Ukraine said it urgently needed more weapons to fend off Russian advances in the south and the east, an appeal aimed at the West as the leaders of Germany, France and Italy are expected to visit Kyiv on Thursday.

Moscow has focused most of its firepower on the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk while also trying to consolidate control over southern territory encompassing the strategic city of Kherson, north of the Black Sea.

Ukrainian soldiers are fighting to retake ground in wheat fields and empty villages along a deserted motorway between the city of Mykolaiv and Russian-occupied Kherson.

Major-General Dmytro Marchenko, who leads Ukraine's forces in Mykolaiv, said his troops could achieve victory over Russia if they are given the right weapons.

"It is clear that this will not end soon. But then again, if we are given all the weapons that we need, the counter-offensive could well be over by the end of the summer," Marchenko told US-backed broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Kherson fell to Russian forces in March, soon after Moscow invaded on 24 Feb in what it describes as a "special military operation" to disarm and "denazify" Ukraine. Kyiv and its allies call this a baseless pretext for a war that his killed thousands and uprooted millions.

SIEVIERDONETSK

After being pushed back from the outskirts of Kyiv in May, Russia's troops have focused their efforts on capturing the entirety of the Donbas, an industrial region where fighting has focused in recent weeks on Sievierodonetsk, now largely in ruins.

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears intent on asserting complete control over the Donbas, parts of which are held by Moscow-backed separatists in Luhansk and Donetsk provinces.

Ukrainian troops holed up alongside civilians in a Sievierodonetsk chemical plant ignored a Russian ultimatum to lay down their arms on Wednesday. The city's mayor, Oleksandr Stryuk, says Ukrainian troops were still defending the city, even though all of its river bridges have been destroyed.

Ukraine says more than 500 civilians, including 40 children, remain alongside soldiers inside the Azot chemical factory, sheltering from weeks of Russian bombardment. Separatists in the area say up to 1,200 civilians may be inside.

Moscow said it had opened a humanitarian corridor from Azot on Wednesday to allow civilians to escape to Russian-controlled territory. It accused Ukraine's forces of disrupting that plan and using civilians as human shields, which Kyiv denies.

"There are no obstacles for civilians to leave... except for the decision in principle by the Kyiv authorities themselves," Russia's defence ministry said in a statement. Reuters was unable to verify that claim.

Serhiy Gaidai, governor of the Luhansk region, said Ukraine's army was defending Sievierodonetsk and trying to stop Russian forces from taking its twin city Lysychansk on the opposite bank of the Siverskyi Donets river.

Reuters could not immediately verify the battlefield accounts.

ARMS PACKAGES

Leaders including US President Joe Biden have announced new arms packages for Ukraine in recent days, following appeals by Kyiv for help on the eastern and southern fronts.

Biden pledged $1 billion worth of new aid on Wednesday, including anti-ship rocket systems, artillery rockets and rounds for howitzers. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was "extremely focused on stepping up support" for Ukraine.

While Ukraine has welcomed the new pledges, it says deliveries are not coming fast enough.

Recent deliveries of M777 Howitzers from the United States have been too few and that Ukraine remains numerically outgunned, officials said.

"I know we have it. I've seen how it works. But there's not a lot of it working yet," an engineer manning a Soviet-designed artillery piece hidden under a bridge northwest of Kherson said of the new Western equipment.

Weapons provisions are likely to dominate discussions during Friday's visit to Kyiv by leaders of the European Union's three biggest countries.

The visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has taken weeks to organise with the three men looking to overcome criticism within Ukraine over their response to the war. The expected trip has not been announced for security reasons.

Speaking in Romania on Wednesday, Macron said it was time for Europe to reassure Ukraine over its EU ambitions.

"We are at a point when we need to send clear political signals, us Europeans, towards Ukraine and its people when it is resisting heroically," he said, without giving details.

On Friday, the European Commission is due to make a recommendation on Ukraine's status as an EU candidate, something the biggest European nations have been lukewarm about.

- Reuters

Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today said Bangladesh has sought support from India to become a member of BRICS, a group of emerging-market nations - the acronym stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
 
"If BRICS decides to take a new member or partner, we want to be a part of the BRICS. We have sought support from India to this end (during the delegation level talks),"he said.
 
He briefed media about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's engagements on her two-day state visit to India at the invitation of her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
 
The foreign minister said the delegation level talks featured many issues of bilateral interests that include joint management of 54 common rivers and their water sharing, connectivity, trade, security, border management, introduce of quota for Bangladesh to import essential commodities from India, quick medical visas for Bangladeshis and development of partnership.
 
During the meeting, both sides have expressed their satisfaction as the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India has been strengthening and continuing to reach new height under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for the last 15 years and Indian premier Narendra Modi in last 10 years.
 
"Both sides have expressed their willingness to elevate further the relations," Dr Hasan said.
 
