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  • Bulgaria gives its Eurovision winner Dara a grand welcome upon her return home

    Bulgaria gives its Eurovision winner Dara a grand welcome upon her return home

    Hundreds of enthusiastic supporters flooded Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport on Sunday, waving Bulgarian national flags and cheering loudly to welcome home Dara, the newly crowned winner of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest. Looking exhausted but beaming with joy, the 27-year-old artist stepped off the plane holding aloft her Eurovision trophy, marking a historic milestone for the small Southeast European nation. All major Bulgarian broadcast networks interrupted their scheduled programming to carry live, uninterrupted coverage of the homecoming celebration for viewers across the country.

    Dara, whose full legal name is Darina Yotova, secured Bulgaria’s first ever Eurovision win on Saturday at the competition held in Vienna, topping the leaderboard with her high-energy, crowd-pleasing hit “Bangaranga”. Outperforming 24 other competing artists from across Europe and beyond, the track’s catchy, infectious beats and polished synchronized choreography resonated strongly with both professional jury panels from participating nations and global public voters, whose combined scores determine the annual contest’s champion.

    In brief remarks to reporters upon her arrival, Dara framed her victory as more than just a personal achievement. “This award marks the beginning of my future international career,” she said, adding that the win should draw attention to the depth of creative talent emerging from her home country. “We have done something great for Bulgarian music, and I hope this sends a message that Bulgaria’s performers and artists deserve stronger support. Bulgaria is an exceptionally talented nation that will continue to receive more and more attention,” she added.

    The win has sparked a wave of national pride across Bulgaria, with top political leaders joining public celebrations of Dara’s achievement. Parliamentary Speaker Mihaela Dotsova described the victory as “an inspiration for the nation,” while President Iliana Yotova called it a “triumph for Bulgaria.” Prime Minister Rumen Radev echoed that praise, noting the win is “a victory with global resonance” for the country.

    Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev was also on hand at the airport to greet the new champion, and confirmed that the Bulgarian capital is already prepared to host the 2027 edition of the iconic song contest. The 2027 event would align with the 20th anniversary of Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union, creating a fitting milestone for the country’s first time hosting the long-running competition.

  • Latest militant attacks on schools in Nigeria leave more than 80 children missing, officials say

    Latest militant attacks on schools in Nigeria leave more than 80 children missing, officials say

    ABUJA, Nigeria – A spate of coordinated militant attacks targeting educational institutions across Nigeria has left more than 80 schoolchildren unaccounted for, local authorities and global human rights organization Amnesty International confirmed Sunday. The abductions mark the latest escalation of a persistent crisis of school kidnappings that has plagued the West African nation, where federal security forces are already engaged in prolonged counterinsurgency operations against multiple jihadi factions and other armed criminal groups.

    The first documented assault unfolded between Wednesday and Thursday in the remote Askira Uba and Chibok local government areas of Borno State, Nigeria’s conflict-ravaged northeastern border region. According to official reports, 42 children were abducted from a local primary school in this strike. Amnesty International pinpointed the attack location as Mussa village, a settlement positioned on the edge of Sambisa Forest – the historic core stronghold for Boko Haram, the long-running insurgent group, and its offshoot, the Islamic State-aligned faction Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

    Just two days later, a separate pair of attacks hit secondary schools in southwestern Nigeria’s Oyo State, an area where large-scale school abductions have historically been extremely rare. Though Amnesty’s Nigeria office initially put the number of abducted children from the two Oyo State schools at no fewer than 40, local government official Peter Wabba from Mussa confirmed Sunday that updated community counts place the total at 48. The attacks were carried out just hours apart from one another, in the Oriire local government area roughly 220 kilometers outside Nigeria’s commercial hub, Lagos.

    In its public statement Sunday, Amnesty International issued a stark warning about the cascading social costs of the persistent abduction crisis. The organization noted that widespread fear of kidnapping has already driven thousands of children out of Nigeria’s educational system, with many families pulling underage girls out of classrooms specifically and forcing them into early marriage as a desperate protective measure against attack.

    Local families of the missing children expressed growing frustration with the pace of official response. “The government is assuring us that they are doing their possible best to see that these children are rescued but up till now, we are still waiting,” Wabba told the Associated Press in an interview Sunday. Amnesty further criticized Nigerian authorities for longstanding failures to follow through on commitments to address the crisis, saying that officials “never fulfill promises to investigate the incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice,” adding, “Victims and their families continue to be denied access to justice.”

