Russia's Drone Attack on Kyiv Injures 11, Sparks Residential Fires

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
TT

Russia's Drone Attack on Kyiv Injures 11, Sparks Residential Fires

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russia's overnight drone attack on Kyiv injured at least 11 people, including two children, and set several residential buildings throughout the city on fire, the military and officials of the Ukrainian capital said on Sunday.
Falling debris from destroyed drones sparked fires at residential buildings in Kyiv's Obolonskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts, Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said on social media.
Ukraine's emergency service said on the Telegram messaging app that 76 firefighters were involved in putting out the overnight fires in Kyiv, which also included a small blaze in Kyiv's central Shevchenkivskyi district, Reuters said.
It posted photos of firefighters battling large blazes at night at what seemed like a residential building.
The emergency service also said that several cars across the city caught fire from falling drone debris.
Reuters' witnesses heard several explosions in what sounded like air defense systems in operation.
There was no immediate information on the full scale of the attack. Kyiv, its surrounding region and the eastern half of Ukraine were under air-raid alerts for about an hour, starting soon after midnight on Sunday local time (2100 GMT).
There was no immediate comment from Moscow about the attack that took place amid uncertainty over whether both sides would stop war activities during Moscow's May 8-10 commemorations of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War Two.
On Monday, Russia declared a three-day ceasefire for May 8-10, to which Kyiv responded with a proposal to stop war activities for 30 days.
Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia started more than three years ago with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ihor Taburets, governor of the central Ukrainian region of Cherkasy, said a Russian drone attack on the region late on Saturday sparked several fires.
Ukraine's emergency service said that one person was injured in that attack which sparked fires at residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.



France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
TT

France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)

France accused Iran on Monday of "repression and intimidation" after a court handed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi a new six-year prison sentence on charges of harming national security.

Mohammadi, sentenced Saturday, was also handed a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence for "propaganda" against Iran's system, according to her foundation.

"With this sentence, the Iranian regime has, once again, chosen repression and intimidation," the French foreign ministry said in a statement, describing the 53-year-old as a "tireless defender" of human rights.

Paris is calling for the release of the activist, who was arrested before protests erupted nationwide in December after speaking out against the government at a funeral ceremony.

The movement peaked in January as authorities launched a crackdown that activists say has left thousands dead.

Over the past quarter-century, Mohammadi has been repeatedly tried and jailed for her vocal campaigning against Iran's use of capital punishment and the mandatory dress code for women.

Mohammadi has spent much of the past decade behind bars and has not seen her twin children, who live in Paris, since 2015.

Iranian authorities have arrested more than 50,000 people as part of their crackdown on protests, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).


Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
TT

Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Monday called on his compatriots to show "resolve" ahead of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution this week.

Since the revolution, "foreign powers have always sought to restore the previous situation", Ali Khamenei said, referring to the period when Iran was under the rule of shah Reza Pahlavi and dependent on the United States, AFP reported.

"National power is less about missiles and aircraft and more about the will and steadfastness of the people," the leader said, adding: "Show it again and frustrate the enemy."


UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
TT

UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's director of communications Tim Allan resigned on Monday, a day after Starmer's top aide Morgan McSweeney quit over his role in backing Peter Mandelson over his known links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The loss of two senior aides ⁠in quick succession comes as Starmer tries to draw a line under the crisis in his government resulting from his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to the ⁠US.

"I have decided to stand down to allow a new No10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success," Allan said in a statement on Monday.

Allan served as an adviser to Tony Blair from ⁠1992 to 1998 and went on to found and lead one of the country’s foremost public affairs consultancies in 2001. In September 2025, he was appointed executive director of communications at Downing Street.