Russia Officials Say Ukraine Hit Donetsk University with Cluster Shells

 Firefighters extinguish a fire in the university building following a reported shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, August 5, 2023. (Reuters)
Firefighters extinguish a fire in the university building following a reported shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, August 5, 2023. (Reuters)
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Russia Officials Say Ukraine Hit Donetsk University with Cluster Shells

 Firefighters extinguish a fire in the university building following a reported shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, August 5, 2023. (Reuters)
Firefighters extinguish a fire in the university building following a reported shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, August 5, 2023. (Reuters)

Flames engulfed a university building's wooden roof in Donetsk following Ukrainian shelling on Saturday, said an emergency official in the Russia-controlled city in eastern Ukraine.

"As a result of the latest attack on Donetsk, the first building of the University of Economics and Trade is on fire," Alexei Kulemzin, the Russia-installed mayor, said on Telegram.

"We are using 12 water tanks, three ladders and 100 fire fighters," said Alexei Kostrubitsky, the Russia-installed emergency minister for the region that Moscow calls the Donetsk People's Republic.

"The whole roof is on fire."

Kostrubitsky said Ukrainian forces used cluster munitions in the shelling that caused the blaze. Reuters could not independently verify the information. Both sides have used cluster munitions in the course of Russia's 17-month invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine, which received supplies of US cluster munitions last month, has vowed to use them only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the alleged shelling. Both sides deny targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Kostrubitsky said there were no people inside the building during the shelling.

"The most difficult thing is that the roof is wooden, so the fire spreads fast."

Russia's RIA state news agency cited Kostrubitsky and emergency services as saying the fire spread to an area of about 1,800 sq m (19,400 sq ft) before being contained early on Sunday.



US Carrier George H.W. Bush Visits Thailand after Middle East Deployment

The USS George H.W. Bush arrives near Phuket Deep Sea Port before docking for a rest stop following a long deployment in the Middle East, in Phuket, Thailand, October 4, 2026. REUTERS/Sooppharoek Teepapan
The USS George H.W. Bush arrives near Phuket Deep Sea Port before docking for a rest stop following a long deployment in the Middle East, in Phuket, Thailand, October 4, 2026. REUTERS/Sooppharoek Teepapan
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US Carrier George H.W. Bush Visits Thailand after Middle East Deployment

The USS George H.W. Bush arrives near Phuket Deep Sea Port before docking for a rest stop following a long deployment in the Middle East, in Phuket, Thailand, October 4, 2026. REUTERS/Sooppharoek Teepapan
The USS George H.W. Bush arrives near Phuket Deep Sea Port before docking for a rest stop following a long deployment in the Middle East, in Phuket, Thailand, October 4, 2026. REUTERS/Sooppharoek Teepapan

The US aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush arrived off Thailand's resort island of Phuket on Sunday with about 4,800 personnel aboard for a rest-and-recreation break after months of supporting US operations in the Middle East.

The Nimitz-class carrier had been operating in the Arabian Sea during the ⁠conflict with Iran, ⁠according to multiple media reports.

The carrier will anchor offshore, while crew members are expected to come ashore through Phuket Deep Sea ⁠Port and spend time on the popular southern resort island from October 4 to 9, local media reported.

The visit follows a five-day port call by the US carrier Abraham Lincoln at Laem Chabang in eastern Thailand last month, with about 5,000 sailors ⁠and ⁠Marines aboard.

A local mayor had estimated each US service member from the Lincoln could spend up to 3,000 baht ($89) per day during the visit, Reuters reported.

Thailand is the United States' only treaty partner in mainland Southeast Asia.


US Coast Guard Finds Debris from Medical Plane Carrying 6 People

A detail view of the US Coast Guard Cutter Valiant in Miami Beach, Florida, US March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
A detail view of the US Coast Guard Cutter Valiant in Miami Beach, Florida, US March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
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US Coast Guard Finds Debris from Medical Plane Carrying 6 People

A detail view of the US Coast Guard Cutter Valiant in Miami Beach, Florida, US March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
A detail view of the US Coast Guard Cutter Valiant in Miami Beach, Florida, US March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo

The US Coast Guard said on Saturday it found debris from a medical transport plane that went missing while flying from Bermuda to Boston, with the six people on board still unaccounted for.

The Federal Aviation Administration told the Coast Guard in the early hours of Saturday that it had lost contact with a Gulfstream G100 with the tail number C-GRJP, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

"Coast Guard search crews located a debris field that has been confirmed to be associated with the missing aircraft," it said.

"Crews are continuing to search for the six people who were aboard the aircraft."

The plane carried four Canadian nationals and two Bermudian nationals, the Coast Guard said.

The aircraft operated by Canada-based Latitude Air Ambulance went missing around 1:30 am (1530 GMT), company spokesman Clarence Togeretz told AFP.

"It was carrying two pilots, two medical staff, one patient and a family member," Togeretz said.

The company has a fleet of 10 planes that provide repatriation and medical evacuation services, flying people back home from anywhere in the world, its website says.

The Coast Guard said search efforts would continue throughout the night and scheduled a news conference on Sunday morning to provide an update.


Trump Mulling to Resume Major Combat Operations in Iran

An Indian oil tanker after crossing the Strait of Hormuz at a discharge terminal in India (Reuters)
An Indian oil tanker after crossing the Strait of Hormuz at a discharge terminal in India (Reuters)
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Trump Mulling to Resume Major Combat Operations in Iran

An Indian oil tanker after crossing the Strait of Hormuz at a discharge terminal in India (Reuters)
An Indian oil tanker after crossing the Strait of Hormuz at a discharge terminal in India (Reuters)

With negotiations stalled, US President Donald Trump is considering resuming major combat operations in Iran.

Trump's top cabinet members met secretly at the presidential retreat at Camp David ⁠to discuss next ⁠steps in the Iran war, Axios reported on Friday.

Vice President JD Vance chaired the meeting, the news ⁠outlet reported, ⁠citing people familiar with the matter.

"Things were decided or at least deeply discussed," one of the officials said, referring to the crisis in the Middle East.

The White House declined to comment.

On Friday afternoon, while his advisers were at Camp David, Trump was asked by reporters what his next move on Iran will be.

"If I told you, you would have a major story," he said. "But you will see. It is working out very well. Iran is not doing well."

Tehran has blockaded commercial shipping through the Hormuz strait since the war began in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, while the US military has upheld a counterblockade of Iran's ports.