirens blared in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, sending residents rushing into shelters. An Israeli official said Iran had fired about 200 ballistic missiles in four waves.

A high-rise building was hit overnight in a densely populated area of central Tel Aviv. At least nine buildings were also destroyed in Ramat Gan, according to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.

Mike Huckabee, the United States ambassador to Israel, said he had to go to shelters five times overnight amid Iran’s missile barrage. “It’s now Shabbat here. Should be quiet. Probably won’t be. Entire nation under orders to stay near shelter,” he posted on X.

The Israeli army on Saturday said seven of its soldiers were wounded in a ballistic missile attack on central Israel. They were taken to hospitals and have since been released, according to a military statement.

This is the first confirmation of Israeli military casualties since the escalation of hostilities between Iran and Israel began two days ago.

Meanwhile, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that five people in the occupied West Bank were also injured as rocket shrapnel fell near the town of Sa’ir near Hebron. The five injured included three children, aged six, seven and 12.

Wafa earlier reported that Israel had imposed widespread closures across the occupied West Bank amid the escalating conflict with Iran. Israeli forces have shut down roads, set up checkpoints and prevented freedom of movement for the Palestinians.

Iran warns Israel’s allies

Iran has also warned Israel’s allies – the United States, the United Kingdom and France – that their bases and ships in the region will be targeted if they help defend Israel.

“Any country that participates in repelling Iranian attacks on Israel will be subject to the targeting of all regional bases of the complicit government, including military bases in the Persian Gulf countries and ships and naval vessels in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea by Iranian forces,” a government statement said, according to Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency.

Iran has already accused the US of being complicit in the attacks and said it shared full responsibility for the consequences.

Shahram Akbarzadeh, professor of Middle East politics at Deakin University in Australia, said both Israel and Iran appear to be “settling in for the long haul” and more attacks could be expected. He said the US would also be dragged into the conflict.

“When Israel launches attacks on Iran, Iran has to respond, and I think Israel is actually banking on this dynamic – that once the conflict starts, the United States has an obligation and a commitment to Israeli security,” Akbarzadeh told Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged people in Iran to stand up to the “evil and oppressive” regime under Khamenei and seek “freedom”.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said according to the people in Iran, Netanyahu’s message was unwelcome.

“We have to remember that Iranian people are living under the shadow of war, which is now getting translated into a real war. They are also under the pressure of sanctions,” he said.

“People are angry, specifically at the fact that it’s not just military officials and nuclear scientists but very ordinary citizens who were affected by the recent strikes.”