Strikes Kill at Least 7 in Ukraine and Russia

TOPSHOT - This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on July 21, 2026, shows firefighters working to extinguish a fire at the site of a drone strike on a shopping center in Sumy, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / STATE EMERGENSY SERVICE OF UKRAINE / AFP)
TOPSHOT - This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on July 21, 2026, shows firefighters working to extinguish a fire at the site of a drone strike on a shopping center in Sumy, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / STATE EMERGENSY SERVICE OF UKRAINE / AFP)
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Strikes Kill at Least 7 in Ukraine and Russia

TOPSHOT - This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on July 21, 2026, shows firefighters working to extinguish a fire at the site of a drone strike on a shopping center in Sumy, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / STATE EMERGENSY SERVICE OF UKRAINE / AFP)
TOPSHOT - This handout photograph taken and released by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on July 21, 2026, shows firefighters working to extinguish a fire at the site of a drone strike on a shopping center in Sumy, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Handout / STATE EMERGENSY SERVICE OF UKRAINE / AFP)

A Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Pavlograd on Thursday killed three people, as Kyiv's counter-strikes on Russia and Moscow-annexed Crimea killed four others, including a three-year-old.

Civilian deaths in the more than four-year war have spiked this summer, with the United Nations saying last month was the deadliest since the first year of Russia's invasion in 2022, reported AFP.

Diplomatic talks to end fighting are at a deadlock.

"Three people were killed," said Oleksandr Ganzha, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk region.

"Nineteen people were wounded... Among the casualties is a two-year-old girl," he later added, saying all the wounded were in hospital.

Pavlograd, which lies in east-central Ukraine and had a pre-war population of some 100,000 people, has come under Russian attack throughout the conflict.

In Russia, officials said a three-year-old boy was killed on the outskirts of the city of Voronezh when a Ukrainian drone hit his house and set it on fire.

Located 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Moscow, Voronezh has frequently been targeted by Ukrainian drones, with Kyiv pushing its retaliatory strikes further into Russia.

Regional governor Alexander Gusev said the boy's parents sustained "various wounds".

Ukrainian night-time attacks on Crimea, under Russian occupation since 2014, killed two people, Kremlin-installed officials said.

One more man was killed by a Ukrainian drone in Russia's Belgorod region, according to local authorities. The Belgorod region borders Ukraine and is regularly hit.

The Kremlin has refused to back down from its maximalist demands of seizing the whole of eastern Ukraine, while US-led talks on resolving the conflict have stalled.

The UN said Wednesday that there had been a 37 percent rise in civilian casualties in the Russia-Ukraine war in the first half of this year.



Iran's Top Negotiator Threatens 'Faster, More Intense' Response to US Attacks

People walk past a large anti-US banner with reference to the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, in Tehran on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP) /
People walk past a large anti-US banner with reference to the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, in Tehran on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP) /
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Iran's Top Negotiator Threatens 'Faster, More Intense' Response to US Attacks

People walk past a large anti-US banner with reference to the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, in Tehran on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP) /
People walk past a large anti-US banner with reference to the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, in Tehran on September 2, 2026. (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP) /

Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf threatened on Sunday to launch swifter and more forceful responses to US attacks, after Tehran targeted American warships in retaliation for US attacks on tankers.

"The Americans must have understood that the era of proportionate responses has come to an end," said Ghalibaf in a speech carried by state media, adding that "any aggression against Iran's interests and security will receive a faster, more intense and more painful response.”

Iran said Sunday that it struck an unmanned US military boat in the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command, which oversees the US military operations in the Middle East, did not confirm the claim or respond to request for comment. It comes one day after the US said it struck Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for Iran launching ballistic missiles at Navy warships.


A Fuel Tanker Explosion in West Iran Kills 11 and Injures 7

A fuel tanker exploded in western Iran, killing 11 people and injuring seven others, according to the state media.(AP)
A fuel tanker exploded in western Iran, killing 11 people and injuring seven others, according to the state media.(AP)
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A Fuel Tanker Explosion in West Iran Kills 11 and Injures 7

A fuel tanker exploded in western Iran, killing 11 people and injuring seven others, according to the state media.(AP)
A fuel tanker exploded in western Iran, killing 11 people and injuring seven others, according to the state media.(AP)

A fuel tanker exploded in western Iran, killing 11 people and injuring seven others, state media said.

IRNA reported late Saturday that the tanker hit other cars before bursting into flames near a traffic police station close to the Kurdish city of Sanandaj, some 400 kilometers (248 miles) west of the capital, Tehran. The report cited a faulty brake system, The Associated Press said.

The injured were transferred to hospitals.

In 2018, a similar road accident between a fuel tanker and an intercity passenger bus near Sanandaj killed 15 people and injured four.

Road and traffic accidents annually leave more than 17,000 dead in Iran. Experts blame the high fatality rate on unsafe vehicles, disregard for traffic rules, and inadequate emergency services.


Nepali Rescuers Buoyed by Miracle Finds but Tough Conditions Persist

Nepal Army personnel work to build an iron bridge across Tadi Khola river following the deadly flash floods and mudslide, in Devighat, Nuwakot district, Nepal, September 4, 2026. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Nepal Army personnel work to build an iron bridge across Tadi Khola river following the deadly flash floods and mudslide, in Devighat, Nuwakot district, Nepal, September 4, 2026. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
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Nepali Rescuers Buoyed by Miracle Finds but Tough Conditions Persist

Nepal Army personnel work to build an iron bridge across Tadi Khola river following the deadly flash floods and mudslide, in Devighat, Nuwakot district, Nepal, September 4, 2026. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
Nepal Army personnel work to build an iron bridge across Tadi Khola river following the deadly flash floods and mudslide, in Devighat, Nuwakot district, Nepal, September 4, 2026. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Nepali rescuers faced challenging conditions on Sunday as search operations after catastrophic floods entered their 12th day, buoyed by the extraordinary rescues of four survivors.

The glacial and mountain collapse on the China-Nepal border has killed at least 1,372 people and left more than 5,500 missing across the two countries, AFP said.

Rescuers found two more people alive on Saturday, joining two saved the day before in what have been described as miraculous tales of survival.

Three of those have been found in hydropower tunnels where the government initially said it believed more than 100 workers could be alive.

"Search and rescue is going on at the tunnels despite geography, adverse weather and lack of connectivity," Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha told AFP.

Rescue workers were experiencing "multiple challenges", he said.

The wall of icy water and debris tore through mountain districts on August 26, destroying roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

On Saturday, rescuers pulled a Chinese man alive from deep inside a hydropower tunnel, and a 64-year-old Nepali woman, Chandrika Shrestha, from her mud-covered home.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah said the latter rescue had "given hope to the entire nation".

A day earlier, two Nepali hydropower workers were rescued at the Trishuli 3A tunnel, where searches continue alongside multiple other sites, with at least 12 hydropower projects affected.

Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said work was continuing to restore electricity in several areas.

"Places that have unreachable, we've tried to restore power with solar," he told AFP.

Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has called the disaster a "Himalayan tsunami" and has warned reconstruction costs could run into the billions of dollars.

The United Nations has said the magnitude of the destruction makes delivering aid an immense challenge, and has launched a $50 million appeal to help more than 84,000 people.

With mortuaries overflowing, Nepal has buried hundreds of bodies in mass graves, after taking DNA samples for future identification, according to the police.

Only around 100 bodies have been identified and handed over to families.

Nepal will hold a national day of mourning on Monday, the 13th day since the disaster, in line with a traditional period of mourning in Hindu rituals.

While the exact cause of the glacial collapse is unclear, climate change is accelerating glacial melting worldwide, increasing the risk of such disasters.

In Nepal, rescuers have retrieved 1,341 bodies, while around 4,996 people remain missing, according to the disaster agency.

Chinese state media report that 31 people have been killed and 531 are missing in Tibet.

The combined toll is 1,372 dead and more than 5,500 missing, including around 800 foreigners, among them tourists and pilgrims.