WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Ukrainian drone struck Russian nuclear waste facility risking disaster, Moscow says A Ukrainian drone crashed into a nuclear waste storage facility at the Kursk power plant in western Russia on Thursday, damaging its walls, Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday, calling on other governments to condemn "an act of nuclear terrorism". A ministry statement said Ukraine must have known that its actions could have caused a full-scale nuclear catastrophe that would have affected many countries. "We call on all governments to issue a strong condemnation of Kyiv's barbaric actions, which are extremely dangerous and could lead to irreparable…

Israel steps up air and ground attacks in Gaza and cuts off territory's communications Israel knocked out internet and communications in the Gaza Strip in stepped-up bombardment Friday night, largely cutting off its 2.3 million people from contact with each other and the outside world and creating a near-blackout of information, as the military said it was “expanding” ground operations in the territory. The military’s announcement signaled it was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza, where it has vowed to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its bloody incursion in southern Israel three weeks ago. Explosions from…

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE Russia shells Ukraine's Kherson, injuring 8, damaging buildings Russian forces heavily shelled the centre of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Friday, injuring eight people and destroying or damaging at least 15 buildings, a senior city official said. Pictures posted on social media showed at least three sites dotted with piles of rubble and the interior of one building strewn with shattered building materials and other debris. Roman Mrochko, head of the city's military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app that three of the injured were being treated in hospital. He said two buildings had been…

Israeli troops briefly raid northern Gaza to 'prepare' for an expected full-scale incursion Israeli troops and tanks briefly raided northern Gaza overnight, the military said Thursday, engaging with Hamas fighters and targeting anti-tank weapons in order to “prepare the battlefield” before an expected ground invasion. The third Israeli raid since the war began came after more than two weeks of devastating airstrikes that have left thousands dead, and more than 1 million displaced from their homes, in the small, densely-populated territory. The U.S. military, meanwhile, launched airstrikes early Friday on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard…