Two Hospitalized, Buildings Damaged in Kyiv by Russian Drone Strike Overnight

Smoke rises in the sky over the city after a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 13, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Smoke rises in the sky over the city after a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 13, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
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Two Hospitalized, Buildings Damaged in Kyiv by Russian Drone Strike Overnight

Smoke rises in the sky over the city after a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 13, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Smoke rises in the sky over the city after a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 13, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Russian forces targeted Kyiv with a barrage of self-exploding Iranian-made Shahed drones early Thursday morning, according to the Kyiv City Administration.
Explosions were heard in different parts of the city, and debris from intercepted drones fell on four districts of the Ukrainian capital, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs. Buildings were damaged, and two people hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, The Associated Press said.
Earlier, the municipal authority wrote on Telegram that debris fell on five districts.
Ukraine’s Air Forces reported that Russia fired a total of 20 drones, mostly at the Kyiv region, and that all 20 were shot down. The Ukrainian military also intercepted two cruise missiles. The statement also reported that one ballistic missile was not intercepted, although it did not explain what damage the missile caused.
Rescuers extinguished a fire in a 16-story building, as well as in a non-residential building, according to the Interior Ministry. Debris also “damaged the facade” of a 25-story apartment building, the ministry wrote.
Volodymyr Motus, a 22-year-old resident of the 25-story building, carefully picked his way across the floor of a destroyed apartment, his footsteps accompanied by the sound of shattered glass. The mangled furniture was coated in a thick layer of dust.
“I was in my apartment and suddenly I heard a boom, that’s all. Then the alarm went off and I went down to the shelter.”
He said that some people were injured, but they were all alive.



South Korea, US to Hold High-level Defense Meeting on Wartime Command

The South Korean and American flags fly next to each other at Yongin, South Korea, August 23, 2016. (US Army/Handout via Reuters)
The South Korean and American flags fly next to each other at Yongin, South Korea, August 23, 2016. (US Army/Handout via Reuters)
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South Korea, US to Hold High-level Defense Meeting on Wartime Command

The South Korean and American flags fly next to each other at Yongin, South Korea, August 23, 2016. (US Army/Handout via Reuters)
The South Korean and American flags fly next to each other at Yongin, South Korea, August 23, 2016. (US Army/Handout via Reuters)

South Korea and the US will hold a high-level defense meeting in Washington on May 12-13 to discuss ‌the transfer ‌of wartime ‌operational ⁠control of their combined ⁠forces on the Korean peninsula, the South Korean defense ministry said ⁠on Thursday.

The ‌Korea-US ‌Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) ‌is normally held ‌ahead of the two countries' defense ministers' meeting, where ‌the allies discuss defense posture against ⁠North Korea. ⁠The two countries plan to transfer the command of the combined forces during wartime, now held by the US, to South Korea.


Australians Linked to ISIS Militants in Syria Arrive in Melbourne

FILE PHOTO: Members of Australian families believed to be linked to ISIS militants leave Roj camp near Derik, Syria February 16, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Members of Australian families believed to be linked to ISIS militants leave Roj camp near Derik, Syria February 16, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman/File Photo
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Australians Linked to ISIS Militants in Syria Arrive in Melbourne

FILE PHOTO: Members of Australian families believed to be linked to ISIS militants leave Roj camp near Derik, Syria February 16, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Members of Australian families believed to be linked to ISIS militants leave Roj camp near Derik, Syria February 16, 2026. REUTERS/Orhan Qereman/File Photo

A group of women linked to the ISIS extremist group landed in Melbourne on Thursday, years after allegedly sneaking into Syria to join the group's self-declared caliphate.

The Qatar Airways flight from Doha, reportedly carrying three women and eight children who have spent years living in a camp in Syria, landed in Melbourne in the evening, an AFP journalist at the airport said.

Minutes later, another Qatar Airways flight from Doha landed at Sydney airport, reportedly carrying one woman from the Syria camp and her son.


Taiwan Carries Out First Torpedo Test Fire for Domestically Made Submarine

FILE PHOTO: Members of the navy pose for pictures next to Narwhal, Taiwan's first domestically built submarine, after its launching ceremony in Kaohsiung, Taiwan September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Members of the navy pose for pictures next to Narwhal, Taiwan's first domestically built submarine, after its launching ceremony in Kaohsiung, Taiwan September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
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Taiwan Carries Out First Torpedo Test Fire for Domestically Made Submarine

FILE PHOTO: Members of the navy pose for pictures next to Narwhal, Taiwan's first domestically built submarine, after its launching ceremony in Kaohsiung, Taiwan September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Members of the navy pose for pictures next to Narwhal, Taiwan's first domestically built submarine, after its launching ceremony in Kaohsiung, Taiwan September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo

Taiwan has carried out the maiden torpedo test firing for its first domestically developed submarine, a major milestone in a project aimed at strengthening deterrence against the Chinese navy and protecting vital sea lanes in the event of war.

Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has made the indigenous submarine program a key part of an ambitious project to modernize its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises to assert its sovereignty claims.

The submarine program has drawn on expertise and technology from ⁠several countries, including ⁠the United States and Britain, a breakthrough for diplomatically isolated Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing's territorial claims.

Taiwan's CSBC Corp, which is leading construction of what is eventually planned to be eight submarines, said in a statement on Thursday that the first ship, named the ⁠Narwhal, had carried out its first torpedo test the day before.

The test verified the combat system's operational capabilities in terms of detection and tracking, fire control, launch, and torpedo guidance, Reuters quoted it as saying.

In January, the submarine carried out its first underwater sea trial.

Taiwan has said it hopes to deploy at least two such domestically developed submarines by 2027, and possibly equip later models with missiles.

The first submarine, with a price tag of T$49.36 billion ($1.57 ⁠billion), ⁠will use a combat system by Lockheed Martin Corp and carry US-made Mark 48 heavyweight torpedoes.

The CSBC statement did not say what kind of torpedoes were test-fired.

The Narwhal had been due to be delivered to the navy in 2024, joining two existing submarines purchased from the Netherlands in the 1980s, but the program has been hit with delays.

Taiwan's armed forces are dwarfed by those of China, which has three operational aircraft carriers and several nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines and is developing stealth fighter jets.