More Than 390 Drones Targeted Moscow Region Overnight, Says Mayor

A passenger plane flies past smoke rising from a warehouse for a Russian e-commerce giant near Saint Petersburg after being hit by Ukrainian drones early on July 24, 2026 morning, triggering a fire that sent smoke pouring over the historic city, according to local officials. (AFP)
A passenger plane flies past smoke rising from a warehouse for a Russian e-commerce giant near Saint Petersburg after being hit by Ukrainian drones early on July 24, 2026 morning, triggering a fire that sent smoke pouring over the historic city, according to local officials. (AFP)
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More Than 390 Drones Targeted Moscow Region Overnight, Says Mayor

A passenger plane flies past smoke rising from a warehouse for a Russian e-commerce giant near Saint Petersburg after being hit by Ukrainian drones early on July 24, 2026 morning, triggering a fire that sent smoke pouring over the historic city, according to local officials. (AFP)
A passenger plane flies past smoke rising from a warehouse for a Russian e-commerce giant near Saint Petersburg after being hit by Ukrainian drones early on July 24, 2026 morning, triggering a fire that sent smoke pouring over the historic city, according to local officials. (AFP)

More than 390 drones targeted the Moscow region overnight, the Russian capital's mayor said Tuesday, hours before Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump.

"Between 8:30 pm (1730 GMT) and 6:30 am, more than 390 drones were flying towards the Moscow region. Most were neutralized by air defense forces well before reaching the city. 81 enemy UAVs were destroyed as they approached Moscow," Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.

However, the Russian defense ministry later said that a total of 356 Ukrainian drones had been downed over more than a dozen regions, including near the capital.

Neither the defense ministry nor Sobyanin explained the discrepancy.

Moscow regional governor Andrey Vorobyov also reported that drone attacks damaged housing in the town of Chekhov and the Vaulovo village.

There were no immediate reports of any damage.

Ukraine has been ramping up its long-range counter-attacks on Russian energy, logistics and military sites -- a campaign Kyiv calls fair retaliation for Moscow's nightly barrages on its cities.



Two Men Re-Arrested for Suspected Spying for Iran in Airbase Scare

A B‑1B Lancer bomber arrives at RAF Fairford airbase in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, September 29, 2026. (Reuters)
A B‑1B Lancer bomber arrives at RAF Fairford airbase in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, September 29, 2026. (Reuters)
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Two Men Re-Arrested for Suspected Spying for Iran in Airbase Scare

A B‑1B Lancer bomber arrives at RAF Fairford airbase in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, September 29, 2026. (Reuters)
A B‑1B Lancer bomber arrives at RAF Fairford airbase in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, September 29, 2026. (Reuters)

British police said on Tuesday they had re-arrested two men on suspicion of assisting Iranian intelligence as part of their investigation into activity at the RAF Fairford air base ‌last month. 

Counter ‌Terrorism Policing said ‌in ⁠a statement that ⁠they had re-arrested a 24-year-old British national, who was initially arrested outside the military base in southwest England in the early hours ⁠of September 27. 

Police said ‌they ‌had also arrested a 25-year-old British-Iranian ‌dual national who had ‌previously been arrested in London. 

Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, Head of National Counter Terrorism Policing in the ‌UK, said in a statement, "we consider it highly likely ⁠that ⁠there is Iranian state involvement." 

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham last week said that the activity at RAF Fairford, which had been used by US bombers to carry out strikes on Iran, was likely to have been coordinated in Iran. 


IRGC: 2 Tankers Hit Mines, Set Ablaze South of Hormuz

FILED - 27 December 2011, ---, --: FILE PHOTO - A satellite picture provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), shows the Arabian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman. Photo: -/The Visible Earth/NASA/dpa
FILED - 27 December 2011, ---, --: FILE PHOTO - A satellite picture provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), shows the Arabian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman. Photo: -/The Visible Earth/NASA/dpa
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IRGC: 2 Tankers Hit Mines, Set Ablaze South of Hormuz

FILED - 27 December 2011, ---, --: FILE PHOTO - A satellite picture provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), shows the Arabian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman. Photo: -/The Visible Earth/NASA/dpa
FILED - 27 December 2011, ---, --: FILE PHOTO - A satellite picture provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), shows the Arabian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman. Photo: -/The Visible Earth/NASA/dpa

Two tankers were set ablaze and brought to a halt south of the Strait of ⁠Hormuz after hitting Iranian ⁠mines, the Revolutionary Guards' Navy said ⁠in a statement shared by state media on Tuesday, without saying when the tankers were hit.

The statement also ⁠said a ⁠US drone was downed by Iran on Monday night.

Diplomatic efforts between Iran and the United States have stalled over issues including the future of the Strait of Hormuz.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Washington was responsible for insecurity in the strait, usually a key transport route for oil and gas but which Iran has sought to blockade during the war launched by the US and Israel in February.

Pakistan has played a key mediating role in the so far unsuccessful attempts to end the war. In June, it helped broker a short-lived memorandum of understanding, which Tehran insists should still form the basis of any peace deal.


Police Charge Driver with Intentionally Causing Serious Injury to Australian Federal Lawmaker

A TV crew works in front of a portrait of Australian politician Helen Haines (C) outside her office in the northern regional city of Wangaratta, about 250 kilometres north-east of Melbourne on October 20, 2026. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)
A TV crew works in front of a portrait of Australian politician Helen Haines (C) outside her office in the northern regional city of Wangaratta, about 250 kilometres north-east of Melbourne on October 20, 2026. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)
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Police Charge Driver with Intentionally Causing Serious Injury to Australian Federal Lawmaker

A TV crew works in front of a portrait of Australian politician Helen Haines (C) outside her office in the northern regional city of Wangaratta, about 250 kilometres north-east of Melbourne on October 20, 2026. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)
A TV crew works in front of a portrait of Australian politician Helen Haines (C) outside her office in the northern regional city of Wangaratta, about 250 kilometres north-east of Melbourne on October 20, 2026. (Photo by William WEST / AFP)

Police on Tuesday charged a driver with intentionally causing serious injury to an Australian federal lawmaker who is a critical condition after being struck by a car.

A police statement said Brendan Nugent, 43, was charged with intentionally causing serious injury, dangerous driving causing serious injury and causing harm to a federal official.

Helen Haines, a 65-year-old independent politician, was in hospital in a critical but stable condition after being struck by a car outside her office in the city of Wangaratta in Victorian state on Monday, police said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised a barber who helped restrain the driver.

Haines was struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV.

The incident shocked Australians as political violence is rare there and politicians have always been accessible to the public. Most lawmakers are not accompanied by security officers and go about their work and personal lives on their own.

The suspect’s father, Rod Nugent, released a statement Tuesday describing Haines as a “deeply respected, valued and much loved member of our local community.”

“Helen has been our friend for more than 20 years and what happened to her yesterday is devastating and unfathomable,” the father said.

Haines’s family released a statement expressing thanks for the “swift assistance of bystanders” as well as health workers and police.

Haines, who was first elected to Parliament in 2019 and had been reelected twice since, was initially taken to a hospital in Wangaratta, a city of 30,000 people. She was airlifted later on Monday to a hospital in the state capital, Melbourne, 236 kilometers away.