    Security officials have made limited progress in the Oyo State case, however. On Saturday, police spokesperson Ayanlade Olayinka confirmed to AP that three suspected gunmen linked to the Oyo attacks had been taken into custody. Olayinka said community members identified the suspects, who were subsequently arrested by local law enforcement. Police have not yet clarified whether additional suspects remain at large in the incident.

    Mass school abductions have become one of the most visible markers of systemic insecurity across Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country. While kidnappings for ransom and insurgency-driven abductions are most common in the country’s northern regions, the recent attacks in the southwest mark a troubling expansion of the crisis into previously low-risk areas. In 2023 alone, two high-profile mass school abductions in northern Nigeria shook national public opinion, with more than 300 children taken captive in separate incidents. Security analysts point to a clear strategic logic driving the targeting of schools: armed gangs and insurgent factions view soft, unguarded educational institutions as high-impact targets that generate widespread media and government attention, advancing their political and financial goals.

  • Africa’s Ebola outbreak public health emergency of int’l concern: WHO

    Africa’s Ebola outbreak public health emergency of int’l concern: WHO

    GENEVA – In an official announcement posted to its website Sunday, the World Health Organization (WHO) has formally designated the ongoing Ebola outbreak driven by the Bundibugyo virus across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), stopping short of classifying the event as a full pandemic emergency.

    The latest epidemiological data published by the WHO, updated through May 16, 2026, paints a preliminary but concerning picture of the outbreak’s spread. In the DRC’s northeastern Ituri Province, health authorities have recorded eight confirmed Ebola cases, 246 suspected cases, and 80 reported deaths among suspected patients. One additional confirmed case has been detected in Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital, marking the virus’s reach into a major urban center far from the original outbreak zone. Neighboring Uganda has also confirmed two cases of Ebola traced back to importation from the DRC, both detected in the Ugandan capital Kampala. To date, researchers have found no clear epidemiological connection between the two Ugandan cases, adding to uncertainties around transmission dynamics.

    Among the most alarming early developments is the death of at least four frontline healthcare workers who treated Ebola patients in affected regions. These fatalities have amplified experts’ concerns about ongoing nosocomial, or hospital-based, transmission of the virus, a risk that can quickly overwhelm under-resourced local health systems.

    The WHO emphasized that large gaps remain in understanding the full scope of the outbreak. Significant uncertainty surrounds the actual total number of infections, the full geographic range of virus circulation, and the transmission links connecting confirmed and suspected cases. Compounding these challenges is the absence of any globally approved, targeted therapeutics or vaccines specifically designed to protect against or treat infection with the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola.

    To coordinate a unified global response, the WHO announced it will convene an independent Emergency Committee in the near term to develop evidence-based guidance for response measures for affected nations and the international public health community.

    WHO officials warn that early indicators suggest the outbreak is far larger than current detected and reported case counts indicate. Key red flags include a high positivity rate among initial patient samples, the confirmation of cases in two capital cities (Kinshasa and Kampala), and a steady upward trend in both suspected cases and deaths across Ituri Province. Multiple structural factors are amplifying the risk of widespread spread: persistent insecurity in affected regions that disrupts outbreak surveillance and response, an ongoing humanitarian crisis that has left millions of vulnerable people without access to adequate health care, high cross-border and internal population mobility, the location of current outbreak hotspots in urban and semi-urban areas, and an extensive network of unregulated informal health care facilities that lack infection control infrastructure.

  • WHO declares international emergency as Ebola outbreak kills more than 80 in DR Congo

    WHO declares international emergency as Ebola outbreak kills more than 80 in DR Congo

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in response to a fast-spreading Ebola outbreak caused by the rare Bundibugyo strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has already claimed more than 80 lives across two countries. This marks the 17th Ebola outbreak the Central African nation has faced, with public health experts warning of extreme risks of regional and cross-border spread amid a lack of targeted medical countermeasures.

    The first confirmed case in Goma, a major population hub in eastern DRC currently held by the Rwanda-backed M23 militia, was verified by national laboratory testing on Sunday, amplifying global alarm over the outbreak’s trajectory. According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), as of Saturday, the outbreak has been linked to 88 confirmed deaths and 336 suspected cases of the highly contagious haemorrhagic fever.

    Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of the Congolese National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB), detailed that the Goma patient is the widow of an Ebola victim who died in the northeastern city of Bunia. The woman, already infected when she traveled to Goma after her husband’s death, represents the first confirmed case in a major urban center, raising fears of wider community transmission.

    WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the emergency declaration via the social platform X, noting that while the outbreak qualifies as a PHEIC— the global body’s second-highest alert level under the International Health Regulations (IHR), with a pandemic classified as the highest— it does not yet meet the formal criteria for a pandemic. The WHO emphasized that critical gaps remain in understanding the outbreak’s full scale, writing, “There are significant uncertainties to the true number of infected persons and geographic spread.”

    A core challenge facing response teams is the nature of the strain itself. Unlike the more common Zaire Ebola strain, for which effective vaccines are widely available, the Bundibugyo strain— first identified in 2007— has no licensed vaccine or specific antiviral treatment. DRC Health Minister Samuel-Roger Kamba highlighted the strain’s extreme virulence, noting that its fatality rate can reach 50 percent. By comparison, the Zaire strain has a recorded fatality rate of 60 to 90 percent, but the availability of vaccines and treatments has drastically reduced mortality in recent outbreaks.

    The current outbreak was first confirmed in Ituri Province, a northeastern region bordering Uganda and South Sudan, on August 15. Local civil society representative Isaac Nyakulinda told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that communities in the affected area have been struggling to cope for weeks. “We’ve been seeing people die for the past two weeks,” Nyakulinda said. “There is nowhere to isolate the sick. They are dying at home and their bodies are being handled by their family members, increasing the risk of further transmission.”

    Congolese health officials traced the outbreak back to an index case, a nurse who first presented with Ebola symptoms at a Bunia health facility on April 24. Early symptoms of Ebola include fever, vomiting, and haemorrhaging, progressing to severe organ failure and internal bleeding in advanced cases. The virus, which is thought to originate in bat populations, spreads between humans through direct contact with bodily fluids or infected blood; victims only become contagious once symptoms develop, and the incubation period can last up to 21 days.

    On Saturday, officials confirmed that the outbreak has already crossed international borders, with one Congolese national dying of the disease in neighboring Uganda. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders), the leading medical aid group working on the ground, is mobilizing for a large-scale emergency response, but has flagged multiple barriers to effective action.

    “The number of cases and deaths we are seeing in such a short timeframe, combined with the spread across several health zones and now across the border, is extremely concerning,” said Trish Newport, MSF’s Emergency Programme Manager. The DRC’s poor transport and communications infrastructure, a longstanding challenge for public health responses, has slowed the movement of critical medical supplies to affected regions. The country, home to more than 100 million people and four times the size of France, has limited paved road networks in remote rural areas where the outbreak first took hold.

    Most of the early transmission has occurred in hard-to-reach areas, meaning only a small share of suspected cases have been confirmed via laboratory testing. Even so, the WHO says early indicators point to a far larger outbreak than currently documented: high positivity rates from initial tested samples, cross-border transmission, and rising numbers of suspected cases “all point towards a potentially much larger outbreak than what is currently being detected and reported, with significant local and regional risk of spread.”

    This outbreak comes just months after DRC declared an end to its previous Ebola outbreak in the same region, which was declared eradicated in December 2024 after killing 34 people. Since Ebola was first identified in 1976, the virus has killed roughly 15,000 people across Africa, despite major medical advances in prevention and treatment over the past decade. The 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC remains the deadliest in the country’s history, killing nearly 2,300 people before it was contained.

  • With North America’s largest commuter rail system shut down, NY governor begs unions to resume talks

    With North America’s largest commuter rail system shut down, NY governor begs unions to resume talks

    As North America’s busiest commuter rail network remained locked down for a second day on Sunday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued an urgent public plea to striking Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) unions to return to the bargaining table, warning that both workers and hundreds of thousands of daily commuters would face deep harm if the work stoppage drags into the workweek.

    This work stoppage, the first shutdown of the LIRR in 30 years, began just after midnight on Friday, when five unions representing roughly half of the railroad’s total workforce walked off the job after months of stalled contract talks with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the state-run agency that manages the system. Legally permitted to strike starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, the action has already upended travel across the New York region, with a critical weekday rush hour now looming.

