A teenager is among at least six people killed in Russian airstrikes across Ukraine over the past 24-hour period, local officials said on Sunday. Of these, two people were killed and three were injured in the Kherson area after Russia fired more than 100 shells over the weekend, local governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Two more people died in the Donetsk area, local officials said. An airstrike in the Kharkiv region killed a 57-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman, and also destroyed their home. A 14-year-old boy was killed in a separate incident after a mine exploded in a field in the Mykolaiv region, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said. Another 12-year-old boy was also injured in the attack. In another separate strike, Russia fired two guided bombs on key infrastructure in Kherson city, causing a partial blackout and disruption to the water supply in the area, the head of the city’s military administration Roman Mrochko said. A total of 27,768 casualties in Ukraine have been recorded since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February last year, in which 9,806 civilians have been killed and 17,962 have been injured, according to United Nations high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR). Ukraine saw 188 casualties – 66 killed and 122 injured – in just the first week of October, the OHCHR said. It has also warned that the actual figures of casualties are considerably higher. This comes as Kyiv continued with its drone strikes inside Russia, with the Russian defence ministry claiming that Ukraine had launched 27 drones in an overnight attack on western Russia. A total of 18 drones were shot down over the Kursk region as analysts speculated that Ukrainian forces were targeting the nearby Khalino military airfield. The debris of downed drones was seen burning just 1.5km (1 mile) from the air base in images posted on social media. The facility was previously attacked by Ukrainian forces at the end of September. The debris had fallen in the region’s namesake capital and the nearby village of Zorino, Kursk governor Roman Starovoit said on social media. Two more drones were shot down over Russia’s Belgorod region, officials said. Even as the other seven drones remained unaccounted for, Ukrainian media outlets later said that Kyiv’s forces had carried out a successful strike on Russia’s Krasnaya Yaruga electrical substation, close to the Ukrainian border. The reports cited an unnamed source from within Ukraine’s security services and included a video that appeared to show an aerial strike against an unidentified target. This comes at a time when fighting has flared up in eastern Ukraine with Russian forces trying to force their way into the Kharkiv region’s Kupiansk city and encircle it, military officials said. Ukrainian forces in the area, defending the territory, faced 10 separate attacks in a span of 24 hours, Illia Yevlash, spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s eastern forces said on Sunday. “The enemy is trying to attack us in the direction of Kupiansk to encircle it and reach the banks of the Oskil River,” he told Ukrainian television. He said that Ukrainian forces in the town of Lyman in the Donetsk region had also faced heavy attack. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin suffers serious losses in largest offensive in months Russia's foreign minister will visit North Korea amid claims of weapons supplied to Moscow Russian governor reported to police for speaking out over Putin’s ‘unnecessary’ war against Ukraine Putin's visit to Beijing underscores China’s economic and diplomatic support for Russia

Donald Tusk hailed a new era for Poland after liberal, pro-EU opposition parties appeared poised to oust the governing conservative party in the nation’s most pivotal election in decades. A late exit poll by Ipsos published on Monday afternoon gave incumbent Law and Justice (PiS) 36.1% of the vote, which would translate into 196 seats in the lower house of parliament. Opposition parties led by Mr Tusk’s liberal Civic Coalition (KO), were projected to win a combined 249 seats based on the highest turnout since the fall of communism in 1989. In Wroclaw, polling queues were so long that voting continued until nearly 3am. PiS repeatedly clashed with the EU over the rule of law, media freedom, migration and LGBT rights since it swept to power in 2015. KO, along with New Left and the centre-right Third Way, have pledged to mend ties with Brussels and scrap reforms they say have eroded Polish democracy. Mr Tusk, a former prime minister and European Council president, told supporters: “Poland won. Democracy has won. We have removed them from power. “I have been a politician for many years. I’m an athlete. Never in my life have I been so happy about taking second place.” Polish financial markets surged on the prospect of a government led by Mr Tusk. The blue-chip WIG 20 share index was up 6.2% at lunchtime, while the zloty currency was 1.3% stronger. But even if the exit polls prove accurate, Mr Tusk and his allies may have to wait weeks or even months before getting a turn at forming a government. President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, has said he would give the winning party the first chance at forming a coalition. PiS won more votes than any single party and said it would try to build a new government led by prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki. But the leader of the agrarian PSL party, a frequent kingmaker in past governments, ruled out cooperating with PiS after running with the Third Way coalition. “Those who voted for us want change, want a change of government, want PiS removed from power,” said Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Poland’s election had not been entirely free and fair. “The ruling party enjoyed a clear advantage through its undue influence over the use of state resources and public media,” said Pia Kauma, head of the OSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly. Turnout among 18-29 year olds jumped to 71% from 46% in the last parliamentary election in 2019, according to Ipsos. In an aggressive campaign, PiS had cast the election as a choice between uncontrolled illegal migration under the rule of leaders it said were beholden to foreign interests and a government that would protect Poland’s borders and traditions. However, PiS faced accusations of democratic backsliding and undermining women’s rights after the government enforced a near-total abortion ban in 2021. PiS was also accused of using lucrative positions in state-controlled firms to reward supporters. “I expect that women will now have more rights, that they will feel safer,” said Iga Frackiewicz, 43, a banking administrator. “I also hope that nepotism will end, for example in state companies and in other places.” The outcome could also affect ties with neighbouring Ukraine, which Poland has been supporting in the war against Russia’s aggression. Good relations soured in September over Ukraine grain entering and affecting Poland’s market. Read More Poland waits for final election result after ruling party and opposition claim a win Ada Sagi was already dealing with the pain of loss. Then war came to her door Police in Warsaw seal off a large square after a man climbs a monument and reportedly makes threats The AP Interview: EU President Michel warns about spillover of Israel-Hamas war into Europe Parties running in Poland's Sunday parliamentary election hold final campaign rallies Germany is aiming to ease deportations as the government faces intense pressure on migration

