Read the daily news to learn English

Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv protest organiser disowns Mykhailo Fedorov’s call for elections

The leader of weeks of protests against Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s sacking of Mykhailo Fedorov as defence minister appeared to call them off after Fedorov demanded elections. The pro-Fedorov movement’s chief ‌organiser, veteran combat medic Dmytro Koziatynskyi, said he “cannot imagine” how to hold polls with troops at the front and the protests had been about seeking dialogue with the government. Elections are considered impossible and illegal under Ukrainian law because of the war. “I’m also deeply concerned about the societal divisions during the election process and how that could affect the course of the war,” Koziatynskyi said. “In any case, street protests are definitely not the place for electoral discourse.” The Reuters news agency said that on Wednesday only a few dozen people remained in a central Kyiv square where thousands once protested. “When we came out to protest, we did not come with the idea that elections should be held,” said 22-year-old Iryna Vasyliaka. “That is ⁠not what we were here for.” Fedorov’s call for elections appeared to be a clumsy misstep, one opposition lawmaker told Reuters. “This demonstrates that [Fedorov] doesn’t have a presidential-level feel for the country.” Olena Prokopenko from the German Marshall Fund said Fedorov’s move was a “false start” that could burn his political capital before elections would realistically be held. “With this statement, he pretty much played on Ukrainians’ most sensitive pain points.” Ukraine’s parliament this week strongly endorsed Zelenskyy’s new defence minister and Fedorov’s successor, Yevhenii Khmara; but the protests did force Ukraine’s president to replace Oleksandr Syrskyi, the disliked “Soviet-style” head of Ukraine’s military, with a younger military reformer, Mykhailo Drapatyi. Ukraine reeled on Thursday from a heavy Russian missile and drone bombardment that killed at least 16 people in and around Kyiv in one of the most intense aerial attacks on Ukraine’s capital since the start of the war. Vitali Klitschko, the city’s mayor, said homes, a school and a children’s medical centre were among the buildings damaged in an attack that began at about midnight and continued throughout the day. Volodymr Zelenskyy urged a global response to the attacks. “While Moscow is investing in ballistic missiles and escalation, such strikes do not always receive the response they should. And as long as Ukraine does not have enough anti-ballistic defence, Russia will not consider peace seriously.” A Romanian F-16 fighter jet on Thursday destroyed an explosives-laden Russian marine drone near an offshore gas project. “I strongly condemn the escalation of such irresponsible incidents on the part of the Russian Federation,” said the Romanian president, Nicușor Dan. The drone had been “loaded with explosives” and did not originate from Ukraine, said Romania’s defence minister, Radu Miruță. Hundreds of people are working at the gas project, Neptun Deep, according to Romania’s government. Neptun Deep is due to start production in 2027. Nato has shot down four aerial drones in Romania recently. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission chief, slammed the “hybrid warfare” campaign by Russia against the EU after the marine drone incident. “An escalating campaign of threats is under way, unsettling our citizens and seeking to divide our union,” von der Leyen said, warning the EU must step up its defence push to be able to “deter provocation and aggression”. Poland on Thursday announced the arrest of a Ukrainian man suspected of an attempt in Kyiv to assassinate a representative of Ukraine’s arms industry on behalf of Russian intelligence services. “The investigation revealed that Serhii P planted an improvised explosive device under a car used by a potential victim,” said Poland’s internal security agency, the ABW. “The device was intended to be detonated ‌remotely using a cellphone. The mechanism did not detonate due to a malfunction.” The suspect fled to Poland where he was arrested in Warsaw. He was charged with attempted murder using explosives and illegal possession of explosives. Ukraine’s ⁠military hit ⁠Russia’s Taneco ⁠oil refinery in the Tatarstan ⁠region, as well ⁠as the Tamanneftegaz ‌oil terminal ‌in the ‌Krasnodar region, the Ukrainian General Staff said on ‌Thursday. The strikes caused fires at both sites. Disgruntled motorists in Moscow are sitting for hours in gasoline station queues of up to a kilometres to fill their cars with rationed amounts of fuel, Reuters reported. Videos showed fistfights erupting at the pumps, as Vladimir Putin’s regime reportedly ordered that people who complain about the shortages face fines and arrest. “We have been to five petrol stations already and there was no fuel. ‌Last week, fuel was available. And now, there is no fuel again,” one Moscow resident told Reuters. Russia attacked ⁠gas infrastructure in Ukraine’s northern ⁠Chernihiv ⁠region as well as a border ⁠crossing with Moldova in the ⁠southern Odesa region, ‌Volodymyr Zelenskyy ‌said.

Zomi Frankcom did not deserve to die. Israel’s refusal to investigate her death and its failure to apologise is despicable | Geoffrey Robertson

Zomi Frankcom did not deserve to die. She and her six colleagues were traveling in a clearly marked humanitarian convoy to distribute food to starving Palestinians on a route that had been communicated well in advance to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It bombed them deliberately and repeatedly. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced the next day that the attack was a “mistake” and a few days later its two commanders were forced to retire, and three others were disciplined. An internal inquiry followed, but this week – well over two years later – the IDF announced that there would be no further investigation because there could be no suspicion that any crime had been committed: it was merely a mistake. This is a serious misunderstanding of the law of war. Mistakes may have fatal consequences and, if they are the result of gross negligence or reckless or irresponsible conduct, they are culpable and deserving of punishment. The crime of manslaughter in Australian and English law reflects this grave level of criminality. In war law, under article 8 of the statute of the international criminal court (ICC) “intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such an attack will cause loss of life to civilians” and “directing attacks against personnel or vehicles involved in humanitarian assistance” are serious war crimes which may be committed by mistakes made through negligence or blind eyes turned to their foreseeable consequences. The IDF decision not to investigate Zomi’s killing on the grounds that it was merely a “mistake” is not a legitimate reason and the Israeli government’s refusal even now to apologise is despicable. Not that an investigation by the IDF is likely to lead to an indictment of those who ordered the attack. According to statistics provided by a UN inquiry into “Operation Cast Lead”, the 22-day war in 2009, more than 1,000 Palestinians were killed, but no indictments were brought against those responsible for this exercise in urban military aggression (provoked by Hamas rocket attacks). There were many war crime allegations including attacks on hospitals and mosques, and the IDF commenced 400 investigations against individual soldiers but only two were ever brought to trial and the only prison sentence – of seven months – was imposed on a soldier for stealing a credit card. The refusal to act over Zomi’s case and on two other atrocities involving the killing of workers for Médecins Sans Frontières was seemingly balanced by the decision to allow investigations into two other killings to go ahead – the murder of two doctors in a Red Crescent ambulance while they were tending to victims of an IDF strike, including five-year-old Hind Rajab, and another attack on ambulances that killed 15 medics. What was the difference that required an investigation in these two cases but not in the others? There is one simple explanation: the lies told by the IDF (that the ambulances were advancing without lights or markings) had been authoritatively refuted by phone footage and the evidence of survivors. Since there was unequivocal evidence that these were war crimes, the IDF was forced to agree that the inquiries would continue – but not necessarily to a court. So what can Australia do to vindicate the memory of the murder of a good citizen? It could fund her family to hire lawyers in Israel to sue the IDF in courts with judges who are not biased in favour of the Israeli government, but they are likely to find that access to justice against the IDF is too difficult because of time bars (hence the delays) and immunities. It could ask the ICC to investigate – although Israel is not a member, Palestine is and this court has held that it has jurisdiction over war crimes committed in Gaza (since the current proceedings against Netanyahu and his war minister for actions that have led to starvation and attacks on civilian residences). But invoking international justice for Zomi and her colleagues will be opposed by our major ally, the United States. Only last month the state department announced a campaign to “disable the court’s ability to operate” by putting pressure on its 125 national members to withdraw. Marco Rubio has falsely accused it of “maliciously abusing its authority” and has authorised sanctions against its chief justice and those of its judges to have ruled on Netanyahu’s case. Australia, like many other decent democracies, has been a stalwart supporter of the ICC but has vulnerabilities (especially over Aukus) if these irresponsible threats were carried out. The government has called for disclosure by Israel of the evidence on which the IDF has decided not to proceed, but this is unlikely to be forthcoming. The Israeli ambassador has been quoted as claiming that “a court came to a decision that there’s no criminal liability” but there is no evidence that any court – certainly not a court that is open and independent – has ever been involved. The secretly and illegally mistaken way in which her arbitrary killing has been covered up will have to be commemorated here, in a tribute to her compassion and her work for a better world. Geoffrey Robertson AO KC is a former UN war crimes judge and author of World of War Crimes – Eyeless in Gaza and Beyond (Penguin)