    Speaking at a Sunday press conference alongside MTA CEO Janno Lieber, Hochul extended an open invitation to union leaders to restart negotiations ahead of Monday’s morning commute. “This is my official invitation. We didn’t want you to leave. You left. You’re welcome to come back. I’ll provide refreshments, whatever you like. Just c’mon back,” the governor said, emphasizing the LIRR’s outsize role in regional daily life. “We all know that the railroad is the lifeblood of Long Island. Without it, life as we know it is simply not possible. The bottom line is, no one wins in a strike. Everyone is hurt.”

    In a joint statement released after the press conference, two of the major striking unions — the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the Transportation Communications Union — pushed back on framing the strike as an unnecessary action, noting that their members have gone years without a raise and are only fighting to keep pace with the New York area’s skyrocketing cost of living. Disagreements over salary increases and healthcare premiums have been the core sticking point in the months-long negotiations, with the Trump administration having previously attempted to broker a compromise before talks fell apart.

    Union leaders have confirmed that no new bargaining sessions have been scheduled, with the two sides still far apart on core demands. “We’re far apart at this point,” Kevin Sexton, national vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, said Saturday. “We are truly sorry that we are in this situation.”

    Lieber, for his part, has countered that the MTA already met the unions’ stated demands on pay, and claimed that union leaders always intended to walk out rather than reach a deal. The MTA has warned that the unions’ original salary demands would force steep fare hikes for commuters and create unsustainable pressure in upcoming contract talks with other MTA worker unions. Unions, which represent locomotive engineers, machinists, signalmen and other on-the-ground rail staff, argue that significant pay increases are a necessity to offset decades of stagnant wages and years of high inflation that has driven up housing, food and utility costs across the region.

    The shutdown has already transformed one of Manhattan’s busiest transit hubs: Penn Station, the LIRR’s central terminal located directly beneath Madison Square Garden, was eerily quiet over the weekend, stripped of its usual bustling crowds. Departure boards that usually list upcoming LIRR trips instead displayed entries for “ghost trains” marked “No Passengers,” barricades blocked access to LIRR platforms, and MTA police officers were posted throughout the concourse to direct displaced travelers to alternate transit options. Only a handful of travelers, most connecting to unaffected Amtrak intercity trains, moved through the usually crowded main hall Saturday afternoon. The strike also disrupted weekend leisure plans, throwing off travel for sports fans coming into Manhattan for New York Yankees and New York Mets baseball games and the New York Knicks’ playoff run at Madison Square Garden.

    As policymakers and negotiators remain deadlocked, attention has already turned to the impact of a prolonged shutdown on weekday commutes. Roughly 250,000 passengers rely on the LIRR for daily travel between Long Island suburbs and New York City, and a continued shutdown would force most of these travelers onto the region’s already notoriously congested highways. The MTA has only been able to arrange limited shuttle bus service connecting Long Island communities to New York City subway stations, which officials acknowledge cannot come close to matching the LIRR’s regular capacity. To reduce crowding on alternate transit and roads, Hochul has called on all employers with LIRR-commuting staff to allow remote work starting Monday if at all possible. “It’s impossible to fully replace LIRR service. So effective Monday, I’m asking that regular commuters who can work from home, should. Please do so,” she said.

    The shutdown has also sparked a high-profile political fight between incumbent Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul and former President Donald Trump. Hochul has blamed the Trump administration for cutting off mediation efforts early and pushing the talks toward a strike. Trump, who has already endorsed Republican-leaning Long Island politician Bruce Blakeman in his challenge to Hochul’s 2022 reelection bid, pushed back on his Truth Social platform, claiming he had no involvement in the lead-up to the strike. “No, Kathy, it’s your fault, and now looking over the facts, you should not have allowed this to happen,” Trump wrote. “If you can’t solve it, let me know, and I’ll show you how to properly get things done.”

  • Israel booed at Eurovision final as Bulgaria wins competition

    Israel booed at Eurovision final as Bulgaria wins competition

    The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest concluded Saturday with a historic milestone for Bulgarian pop artist Dara, born Darina Yotova, who secured the country’s first-ever victory in the competition’s 70-year existence. But the milestone win was overshadowed by widespread controversy and public uproar centered on Israel’s second-place finish, which was met with loud boos from the audience during the official score announcement.

    This year’s final went down as one of the least-watched and least-attended events in Eurovision history, triggered by a mass withdrawal of five competing nations: Spain, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Slovenia. All five pulled out in protest of the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) December ruling that allowed Israel to retain its spot in the 2026 contest. A coordinated international boycott campaign also pushed large swathes of global audiences to skip viewing the event, further dragging down audience numbers.

    Addressing reporters following her win, Dara struck a confident tone: “Everything is possible: Bulgaria just won Eurovision. I really like breaking rules. I’m really good with following my rules – not anybody else’s. We wanted to give to the audience something new and fresh, something that is not expected.”

    Outside the contest venue in Vienna, pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered Saturday for a large-scale protest that drew roughly 2,000 attendees, per local police estimates. The controversy surrounding Israel’s inclusion has roiled the competition since the EBU’s initial decision, with reporting from The New York Times revealing that Israel has invested more than $1 million into leveraging Eurovision as a soft power instrument. According to the outlet, the country launched its promotional campaign as early as 2018, when scrutiny of its participation grew amid ongoing territorial expansion and military operations in the occupied Palestinian territories, with the explicit goal of improving its tarnished global image and rallying international backing.

    Bulgaria’s win ultimately spared the EBU from a far larger PR crisis: a first-place finish for Israel would have required the 2027 contest to be hosted on Israeli territory, a move that would have sparked even broader global backlash. Still, industry analysts and long-time Eurovision figures warn the damage done to the competition’s reputation may be irreversible. Many note the controversy threatens the long-term future of the annual event, which has long branded itself as a unifying cultural celebration of European artistry.

    The fallout has already strained relationships with major participating nations. Spain, one of Eurovision’s so-called “Big Five” funding countries that automatically qualify for the final and contributes a large share of the contest’s annual budget, pulled its public broadcaster RTVE from airing the 2026 final entirely. In a formal statement, RTVE said: “The Eurovision Song Contest is a competition, but human rights are not. There is no room for indifference. Peace and justice for Palestine.”

    Belgian public broadcaster VRT issued a stark pre-final warning, stating it would likely withdraw from 2027’s contest unless the EBU holds a general membership vote to reevaluate Israel’s eligibility to compete. Even former Eurovision winners have spoken out about the lasting damage to the competition’s brand. Emmelie de Forest, who took home the 2013 title for Denmark, told independent outlet Middle East Eye that while her relationship with the contest has long been deeply personal, the EBU’s choices have increasingly alienated fans and created deep rifts within the global Eurovision community.

    “It breaks my heart, but Eurovision’s decisions increasingly leave people feeling conflicted, divided or alienated from it. I think it has already done a lot of damage to Eurovision, and that makes me genuinely sad to say because the contest has been such a meaningful part of my life. I sadly think the contest is creating more division than unity. The controversy surrounding Israel’s participation, the backlash from fans and artists, the countries withdrawing and the growing distrust toward the EBU have all fundamentally changed the atmosphere around Eurovision,” de Forest said.

  • Italian PM meets victims of Modena car incident

    Italian PM meets victims of Modena car incident

    A violent car ramming incident in the northern Italian city of Modena that left eight pedestrians wounded has sparked political friction, even as the country’s top leaders rushed to visit victims and law enforcement worked to untangle the motives behind the attack.

    The episode unfolded on Saturday afternoon, when a 31-year-old local man of Moroccan heritage drove his vehicle at high speed into a busy downtown street crowded with pedestrians and cyclists, according to official accounts and security footage broadcast by local media. After striking multiple people, the driver crashed into a storefront, colliding head-on with one woman who later required a double amputation. Four of the eight injured people remain in serious condition as of Sunday.

    After attempting to flee the scene, the suspect was cornered by four bystanders who intervened to stop him. He pulled a knife during the confrontation and wounded one of the good Samaritans before being detained. Investigators later confirmed the driver is an Italian citizen and an economics graduate who had no prior criminal record. Authorities confirmed he had a documented history of mental health challenges: he received treatment at a local mental health facility in 2022 for schizoid disorders, but was lost to follow-up care after an initial observation period. Tests ruled out the influence of psychotropic substances at the time of the attack, and searches of his home near Modena have found no evidence of ideological radicalization, ruling out a terrorist link to date.

    Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, head of the country’s far-right-led governing coalition, canceled a scheduled official trip to Cyprus to travel to Modena on Sunday alongside President Sergio Mattarella. The pair visited injured victims at local hospitals, and Meloni took to social media to praise the courage of the civilians who detained the suspect, calling the attack “extremely serious.”

    Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi told reporters Sunday that early investigations point to the incident being driven by psychiatric issues, stressing that it appears to be an isolated, tragic event. “There are sometimes situations in which reasons overlap, so we will let investigators complete their work,” Piantedosi said. “But from what we know now, the city can be reassured that this is not part of a broader threat.” He joined other officials in commending the quick action of the civilians who stopped the suspect.

    But even as investigators worked, political factions quickly moved to leverage the incident for their own policy goals. Far-right parties in Meloni’s coalition — including the League, led by Matteo Salvini — seized on the attacker’s migrant heritage to push for harsher immigration controls, even though he is a native-born Italian citizen. Salvini claimed the attack proved that integration of second-generation immigrants in Italy had “failed,” and the League called for new legislation to revoke residence permits from immigrants who commit crimes.

    These moves drew sharp pushback from Modena’s center-left mayor Massimo Mezzetti, who pointed out that two of the four bystanders who stopped the knife-wielding suspect were Egyptian nationals. Mezzetti called on residents to gather for a unity rally in the city center Sunday evening, framing the event as a rebuke to bad-faith political actors. “We need to unite against those who want to divide and sow hatred,” the mayor said. “This is the best response to the vultures on social media who are trying to use this extremely serious incident for political ends.” Elly Schlein, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, also planned a visit to the city Sunday to meet with local officials and victims.

  • ‘Fight relentlessly’: Ukraine commander vows strikes into Russia

    ‘Fight relentlessly’: Ukraine commander vows strikes into Russia

    In an underground command center tucked away from Russian surveillance, the head of Ukraine’s unmanned combat forces, Robert Brovdi — who goes by the call sign “Madyar” — spends his days mapping out a growing campaign of long-range strikes deep inside Russian territory. For Brovdi, these escalating attacks are not just military strategy: they are deliberate retribution for Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    In an exclusive interview with Agence France-Presse conducted ahead of one of the war’s largest drone barrages, Brovdi laid out the strategic logic and expanding scope of Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign. In the wave of attacks that followed the interview, Kyiv launched nearly 600 drones across Russia, leaving four people dead.

    Brovdi and other Ukrainian officials frame the strikes as a targeted effort to undermine Russia’s war capacity, prioritizing two key types of infrastructure: defense manufacturing sites and oil storage and processing facilities. By crippling these assets, Ukraine aims to cut off the resources Russia relies on to sustain its invasion.

    “All sources that fund Putin’s war effort have become legitimate, priority military targets anywhere in the occupying country’s territory, from the south to the Urals and even Siberia,” Brovdi stated.

    Over the past several months, Ukraine has dramatically expanded its deep-strike operations, launching attacks more frequently and hitting targets farther from the shared border than ever before. Kyiv estimates that attacks on major sites including the ports of Tuapse and Primorsk have caused billions of dollars in damage, while Russian officials have confirmed multiple civilian and military casualties from the strikes.

    Brovdi identified three core drivers behind Ukraine’s new, more aggressive approach to cross-border strikes: greater access to resources to build and deploy long-range drones, a deliberate strategic shift to disrupt Russia’s war machine at its source, and the gradual weakening of Russia’s integrated air defense network.

    “The enemy built a multi-layered wall of air defenses, and we had to cut a door through it to get inside,” he explained. Starting in December 2025, his forces launched a systematic campaign to pick apart Russian air defense systems, prioritizing their destruction to clear a path for deeper strikes. While Brovdi acknowledged that destroying the entire national air defense network remains a distant goal, he said the campaign has already yielded tangible results.

    “We’ve gotten to the point that there isn’t much more air defense left to destroy to open up access to almost all of Russian territory,” he said. “With such a vast land mass full of high-value sensitive targets, the enemy can never predict where we will strike next.”

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has defended the cross-border strikes as a legitimate right of self-defense, following a massive Russian missile attack on Kyiv earlier this month that killed 24 civilians.

