THIS IS LIFE IN #GAZA!

Russia launches a major aerial attack on Kyiv hours before high-level talks on support for Ukraine

A #Bangladesh Air Force jet crashes into a Dhaka school and kills 18. According to the military and a fire official, the Chinese-made F-7 BGI aircraft crashed into the campus of Milestone School and College, in the Uttara neighbourhood, in the afternoon as students were attending classes.

The Fire Service and Civil Defense said that at least 19 people, mostly students, died and another 116 were rescued with injuries. A significant number sustained burn injuries.

The government announced a national day of mourning on Tuesday, with flags to fly at half-staff across the country.

The military said the jet took off from Bangladesh Air Force Base A.K. Khandaker in Dhaka’s Kurmitola neighbourhood at 1:06 p.m. local time and crashed soon after, catching fire immediately. It said the aircraft “experienced a technical malfunction,” but that a high-level committee within the Air Force would conduct an investigation to determine the cause.

Flight Lieutenant Md. Toukir Islam, made “every effort to divert the aircraft away from densely populated areas toward a more sparsely inhabited location,” the military said. “Unfortunately, the aircraft crashed into a two-story building” within the school.

It is the deadliest airplane crash in the Bangladeshi capital in recent memory.

Local media indicated most of the injured were students. Relatives panicked at the scene as rescuers, using tricycle rickshaws or whatever was available, transported the injured to local hospitals.

A desperate scene unfolded as the crash occurred.

Local residents and rescuers carried wounded students on their laps, while worried parents ran frantically. One father sprinted with his daughter cradled in his arms. A mother cried out, having found her younger child, but desperately searching for her elder. Students said the school’s buildings trembled violently followed by a big explosion, sending them running for safety.

Screams and desperation filled the air at a nearby hospital.

Doctors at Uttara Adhunik Hospital reported that more than 60 students, many aged 12-16, were transferred to a specialized burn hospital after arriving with burn injuries.

At the crash scene, soldiers used megaphones to control the crowd, complicated by the area’s dense population, a nearby metro station and numerous surrounding shops and homes.

By Monday evening, rescuers continued to scour the debris, searching for bodies.

Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus pledged an investigation into the crash, expressing his deep sorrow over the “heartbreaking accident” at Milestone School and College.

In a statement, he lamented the “irreparable” loss suffered by “Air Force personnel, students, parents, teachers, staff, and others,” calling it “a moment of deep national grief.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed shock and sadness over the “tragic air crash in Dhaka” that resulted in the loss of many lives, including young students.

“Our hearts go out to the bereaved families,” Modi said in a post on X. “India stands in solidarity with Bangladesh and is ready to extend all possible support and assistance.”

Rafiqa Taha, a student who was not present at the time of the crash, told The Associated Press by phone that the school, with some 2,000 students, offers classes from elementary to twelfth grade.

“I was terrified watching videos on TV,” the 16-year-old said. “My God! It’s my school.”

The Associated Press

David Beckham documents his hilarious haircut mishap

#Google LLC owes almost 27.3 billion rubles (approximately $347.7 million at the current exchange rate) as fines and other penalties imposed by Russian courts, according to court files obtained by TASS.

A total of 16 court enforcement actions against Google, worth over 27 billion rubles ($343.8 million at the current exchange rate) in total, were launched in accordance with rulings issued by various district courts in Moscow. Another 35 court enforcement actions, worth almost 1.5 million rubles ($19,100), have been launched in accordance with rulings of the Moscow Commercial Court.

The court enforcement actions against Google were launched in 2021-2025.

Fire at #Iran’s largest oil refinery kills 1 in the country’s southwest. TEHRAN, Iran — A fire at Iran’s oldest and largest refinery in the southwest killed one person, state media reported Sunday.

A leaky pump in an under-repair unit at Abadan refinery caused the fire on Saturday, killing a worker, according to the state-owned IRAN newspaper. Firefighters put out the blaze in two hours and operations remained unaffected, the report said.

Iran’s deputy parliament speaker, Ali Nikzad, confirmed Sunday that some workers were also injured, media outlets said.

Abadan oil refinery, some 670 kilometres (nearly 416 miles) from the capital Tehran, began its operation in 1912. It is the biggest in the Islamic Republic, producing about 25 per cent of the country’s fuel with more than 5,200,000 barrels of oil refined daily.

Several fires have broken out across Iran over the past week at residential and commercial buildings, with authorities saying gas leaks and electrical short-circuiting were to blame.

Iran is one of the world’s major producers of oil, though sanctions by Western countries have limited its sales.

