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A Russian drone struck a private residential home in Konotop late Thursday evening, injuring five civilians, including three children, local authorities said.

Konotop is a city in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, near the Russian border, an area frequently exposed to Russian drone, missile and cross-border attacks.

According to Konotop Mayor Artem Semenikhin, the attack hit a house in the city’s Zahrebellia district, a residential area of private homes, sparking a major fire while people were inside.

Emergency crews, first responders and investigators were deployed to the scene to extinguish the blaze, clear debris and document the aftermath of the strike.

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The United States has announced fresh economic sanctions on Cuba’s president and some of his immediate family, alongside members of the Castro family, in Washington’s latest ramping up of pressure on its communist-led neighbour.

Among those targeted were the son and a grandson of former president Raúl Castro, who no longer holds an official position but remains a key figure on decisions about the future of the island.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel, his wife and stepson were also hit by the latest Treasury department sanctions issued on Thursday, as was the ministry of the revolutionary armed forces and several other entities.

The US has had an embargo on Cuba for decades, but US President Donald Trump has drastically ramped up pressure on the island in recent months and openly muses about taking it over.

A de facto fuel blockade has deepened the island’s energy crisis and hit its already fragile economy.

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North Korea on Thursday unveiled a new facility to produce nuclear bomb fuels, with leader Kim Jong Un announcing plans to bolster the country's nuclear forces "at an exponential rate."

Some experts still question whether North Korea has functioning nuclear missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland. But the nuclear plant's disclosure implies that Kim is eager to cement his country's status as a nuclear power and has no intentions of placing his bomb program on a negotiating table.

After visiting the site on Wednesday, Kim said he and other top officials "confirmed the order of priority for implementing the ambitious future plan designed to beef up our state's nuclear forces at an exponential rate," according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

KCNA said the facility used "more sophisticated technology" but didn't provide further details like its location. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff assessed the site as a uranium enrichment plant and said it was closely coordinating with the United States to monitor North Korean nuclear activities.

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Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said Thursday that his country would cut ties with the U.N. secretary general and his office, after the office’s decision to include Israel on an upcoming sexual violence blacklist over alleged sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees.

Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador, said that he had been officially informed by the secretary general’s office that Israel and its security services would be included in an annual report on conflict-related sexual violence. He called the decision “disconnected from the facts and reality.”

Hamas is also included on an associated list of countries and groups accused of using sexual violence as a weapon of war.

Mr. Danon denounced the decision, denied the accusations and accused the U.N. chief, António Guterres, of lying and of choosing not to fully investigate claims against Israel. “To put us and Hamas terrorists on the same list,” Mr. Danon said in a video. “That’s unacceptable.”

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THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES Bill will be brought before cabinet for government approval later, with the aim of enacting it before the Dáil summer recess.

The long-awaited bill was first proposed by senator Frances Black in 2018 and would ban trade from illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee will later seek government approval and aims to meet this summer deadline.

A department spokesperson remarked that Ireland has “continually advocated for a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians”.

However, the spokesperson added that it is “clear from the actions of the Israeli government, both in Gaza and in the West Bank, that they have no intention of reaching a peaceful resolution”.

The spokesperson added that it “remains the government’s preference that collective action would be taken at EU level” and that McEntee is “continuing to actively pursuing this”.

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In a historic first for Germany, nearly 700 students at the University of Leipzig voted almost unanimously on 19 May to demand that their university sever all ties with Israeli academic institutions over the genocide in Gaza.

The location is significant.

For decades, Leipzig has been regarded as one of Germany’s strongest centers of the "Antideutsche" current, a tendency within the radical left defined by militant anti-nationalism and vocal support for Israel under the banner of combating antisemitism. Antideutsche activists also frequently clash with pro-Palestinian activists at demonstrations and events.

The adopted list of demands calls on the university to recognise and condemn the genocidal nature of Israel’s war on Gaza, including the scholasticide taking place there, a term used to describe the systematic destruction of educational institutions, students and staff.

Students demand an end to all cooperation with Israeli universities and institutions, and insist that the University of Leipzig neither participate in, promote, nor publicise collaborations or activities organised or hosted by Israeli universities.

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