    On the night of the large-scale barrage that followed Brovdi’s interview, AFP reporters on the ground observed Ukrainian drone operators preparing long-range unmanned aerial vehicles for launch in total darkness, working only by the faint glow of red flashlights. The drones, which resemble small fixed-wing aircraft, lifted off into the night leaving trails of orange flame behind them. After the attack, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) confirmed that the strikes demonstrated even the heavily fortified Moscow region is no longer beyond Ukraine’s reach.

    The growing threat of Ukrainian strikes has already caused palpable disruption in Russia. Earlier this year, Moscow significantly scaled back its annual May 9 Victory Day parade, the country’s most important symbolic military celebration. For the first time in almost 20 years, no military hardware was displayed along Red Square. Russian authorities had previously warned Kyiv against striking the celebration, threatening severe retaliation — until former U.S. President Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire would take effect, paired with a planned major prisoner swap of 1,000 POWs from each side.

    Brovdi explained his decision to hold off on planned strikes targeting the parade celebrations, posing a rhetorical question about the trade-offs of such an attack: “Is a dramatic image of explosions in the heart of the war, in central Moscow, worth more than 1,000 lives that could be saved in the prisoner swap? Is it worth risking our relationship with the Americans?” A delay of just a few days made no meaningful difference to the overall campaign, he added.

    Looking ahead, Brovdi vowed that Ukraine would continue its campaign of strikes without letup, relying on unpredictability to keep Russian defenses off balance. “Surprise is like that children’s shooting gallery game, where the bunny pops up out of different windows one after another — you have to be fast to catch it,” he said. “We will fight relentlessly.”

  • Fernandes equals Premier League assist record in Man Utd win, West Ham brace for Newcastle

    Fernandes equals Premier League assist record in Man Utd win, West Ham brace for Newcastle

    The final weeks of the English Premier League season delivered a historic milestone, high-stakes relegation drama, and shifting European qualification hopes across a packed weekend of action, headlined by Bruno Fernandes’ record-equaling achievement for Manchester United.

    Manchester United secured a narrow 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford to lock in third place in the league table, and in the process, Bruno Fernandes matched the Premier League’s single-season assist record of 20. The Portuguese midfielder now stands alongside Arsenal legend Thierry Henry and Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne as the only players to hit that mark in a single campaign. The record-tying play came with 14 minutes remaining in regulation, when Fernandes’ drilled cross into the box was poked home by Bryan Mbeumo — Mbeumo’s first goal scored since February.

    The match was not without controversy, as a handball by Mbeumo in the build-up to Matheus Cunha’s go-ahead goal survived a VAR review and stood. The game opened with an early lead for United, as Luke Shaw volleyed home just five minutes after kickoff. Nottingham Forest fought back to level the score seven minutes into the second half, when Morato headed in a cross from Elliot Anderson. Just minutes after the equalizer, Cunha put United back in front after the ball ricocheted off Mbeumo’s thigh onto his arm before falling to the Brazilian attacker. Morgan Gibbs-White cut United’s lead back to one goal in the 78th minute, but the Red Devils held on for the win to extend their strong run of form under interim manager Michael Carrick.

    Carrick, who took over as interim boss in January following the sacking of Ruben Amorim, is widely expected to sign a permanent two-year contract to stay on at the club. Speaking after the match, Carrick confirmed that details of his future will be finalized in the near future: “Over the coming days there’ll be clarity in the situation,” he said.

    Elsewhere, the relegation battle remains down to the wire, with third-bottom West Ham United set to face a make-or-break clash against Newcastle United on Sunday. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side sit just two points adrift of fourth-bottom Tottenham Hotspur, who do not play until Tuesday against Chelsea. A win for West Ham would lift them out of the relegation zone. It has been more than a decade since West Ham last competed in the second tier (2011-12), while Tottenham has not fallen to the Championship since the 1977-78 season, adding extra pressure to the final matchweek survival fight.

    European qualification hopes also took hits and boosts across Sunday’s fixtures. At Elland Road, Leeds United grabbed a 1-0 stoppage-time win over Brighton & Hove Albion, but the victory came at a cost: German midfielder Anton Stach, who is hoping to earn a spot in Germany’s 2026 World Cup squad, was stretchered off the pitch, leaving his tournament prospects in doubt. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored the late winning goal for Leeds, damaging seventh-placed Brighton’s bid to secure a spot in continental competition next season.