Chief Justice Mandisa Maya has given respondents until Tuesday to oppose the MK Party's Constitutional Court application.

#MOSCOW, July 20. #Russia’s automotive industry has not merely survived after the flight of foreign partners but has managed to expand production, Russian President Vladimir #Putin said.

"Such enterprises as Avtovaz have not only to prevented a collapse of the entire sector but managed to revive it and move forward, adding to its marketability and raising productivity," he said in an interview with VGTRK host Pavel Zarubin when asked about the situation in Russia’s automotive sector.

According to the Russian president, labor productivity diagrams at Avtovaz, Russia’s flagship car manufacturer, speak for themselves. "Moreover, one job in the automotive sector creates ten jobs in related sectors. And these are high-technology sectors," he added.

During his working trip to Magnitogorsk earlier, Putin said that the Russian government is working on a system of support for the domestic automotive sector that would take into account the interests of both manufacturers and clients.

Any new nuclear facilities Iran decides to build will be destroyed, US President Donald Trump said.

"All three nuclear sites in Iran were completely destroyed and/or obliterated. It would take years to bring them back into service and, if Iran wanted to do so, they would be much better off starting anew, in three different locations, prior to those sites being obliterated, should they decide to do so," he wrote on the Truth Social platform.

NBC News reported earlier, citing sources, that only one of Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities had been fully destroyed in US strikes in June. According to the broadcaster’s sources, the other two suffered far less damage and may resume operation in a few months. However, the White House rejected this assessment. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told Reuters that "Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran's nuclear capabilities."

CNN reported on June 24, that the US intelligence community believed the US strikes had failed to achieve a complete destruction of key components of Tehran’s nuclear program. A preliminary US intelligence inquiry suggests the attack likely only set Iran’s nuclear weapons program back by several months. This was concluded by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, which noted low confidence in the accuracy of their own assessment.

On June 25, US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cited new intelligence data, claiming Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, struck overnight June 21-22, had been "obliterated." The White House additionally assured that, according to Washington’s information, Iran had failed to remove nuclear materials from these sites prior to the strikes.

#Congo and #Rwanda-backed rebels sign declaration of principles to end conflict in eastern Congo.

#DAKAR, Senegal — Congo and Rwanda-backed rebels on Saturday signed a declaration of principles in Qatar to end decadeslong fighting and commit to a comprehensive peace agreement that would include a withdrawal of the insurgents from key eastern cities.

Congo and the #M23 rebels committed to “building trust” through various measures, including an exchange of prisoners and detainees as well as restoring state authority in rebel-held areas, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al-Khulaifi, Qatar’s minister of state, said at a briefing.

Backed by neighboring Rwanda, the M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups fighting for control in Congo’s mineral-rich east. With 7 million people displaced in Congo, the U.N. has called the conflict in eastern Congo “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth.”

Saturday’s signing is the first direct commitment by both sides since the rebels seized two key cities in eastern Congo in a major advance early this year. A final peace deal is to be signed no later than Aug. 18, and it “shall align with the Peace Agreement between Congo and Rwanda” facilitated by the U.S. in June, according to a copy of the declaration seen by The Associated Press.

M23 had been pushing for the release of its members held by Congo’s military, many of them facing the death sentence. Congo had requested the withdrawal of the rebels from seized territories.

“The Declaration of Principles signed today paves the way for direct negotiations towards a comprehensive peace that addresses the deep-rooted causes of the conflict,” the Qatari minister said.

The document touches on most of the highlights of the peace deal Congo and Rwanda signed on June 27, including the protection and safe return of millions who fled the conflict.

A key issue is whether Rwanda will pull their support for the rebels, including the thousands of troops that the United Nations experts said are in eastern Congo.

When Rwanda and Congo signed the peace deal in Washington, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe said Rwanda agreed to lift its “defensive measures” — suggesting a reference to its troops eastern Congo — once Congo neutralizes an armed group whose members Kigali accuses of carrying out the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Analysts have said it is going to be difficult for the M23 rebels to withdraw from the eastern Congolese cities of Goma and Bukavu and that it would depend on concessions Congolese authorities agree to make. There were also been doubts about long-lasting peace if justice for victims of the war is not addressed.

Massad Boulos, s senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, said “it is time to find a final solution” to the conflict.

One of the most important articles of the principles is the affirmation of state control in rebel-held territories, he said. “However, there is this an ongoing conflict. The issue requires dialogue, and following up on this dialogue and requires persistence.”

Chinedu Asadu, The Associated Press

Associated Press journalists Ahmed Hatem in Cairo, Egypt and Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo contributed to this report.