Germany notified Monday the European Union's executive branch of temporary border controls at its frontiers with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, going a step beyond a move last month to strengthen checks on its eastern border. The notification would enable Germany to carry out the same systematic checks at the border that it has conducted on its frontier with Austria since 2015. The government has responded over the past week to intense pressure to address the arrival of large numbers of migrants following a pair of state elections that brought poor results for the governing parties and gains for the far-right Alternative for Germany. It has announced draft legislation to ease deportations of unsuccessful asylum-seekers as Chancellor OIaf Scholz met Friday with the opposition leader and two leading state governors for what he called a “friendly and constructive exchange” on migration issues. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser last month ordered border checks on Germany’s eastern frontiers with Poland and the Czech Republic strengthened, but the conservative opposition urged her to formally notify border checks — a move she has now taken. Faeser said in a statement that “the smugglers' business is becoming ever more brutal and unscrupulous,” pointing to a crash on a Bavarian highway Friday in which seven people were killed after a van overloaded with migrants overturned when the driver and suspected smuggler accelerated to avoid a police check. “It is now necessary to take all possible measures to stop this cruel business in people's lives,” she said. “At the time, we need an effective limitation of irregular migration to relieve our municipalities.” She said that police “can now flexibly use the whole package of stationary and mobile border policing measures, according to the current situation.” Shelters for migrants and refugees across Germany have been filling up in recent months as significant numbers of asylum-seekers add to more than 1 million Ukrainians who have arrived since the start of the war in their homeland. ___ Follow AP’s coverage of global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration Read More A top EU official convenes a summit to deal with a fallout in Europe from the Israel-Hamas war Used clothing from the West is a big seller in East Africa. Uganda's leader wants a ban Sunak meets King of Jordan as Gaza offensive looms

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A high school where a teacher was fatally stabbed in France has been evacuated over a bomb threat. The attack happened at City School Gambetta-Carnot in the town of Arras in the north of the country on Friday at around 11am. Two other people were injured. The prefecture of the northern Pas-de-Calais region said the decision was made to evacuate the school after police received a bomb threat via its website. A bomb disposal team is on site, the prefecture said, adding that “all precautionary and safety measures” are being taken until the site is cleared. France is on heightened alert against feared terror threats following the stabbing incident in which a teacher, named locally as Dominque Bernard, died. Schools across the country will hold a moment of silence after the teacher was killed and three other people were injured last week in the attack by a former student suspected of Islamic radicalisation. Hours following the attack, Emmanuel Macron visited the school, describing the attack as the result of “barbaric Islamist terrorism”, before praising the killed teacher. “The teacher who was killed had come forward to protect others and had without doubt saved many lives,” he said. Counter-terrorism authorities are investigating Friday’s stabbing, and the suspected assailant and several others are in custody, prosecutors said. The suspect had been under recent surveillance by intelligence services for radicalisation. The prosecutor said the alleged assailant was a former student there and repeatedly shouted “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great”, during the attack. Another teacher and a security guard are in a critical condition with wounds from the stabbing, police said. The counter-terrorism prosecutor said a cleaning worker was also injured. More follows on this breaking news story.... Read More French schools hold a moment of silence in an homage to a teacher killed in a knife attack France is deploying 7,000 troops after a deadly school stabbing by a suspected Islamic radical Teacher killed in ‘terror attack’ at French school ‘died protecting others’ from knife rampage