    Eighth-placed Brentford also saw their European ambitions dented after a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace. Palace got off to a quick start, with Ismaila Sarr converting a sixth-minute penalty to open the scoring. Dango Ouattara equalized for Brentford before halftime, and Adam Wharton restored Palace’s lead with his first goal for the club in the 52nd minute. But Ouattara struck again in the 88th minute to salvage a point for Brentford, leaving both sides outside the European spots.

    Sunderland boosted their own European hopes with a 3-1 away win over Everton, which in turn crushed Everton’s own chances of qualifying for continental competition. Merlin Rohl put Everton ahead with a deflected strike in the 43rd minute, but Brian Brobbey equalized for Sunderland in the 59th minute. Enzo Le Fee put Sunderland ahead in the 81st minute, and Wilson Isidor added a third in stoppage time to secure all three points for the ninth-placed side.

    Fulham’s European dreams were also hampered after they could only manage a 1-1 draw against already-relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers. Mateus Mane gave Wolves an early lead with a 25th-minute long-range strike, and Antonee Robinson equalized from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time to split the points.

    In off-the-field news that broke early Sunday, Chelsea appointed Xabi Alonso as their new permanent manager, less than 24 hours after the Blues fell 1-0 to Manchester City in the FA Cup final. Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to the 2024 Bundesliga title, agreed to a four-year contract with the 10th-placed Chelsea side. The 44-year-old was dismissed by Real Madrid in January after just seven months in charge, and will officially take over at Chelsea on July 1.

  • Di Giannantonio wins Catalan MotoGP Grand Prix, Alex Marquez injured in horror crash

    Di Giannantonio wins Catalan MotoGP Grand Prix, Alex Marquez injured in horror crash

    The 2024 Catalan MotoGP Grand Prix delivered a dramatic day of high-speed racing defined by shocking crashes, two red-flag stoppages, and a fairy-tale victory for Ducati’s Fabio Di Giannantonio on Sunday. The Italian rider secured his first MotoGP win in three years despite sustaining a hand injury early in the event from debris of a catastrophic crash that sidelined reigning Catalan winner Alex Marquez.

    Trouble struck the circuit before the race could even find its rhythm. Pole-sitter Pedro Acosta suffered a sudden technical failure that cut his engine power mid-corner, leaving Alex Marquez with no time to avoid a collision. Marquez was flipped violently off his Ducati-Gresini bike, which was completely destroyed in the impact. The 2023 race winner and Saturday sprint champion was airlifted to a local hospital for urgent care, just one week after his older brother – eight-time world champion Marc Marquez – suffered a violent crash at Le Mans that left him injured.

    Race officials immediately called the first red flag to clear debris from the track. When racing resumed, disaster struck again on the opening corner: French rider Johann Zarco collided with Luca Marini and defending series champion Pecco Bagnaia, sending Zarco sliding off the track and forcing a second red-flag stoppage. Zarco was transported by ambulance for mandatory medical evaluations after the incident. The race restarted with 12 laps remaining on the calendar.

    When the final run to the checkered flag got underway, Acosta held the lead for most of the remaining distance, until Di Giannantonio made a decisive overtake with just two laps left to claim the top spot. Joan Mir and Fermin Aldeguer also slipped past Acosta, who was taken out in a late collision with Ai Ogura not long before the finish line. Aldeguer rounded out the podium in third, while Mir crossed the line in second – though both Mir and several other riders now face official investigations over potential violations of MotoGP’s tyre pressure regulations.

    In the overall championship standings, current leader Marco Bezzecchi endured a difficult weekend but still managed to expand his gap at the top. His closest title contender, Jorge Martin, was caught up in a crash caused by Raul Fernandez’s aggressive inside overtake, marking Martin’s fifth crash of the entire weekend. Bezzecchi crossed the line in sixth, pushing his championship lead to 13 points over Martin.

    For Di Giannantonio, the win was almost derailed before he even got to the final restart: the Italian suffered a hand injury when a loose wheel from Marquez’s destroyed bike hit him during the first crash. But he pushed through the pain to secure the milestone victory. After taking the checkered flag, he opened his post-race comments by prioritizing the health of fallen riders over his own win.
    “I’m so happy. But first of all I was really worried about all the riders who crashed,” Di Giannantonio told reporters. “Today has not been an easy day for everybody. I really hope that Alex (Marquez) is fine. We’ve been really lucky. We know that our sport is amazing. We try to give an amazing show, we are humans, we are in danger.”