Jailed ex-Pakistani PM Imran Khan in hospital after uproar over health

Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has been taken to a hospital in the country’s capital on supreme court orders after weeks of uproar about his deteriorating health. A spokesperson for Khan’s party, Zulfikar Bukhari, said: “Imran Khan has been shifted from Adiala jail to International Shifa hospital in Islamabad following the supreme court’s order.” Bukhari said that as per the court order, family should be allowed to meet Khan. “The next phase must therefore go beyond Imran Khan’s immediate medical treatment. It must ensure independent medical oversight, access to qualified specialists, respect for family and legal rights, and complete transparency regarding his health,” Bukhari said. Security was beefed up in Islamabad, and hundreds of security personnel were posted around the hospital before Khan was taken there. The government had to comply with the order by a three-judge panel of the supreme court that ordered the government to take Khan to the private hospital within 48 hours to be examined by physicians. Initially, the government seemed divided on whether to do so or not. Khan has been suffering from health issues including poor eyesight, and his family and party have been demanding he has access to specialist medical care for months. The family eventually took the case to the supreme court. In February, officials at Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, said he was facing severe eye damage and had only 15% eyesight, and was being kept in solitary confinement. He was also being denied basic medical care and meetings with family and lawyers. For months, Adiala jail has been a protest site, where Khan’s family and dozens of protesters would gather to demand medical care for him and for him to be allowed to meet his sisters. On Tuesday the judges said that they would involve an eye specialist for Khan’s treatment. The order read: “We are mindful of the constitutional and legal obligation … to safeguard the life, health, dignity and security of the prisoner.” Khan’s party assured the judges that his supporters would not gather in front of the hospital and would allow treatment to go smoothly. In the early hours of Friday, Asad Qaiser, the former speaker of the national assembly and a close aide of Khan, wrote on X that it had been decided by the party that no worker would gather in front of the hospital after Khan is taken to Shifa. He wrote “if anyone attempts to gather in front of the hospital and violating the party’s decision, he would have no affiliation with the party.” Khan was arrested in 2023 and sentenced to three years in jail on corruption charges and disqualified from politics for five years. Khan, who is facing more than 100 cases, was sentenced to 14 years in 2025 on corruption charges and accused of obtaining lucrative plots of land worth billions of rupees through a corrupt deal with a Pakistani property tycoon when he was the prime minister. Khan and his party denied the charges and said cases were politically motivated. He was Pakistan’s cricket captain before becoming a politician, and served as the prime minister of Pakistan from 2018 to 2022. He was ousted in a vote of no confidence. Khan had enjoyed good relations with Pakistan’s powerful military before he came to power. Once he was removed from office in 2022, he blamed the US for his removal initially and then Pakistan’s then army chief Gen Bajwa. Both have denied his accusations. After his brief arrest and release in May 2023, Khan in an interview with the Guardian accused Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir of harbouring a “personal grudge” against him and ordering his arrest and a crackdown on his party.