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Israel announced another “safe corridor” in Gaza as it urges civilians to move to the south of the

A Russian governor who said that Moscow had not prepared for its invasion of Ukraine and did not “need” the continuing war has been reported to the police. Natalya Komarova, a member of president Vladimir Putin’s governing United Russia party and the governor of Russian Khanty-Masiysk region, on Saturday criticised the conflict that has stretched to nearly 600 days during a meeting with residents of the Siberian city of Nizhnevartovsk. Ms Komarova was confronted by the wife of a mobilised Russian man fighting in Ukraine who had asked why her husband was not provided with the necessary equipment to fight. “Are you asking me (why your husband does not have equipment) knowing that I’m the governor and not the minister of defence?” the official said. She added: “As a whole, we did not prepare for this war. We don’t need it. We were building a completely different world, so in this regard, there will certainly be some inconsistencies and unresolved issues,” according to a video of the event posted on social media. The comments, captured on video, were circulated widely online and prompted pro-war activists to condemn Ms Komarova for “discrediting Russia’s armed forces”. A letter has been sent to Russia’s minister of internal affairs by the director of a Siberian non-profit organisation, Yuri Ryabtsev, asking the ministry to further investigate Ms Komarova’s comments, reported Russian news outlet Sibir.Realii, stating that its journalists had seen the letter. An activist has also filed a report with the local police, demanding Ms Komarova be held accountable under Russia’s Code of Administrative Offences for “discrediting” the army, the news outlet reported. The Russian politician has not issued any fresh remarks on the issue. Russia approved a law last year making it illegal to describe the conflict in Ukraine as a “war” or an “invasion” by Russia. Mr Putin called it a “special military operation” when he ordered the attack on Ukraine in February last year, and the law has been used to compel Russian media, businesses and citizens to follow suit, as well as to penalise critics of the war. The legislation also outlaws “disparaging” the military and the spread of "false information" about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Several critics of the war have already been handed fines or jail terms under the law, while experts say it has made it increasingly difficult to gauge levels of public support for the invasion. Sasha Skochilenko, an artist and musician with serious health issues, was arrested in April last year for replacing supermarket price tags with antiwar slogans, charged with spreading false information about the military. Former FSB agent and battlefield commander Igor Girkin, known as a prominent Russian hardline nationalist, was detained on charges of extremism in July this year after he accused Mr Putin of weakness and indecision in Ukraine. Russia media have been extensively covering the Ukraine conflict yet at the same time prohibited from calling it a “war”, while protesters using that word on placards are hit with steep fines. Independent news sites have been blocked, as were Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. A prominent radio station has been taken off the air, and the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, led by 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov, has also lost its licence. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin suffers serious losses in largest offensive in months As the conflict in Israel rages on, the world must not forget about Ukraine Putin's visit to Beijing underscores China’s economic and diplomatic support for Russia Ukraine’s Avdiivka ‘completely ablaze’ as Russia pounds city for fourth straight day Could Putin be arrested? President to leave Russia for first time since international arrest warrant issued

Russia has lost 127 tanks, 239 armoured personnel vehicles (APVs) and 161 artillery systems in a week, Kyiv has said as Vladimir Putin launches a sustained assault in the east of Ukraine. Moscow’s forces lost eight tanks, 25 APVs and 33 artillery systems in the past day, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Sunday. The Independent cannot independently confirm Kyiv’s numbers which come after Putin claimed Ukraine‘s counteroffensive “completely failed”. “As for the counteroffensive, which is allegedly stalling, it has failed completely,” Putin said in video remarks posted to social media by a Kremlin journalist Pavel Zarubin. Russia currently controls about 17.5% of Ukrainian territory and a four-month-old Ukrainian counteroffensive this year has resulted in almost no net territorial gains. Read More Putin's visit to Beijing underscores China’s economic and diplomatic support for Russia As the conflict in Israel rages on, the world must not forget about Ukraine Biden insists US can back two wars at the same time in Israel and Ukraine

US President Joe Biden weighed a trip to Israel while he cautioned against long-term Israeli occupation of the

Maya Sharma doesn't believe in marriage but has petitioned India's Supreme Court to legalise same-sex union.