Ukrainian troops say Russia has driven them out of 2 more eastern Donetsk villages
By: Samya Kullab
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces have overrun two front-line villages in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, a Ukrainian army sergeant said Monday, after relentless assaults that are part of a Kremlin summer push to overwhelm battlefield defences there.
“They pressed non-stop” to capture Vovche and Prohres, the chief sergeant of Ukraine’s 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade, Oleh Chaus, told Radio Svaboda. “They sent in a large number of troops, which had not previously been used.”
Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed in recent days that it had taken control of the villages, but the Ukrainian General Staff made no official comment.
The villages lie about 30 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of Avdiivka, a Donetsk city that the Russian army seized in February after a long battle. That victory was the Kremlin’s last major triumph in the war that is now in its third year.
Russia’s onslaught, fuelled by its heavy advantage in soldiers and weaponry, has repeatedly forced the Ukrainians to pull back from defensive positions to avoid being captured or killed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy late Sunday described the situation in the Donetsk region as “extremely challenging.”
Trump agrees to be interviewed as part of an investigation into his assassination attempt, FBI says
By: Eric Tucker
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has agreed to be interviewed by the FBI as part of an investigation into his attempted assassination in Pennsylvania earlier this month, a special agent said on Monday in disclosing how the gunman prior to the shooting had researched mass attacks and explosive devices.
The expected interview with the 2024 Republican presidential nominee is part of the FBI’s standard protocol to speak with victims during the course of their criminal investigations. The FBI said on Friday that Trump was struck by a bullet or a fragment of one during the July 13 assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Through roughly 450 interviews, the FBI has fleshed out a portrait of the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, that reveals him to be a “highly intelligent” but reclusive 20-year-old whose primary social circle was his family and who maintained few friends and acquaintances throughout his life, Rojek said.
The FBI has not uncovered a motive as to why he chose to target Trump, but investigators believe the shooting was the result of extensive planning, including the purchase in recent months of chemical precursors that investigators believe were used to create the explosive devices found in his car and his home and the use of a drone about 200 yards (180 metres) from the rally site in the hours before the event.
California firefighters make progress as wildfires push devastation and spread smoke across U.S. West
By: Nic Coury And Rebecca Boone
FOREST RANCH, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters made progress and were aided by improving weather over the weekend in the battle against wildfires covering massive areas and leaving a trail of damage in the western United States, but further evacuations and resources have been necessary as thousands of personnel tackle the flames.
The so-called Park Fire, the largest wildfire in California this year, was one of more than 100 blazes burning in the U.S. on Sunday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Some were sparked by the weather, with climate change increasing the frequency of lightning strikes as the western U.S. endures blistering heat and bone-dry conditions.
The Park Fire had scorched an area greater than the city of Los Angeles as of Monday, darkening the sky with smoke and engaging thousands of firefighters. The blaze spanned more than 562 square miles (1,455 square kilometres) of inland Northern California.
Winds and temperatures were expected to increase slightly amid a drop in humidity, officials said in an update early Monday.
Air quality alerts were issued for Monday in the northwestern U.S. and western Canada.
The Park Fire started Wednesday, when authorities say a man pushed a burning car into a gully in Chico and then fled. A man accused of setting the fire was arrested Thursday and is due in court Monday.
Firefighters increased containment to 12 per cent on Saturday, aided by cooler temperatures and more humidity, officials said.
Bloodied children flee a stabbing attack in England. 8 people are hurt and a man is arrested
LONDON (AP) — At least eight people, some of them children, were injured in stabbings in northwest England on Monday, emergency services said. Police said they detained a man and seized a knife.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack “horrendous and deeply shocking.”
Merseyside Police said officers were called at about noon to an address in Southport, a seaside town near Liverpool. It noted a “major incident” but said there was no wider threat to the public. It asked people to avoid the area.
The North West Ambulance Service said medics treated eight people with stab injuries. The injured were taken to local hospitals, including a children’s hospital.
The BBC and other media reported that the attack happened at a community centre where a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event for primary school-aged children was scheduled.
7 people shot, 2 fatally, at a park in upstate Rochester, N.Y.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Two women were killed and five other people were injured when gunfire erupted during a Sunday afternoon barbecue at a park in upstate New York, authorities said Monday.
Hundreds of people were at Maplewood Park in Rochester at what had been a celebratory event when someone opened fire around 6:20 p.m., police said.
Tyasia Manning, 25, a city employee, was killed, police said. A second victim, Phylicia Council, 34, died later.
Several police agencies responded to the park including the Irondequoit Police, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Rochester Police and New York State Police. Rochester police did confirm a party was happening in the area at the time of the shooting.
Police asked that anyone with video of the shooting send it to Major Crimes or contact Crime Stoppers or call either 311 or 911 with any information.
Rochester is about 340 miles (547 kilometres) northwest of Manhattan.
Skyrocketing power bills draw protests near Pakistan’s capital
By: Munir Ahmed
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Protests over skyrocketing power bills shut down a major road into Pakistan’s capital on Monday as some 3,000 supporters of a major Islamist party continued a sit-in despite pouring monsoon rains.
In Pakistan’s southwest, meanwhile, thousands protested against police violence, an internet shutdown and highway closures. At least one person was reportedly killed.
Protesters demanding that the government withdraw taxes on electricity to offset price hikes have occupied a road in the garrison city of Rawalpindi since Friday, as police prevented them from heading to the capital Islamabad.
The government has met with protest leaders, but given no indication that it is considering accepting their demands.
Naeem-ur-Rehman, who heads the Jamaat-e-Islami party that called for the protests, says it’s prepared to remain on the streets for as long as it takes.
The government raised power prices 26% during the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, before tacking on another 20 per cent increase on July 13. Officials say the increases were needed to meet conditions set by the International Monetary Fund for a $7 billion loan deal made earlier this month.
5,000 rescued from flooding in North Korea, state media says
By: Hyung-jin Kim
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — More than 5,000 people isolated by flooding in northwestern North Korea were rescued by airlift and other evacuation work after heavy summer rains caused a river on the Chinese border to swell, state media reported Monday.
The official Korean Central News Agency did not mention any deaths or how much damage the flooding on Saturday caused.
Summer floods in North Korea often cause serious damage to farmlands due to poor drainage, deforestation and dilapidated infrastructure.
About 10 military helicopters and navy and government boats were mobilized for the evacuation efforts in Sinuiju city and Uiju town where flooding had stranded residents. KCNA said that about 4,200 people were rescued by airlifts.
KCNA credited leader Kim Jong Un with overseeing the rescue operation on Sunday, likely aiming to portray him as an able leader handling a disaster and caring about the public’s well-being.
During his weekend visit to the flooded region, KCNA quoted Kim calling the rescue works “miraculous” and ordering food and other necessities to be provided to the affected people.