Israel admits its soldiers fired at car in which Hind Rajab was killed

The Israeli military admitted on Wednesday its troops had opened fire on a car carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab and six family members in Gaza in 2024, saying it had ordered a criminal investigation into the killing. The killing of Hind and her family was one of the most high profile of a series of incidents involving civilian casualties during the first months of the Gaza conflict which prompted international outrage. Hind died after a desperate three-hour phone call to the Palestinian Red Crescent on 29 January 2024 in which she pleaded for rescue. The family’s Kia Picanto car had been hit as they sought to flee a new Israeli offensive into Gaza City. All the other passengers were also killed. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) repeatedly denied its troops had been in the area near the incident, but investigations by media and others found evidence that strongly suggested nearby Israeli tanks were responsible. Palestinian paramedics dispatched an ambulance to rescue Hind and stayed on the line until contact was lost, but the ambulance too came under fire, killing two medics. The bodies of the casualties were only retrieved 12 days later when Israeli troops withdrew. The IDF also admitted on Wednesday that troops had fired on the ambulance. “Following review of the findings and due to alleged failures in the coordination of the movement of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance, it has been decided to initiate a criminal investigation of the incident by military police criminal investigation division,” the military said on Wednesday. Criminal misconduct investigations into Israeli troops over the killing of Palestinians rarely lead to convictions. The IDF published reviews on Wednesday into four other high-profile incidents in Gaza, saying it was launching a criminal investigation into the killing in near the southern city of Rafah of 15 Palestinian medics and humanitarian personnel in March 2025. Troops lying in ambush for Hamas militants initially shot at an ambulance that was trying to retrieve casualties from an Israeli offensive, then fired on a series of emergency vehicles which approached their positions, according to phone footage and the sole survivor of the shootings. The soldiers then bulldozed over the bodies and vehicles, burying them in a mass grave. UN and rescue workers were only able to reach the site a week later. “They were killed in their uniforms. Driving their clearly marked vehicles. Wearing their gloves. On their way to save lives. This should never have happened,” said Jonathan Whittall, a UN official who helped recover the bodies. The Israeli military initially said it had opened fire because the vehicles were “advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals. But it backtracked from that account after footage emerged showing the Red Crescent and civil defence teams driving slowly with their emergency vehicle lights flashing and logos visible. Munther Abed, a Palestinian paramedic who was at the incident in which 15 of his colleagues were killed, said he hoped “those who killed ⁠my colleagues, who were like family to me, face justice, real justice”. “I want to say to the whole world, ambulances 101 is not a target and they must be protected,” he said referring to the speed dial number for the Red Crescent service in Gaza. The IDF said it had decided not to open a criminal investigation into the April 2024 airstrikes that hit a convoy of World Central Kitchen vehicles, killing seven humanitarian workers from the US-based aid group, which has distributed food in Gaza throughout the war. The aid group said at the time it had coordinated with the military over the movement of its cars. The vehicles, which had the group’s logo on their roofs visible from the air, were left incinerated and mangled, indicating a series of targeted strikes. The IDF said on Wednesday it had mistaken several individuals in the vehicles for armed Hamas military operatives, and that the convoy deviated from the previously coordinated route. But it concluded that “the decisions of the commanders did not raise reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct”. Two officers were removed from their positions at the time and three others reprimanded. One of those killed in the strike was Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom. The Australian government has called the deaths a “tragedy and an outrage” and pressed for full accountability and “any appropriate criminal charges”. In February this year the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said he had made it clear to Israel and its president, Isaac Herzog, that there be transparency about Israel’s then-ongoing investigation into the incident. In April this year Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong paid tribute to Frankcom on the second anniversary of her death, saying “people like Zomi are rare and their selflessness should not only be celebrated but protected”. World Central Kitchen said it strongly disagreed with Israeli officials’ account of the airstrikes and their decision not to pursue a criminal investigation. “There has never been any excuse or justification for the attacks, and there is nothing in this account that does so. The decision is inconsistent with the full truth and deeply offensive,” it said in a statement. “At the time of the lethal attacks, the IDF knew that our team in Gaza was unarmed and posing a threat to nobody. It had full visual clarity on our clearly marked humanitarian vehicles during the extended, multiple airstrikes. It knew our team’s movements, identities and activities in advance.” The UK Foreign Office issued a statement on Thursday, saying the UK was “appalled and angry” for the families of John Chapman, James Henderson and James Kirby, three British citizens who were killed in the attack. The minister for the Middle East, Stephen Doughty, said: “For more than two years, we have pressed the government of Israel to deliver the justice and accountability that the families deserve. This is not good enough. We have raised this with the Israeli authorities today and will continue to push for urgent answers.” The military also decided not to take criminal action over the killing of four humanitarian workers from Doctors Without Borders in two separate instances in November 2023 and February 2024. Israel later effectively barred the medical charity from operating in Gaza. Dan Owen, a researcher at Yesh Din, an Israeli rights organisation, said that over the last decade only a tiny proportion of investigations had led to indictments while growing political pressure “further deters Israeli ⁠law-enforcement authorities from holding those responsible accountable, even when clear evidence does exist”. A UN report published in February described “a pervasive climate of impunity” by Israel in occupied Palestine “in relation to gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law … some constituting war crimes and possibly other international crimes”. Israeli forces say they never deliberately target civilians in Gaza and accuse Hamas of using civilians to shield its militants. The IDF said that as part of the its obligations under international law and Israeli domestic law, it examined “exceptional incidents that occurred during combat”. “For more than a thousand days, the IDF has been conducting intensive combat across numerous fronts, carrying out a wide range of military missions in an exceptionally complex operational reality,” it said in a statement. The war began in October 2023 when Hamas launched a surprise attack into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 250. Israel’s ensuing offensives in Gaza have killed more than 73,000, mostly women and children, including more than 1,200 since a fragile ceasefire took effect in October. On Wednesday, ⁠Israeli airstrikes killed ⁠seven Palestinians. Israeli military officials told local media one strike that killed six had targeted a meeting of Hamas commanders in Gaza City. Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far right national security minister, said last weekend that “targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night.” “Not just those who pose an immediate threat … There are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people,” Ben Gvir told a podcast hosted by a former hostage held by Hamas in Gaza.

Mark Zuckerberg buys 440-acre Strancally castle estate in Ireland

It stretches the definition of pied-à-terre but Mark Zuckerberg now has a pad in Ireland: Strancally castle. The Meta chief executive and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have bought the gothic-style mansion and its 178-hectare (440-acre) estate in county Waterford to use as a base during visits to Ireland. “Mark and his family are excited to continue caring for this historic home and look forward to spending time in Ireland, where Meta maintains its international headquarters,” a spokesperson said on Thursday. The price paid in the off-market deal is not known but the Irish Times, which first reported the sale, estimated a value between €20m (£17m) and €30m: approximately 10% of the cost of his 387ft superyacht. The castle was built in 1830 for John Keily, a former Conservative MP, and designed on a lavish scale by the architects James and George Richard Pain, with a “brisk walk of four and a half minutes” needed to go from the dining room to the kitchen, according to the book The Houses of Ireland. Michael Alen-Buckley, a co-founder of the London-based investment firm RAB Capital, and his wife, Giancarla, a scion of the family behind the Rocco Forte Hotels group, bought the estate and renovated it in the early 2000s. “We leave our home of 25 years fondly and are grateful for the opportunity we have been given to save and restore Strancally castle,” the couple said in a statement. “We are delighted that Mark and his family intend to build on our stewardship by continuing to invest in maintaining and enhancing the property and grounds as their home in a sustainable manner. We wish them and their family much happiness in this unique and blessed place.” The website of the National Built Heritage Service, an Irish state agency that protects architectural heritage, pays a barbed compliment to the castle. “The construction in sandstone and limestone ashlar augments the dour tone of the composition while providing evidence of high quality stone masonry and craftsmanship,” it says. The Blackwater valley contains other historic estates, including Ballynatray House, which the entrepreneur James Dyson bought in 2024. Further north, John Collison, a co-founder of the technology platform Stripe, bought Abbey Leix, an estate in County Laois, in 2021.

EU’s von der Leyen warns of ‘escalating campaign of threats’ as Romania destroys naval drone – as it happened

And, on that note, we will be closing the blog for today. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen criticised “an escalating campaign of threats” against the European Union, after Romania discovered a naval drone “loaded with explosive” near its Neptun Deep platform in the Black Sea (13:50). Romanian defence minister Radu Miruță said the decision was taken “to protect the lives of the several hundred people working on the platform and to secure the critical infrastructure” (12:33). Miruță added that Romanian officials confirmed with Kyiv that the vessel was “not of Ukrainian origin,” strongly suggesting Russian involvement amid heightened tensions in the region. Separately, A heavy Russian missile and drone bombardment has killed at least 15 people in and around Kyiv in one of the most intense aerial attacks on Ukraine’s capital since the start of the war (9:35). The attack highlighted Ukraine’s vulnerability to ballistic missiles as Kyiv continues to call on the US and European partners to supply them with more interceptors (14:21, 14:54). If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com. I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.

Israel’s Ben-Gvir posts video of gallows site for hanging Palestinians

Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has posted a gloating video of the construction of a gallows complex where Palestinians convicted of terror offences – but not Jewish extremists accused of similar crimes – will be hanged. Ben-Givr, who has previously attracted international sanctions and condemnation for his activities, said the new execution site would be equipped with viewing booths for families of victims to watch the hangings. He posted the video on social media of a visit he had made to the unidentified location, where he can be seen pointing at foundations being laid and boasting it was where “terrorists will be executed”. Photographs in the Israeli media showed a bulldozer and heavy construction work in a cordoned-off area, reportedly close to a prison. “I promised to worsen the conditions of terrorists in prisons – we kept it,” said Ben-Gvir in the video. “I promised to pass the Death Penalty for Terrorists law – we did. And now the death row and hanging facility are also starting to take shape.” Reports of the construction of the gallows, which will execute only Palestinians convicted of terror offences in the military courts system, and not Jewish extremists, follows the passage of a new law earlier this year. The law requires military courts to apply the death penalty as the only available sentence, unless the court finds special circumstances allowing for life imprisonment. Jewish Israelis are in effect protected from the death penalty by a provision that applies the law only to murder committed with the “intent to deny the existence of the state of Israel”. Ben-Gvir, who himself has convictions for incitement to racism, interfering with a police officer performing his duty, and support for a terrorist organisation (Meir Kahane’s banned Kach movement), has served as Israel’s national security minister since 2022 except for a two-month gap last year. One of the main drivers of Israel’s new death penalty law, Ben-Gvir has a long history of extremist statements and provocations. He celebrated his 50th birthday in May with the gift of a birthday cake decorated with the iced image of a noose. The death penalty law, one of two passed by Israeli MPs this year, has drawn widespread international condemnation since it passed the Knesset by 62 votes to 48 over allegations that it is fundamentally discriminatory. “It also dismantles fundamental safeguards to prevent the arbitrary deprivation of life and protect the right to a fair trial, and further empowers Israel’s system of apartheid, which is maintained by scores of discriminatory laws against Palestinians,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, a senior director at Amnesty International, when the law was passed. Ben-Gvir in recent months became the subject of sanctions by France and Ireland in addition to UK sanctions imposed on him last year, attracted widespread criticism only days ago for advocating a policy of punitive killings in Gaza of 30-40 people a night. “I think we should be doing 30 to 40 targeted assassinations per night,” Ben-Gvir said. “Not just those who pose an immediate threat. There are people there who don’t deserve to live … They are not even people.” The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, on Wednesday called Ben-Gvir’s comments “unacceptable and inhuman”, while the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, said he strongly condemned “the inhumane appeals made by minister Ben-Gvir, which violate international law”. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, ecalled Ben-Gvir’s comments “appalling”, “outrageous”, “dehumanising” and “dangerous”. The video emerged amid growing wider international condemnation of Israel’s behaviour, including the issuing of new tenders for the massive E1 settlement block outside Jerusalem, which was denounced by the UK foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, as an “unacceptable and destructive act” that risked separating the West Bank from East Jerusalem. He summoned Israel’s charge d’affaires in protest. “The UK has been clear privately and publicly in our opposition to E1 and our support for a two-state solution as the only way to ensure long-term security and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis,” Miliband said. “All settlements damage that prospect and are a flagrant breach of international law.”