Replying to a question, he said that Bangladesh and India have shared 54 common rivers.
 
The matter of forming joint river management for the rivers has prominently come to the delegation-level talks, the foreign minister said.
 
"Joint river management is important as it can help us to fight together the adverse impact of the climate change," he said.
 
Replying to a query, Dr Hasan said Bangladesh is set to import electricity from Bhutan and Nepal and Bangladesh has already signed an agreement with Bhutan to this end.
 
He said Bangladesh has talked about the matter with India and "India gave a very positive response".
 
It is not enough to only produce electricity and it also requires a transmission line to distribute the power, the minister said.
 
Hasan said India has been currently working to set up a transmission line for 3000mw power.
 
"India will facilitate Bangladesh from the transmission line to this end," he said.
 
About killings at boarder, the foreign minister said both Bangladesh and India are politically committed to bring down the boarder killings to zero level.
 
Both the countries have been working to decrease the killings in borders, he said.
 
He continued they have sought to introduce a quota for Bangladesh to import essential commodities such as onion, oil, wheat, and sugar.
 
"We have sought a specific quota for this purpose as they don't stop exporting essential items to Bangladesh," he said.
 
Replying to a query, the foreign minister said Teesta project was also discussed during the bilateral meeting with India.
 
India has expressed its desire to assist Bangladesh in the implementation of the Teesta project, he said, adding that other countries have also expressed their willingness to this matter.
 
Technical committees of both the countries will sit together to pursue the matter, he continued.
 
Dr Hasan also said India has expressed no objection to China to this end.
 
The foreign minister said Bangladesh had sought help from India to send back 12 lakh forcibly displaced Rohingyas to their motherland Myanmar.
 
Indian side said China has a role to play to this end, he said.
 
In reply, Bangladesh Prime Minister said she will bring the matter to Chinese government as she will visit China soon, he said.
 
In replying to a question, Mahmud said he himself brought the issue of resolving the existing problem over Indian medical visa for Bangladeshis by cutting the duration of issuing medical visas.
 
Bangladeshis are currently facing problem in getting medical visas as it takes a long time, he said.
 
The Indian Prime Minister already asked the authorities concerned to resolve the problem.
 
India has been working to update their software and issue e-visas to resolve the problem, he said.
 
Bangladesh High Commissioner to India M Mustafizur Rahman and PM's Press Secretary M Nayeemul Islam Khan were present during the briefing.

(Source: BSS)

The flood situation in Assam persisted, affecting over 6 lakh people across 10 districts, officials said on Sunday. 

Heavy rainfall across the state caused rivers such as Kopili, Barak, and Kushiyara to surpass their danger levels, which forcing prompte evacuations to affected people in many areas for safety, they said. 

Among the affected districts are Hailakandi, Hojai, Morigaon, Karimganj, Nagaon, Cachar, Dibrugarh, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong West, and Dima Hasao, with a total of 6,01,642 people impacted by the floods.

The death toll from floods and storms since May 28 stands at 15. Nagaon remains the most severely affected district, with over 2.79 lakh people affected, followed by Hojai with 1,26,813 and Cachar with 1,12,265. Over 40,000 displaced individuals are seeking refuge in relief camps across various districts. Multiple agencies, including NDRF, SDRF, local administration, and volunteers, are conducting rescue and relief operations.

Furthermore, road and rail communications are disrupted in several parts of the state. Due to track damage and waterlogging, ten trains scheduled to depart from Saturday to Monday have been canceled, according to a spokesperson from Northeast Frontier Railway's Lumding division.

American and British forces carried out a fresh wave of strikes Saturday against 18 Huthi targets in Yemen, following weeks of unrelenting attacks on Red Sea shipping by the Iran-backed rebels.

The strikes "specifically targeted 18 Huthi targets across eight locations in Yemen" including weapons storage facilities, attack drones, air defense systems, radars, and a helicopter, a joint statement said.

It was co-signed by Australia, Bahrain, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand, who gave unspecified "support" to the new round of strikes, the second this month and fourth since the rebels began their attacks on ships in the region.

"The Huthis' now more than 45 attacks on commercial and naval vessels since mid-November constitute a threat to the global economy, as well as regional security and stability, and demand an international response," the statement said.

Huthi-run Al-Masirah television reported "a series of raids on the capital Sanaa," while AFP correspondents in the rebel-controlled city in western Yemen said they heard several loud bangs.

"The United States will not hesitate to take action, as needed, to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world's most critical waterways," Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said in a separate statement after the strikes.

"We will continue to make clear to the Huthis that they will bear the consequences if they do not stop their illegal attacks, which harm Middle Eastern economies, cause environmental damage, and disrupt the delivery of humanitarian aid to Yemen and other countries."

Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree was defiant, vowing in a social media statement that the rebels would "confront the American-British escalation with more qualitative military operations against all hostile targets in the Red and Arab Seas."

The UK Ministry of Defence said four Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s targeted "several very long-range drones, used by the Houthis for both reconnaissance and attack missions," on Saturday, at a site north-east of Sanaa.

Saturday's operation comes after several merchant vessels were struck this week in the region, including the fertilizer-filled Rubymar, whose crew had to abandon ship after it was hit Sunday and began taking on water.

Apart from the joint operations with Britain, the United States has also carried out unilateral strikes against Huthi positions and weaponry in Yemen, and downed dozens of missiles and drones in the Red Sea.

- Anti-ship missile downed -

Earlier on Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that an American Navy ship had shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile "launched into the Gulf of Aden from Iranian-backed Huthi controlled areas of Yemen."

The missile "was likely targeting MV Torm Thor, a US-Flagged, owned, and operated chemical/oil tanker," CENTCOM said on X, formerly Twitter.

US forces on Friday also shot down three attack drones near commercial ships in the Red Sea and destroyed seven anti-ship cruise missiles on land, CENTCOM said.

The Huthis say they are targeting Israel-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.

Following previous US and UK strikes, the Huthis declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.

The Huthis will "persist in upholding their religious, moral and humanitarian duties towards the Palestinian people, and their military operations will not stop unless the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted," military spokesman Saree said.

Anger over Israel's devastating campaign in Gaza -- which began after an unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 -- has grown across the Middle East, stoking violence involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Israel launched air strikes Thursday on southern Gaza's Rafah after threatening to send troops into the city, where around 1.4 million Palestinians have sought shelter from around the territory.

Global powers trying to navigate a way to end the Israel-Hamas war have so far come up short, but a US envoy was expected in Israel on Thursday to try to secure a truce deal.

International concern has spiralled over the high civilian death toll and dire humanitarian crisis in the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack against Israel.

More than four months of relentless fighting and air strikes have flattened much of the Hamas-run coastal territory, pushing its population of around 2.4 million to the brink of famine, according to the UN.

International concern has in recent weeks centred on Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, where more than 1.4 million people forced to flee their homes elsewhere in the territory are now living in crowded shelters and makeshift tents.

The last city untouched by Israeli ground troops, Rafah also serves as the main entry point via neighbouring Egypt for desperately needed relief supplies.

Israel has warned it will expand its ground operations into Rafah if Hamas does not free the remaining hostages held in Gaza by next month's start of the Muslim holy month Ramadan.

- 'My daughter' -

The war started when Hamas launched its attack on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

Hamas militants also took about 250 hostages -- 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 30 presumed dead, according to Israel.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 29,313 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest count by the Hamas-run health ministry in the territory.

War cabinet member Benny Gantz said Israel's operation in Rafah would begin "after the evacuation of the population", although his government has not offered any details on where civilians would be evacuated to.

In the early hours of Thursday, AFP reporters heard multiple air strikes on Rafah, particularly in the Al-Shaboura neighbourhood.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said early Thursday that 99 people had been killed around Gaza during the night, most of them women, children and elderly people.

Abdel Rahman Mohamed Jumaa said he lost his family in recent strikes on Rafah.

"I found my wife lying in the street," he told AFP. "Then I saw a man carrying a girl and I ran towards him and.... picked her up, realising she was really my daughter."

He was holding a small shrouded corpse in his arms.

- 'Possibility of progress' -

Brett McGurk, the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, was expected to arrive in Israel Thursday -- his second stop in the region after Egypt as part of US efforts to advance a hostage deal and broker a truce.

Hamas's chief Ismail Haniyeh was in Cairo for talks as well, according to the group.

Israel's Gantz said there were efforts to "promote a new plan for the return of the hostages".

"We are seeing the first signs that indicate the possibility of progress in this direction."

Matthew Miller, US State Department spokesman, said Washington was hoping for an "agreement that secures a temporary ceasefire where we can get the hostages out and get humanitarian assistance", but declined to give details on ongoing negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted the army will keep fighting until it has destroyed Hamas and freed the remaining hostages.

Israel's parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly backed a proposal by Netanyahu to oppose any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.

The vote came days after the Washington Post reported that US President Joe Biden's administration and a small group of Arab nations were working out a comprehensive plan for long-term peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

It included a firm timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state, the report said.

Separately, a report by an Israeli group that fights sexual violence said Hamas's October 7 attack also involved systematic sexual assaults on civilians, based on witness testimonies, public and classified information, and interviews.

The report came the same week UN rights experts called for an independent probe into alleged Israeli abuses against Palestinian women and girls -- which Israel rejected as "despicable and unfounded claims".

Israeli officials have repeatedly alleged the militants committed violent sexual assaults during the attack -- something Hamas has denied.

- 'Waiting for death' -

Combat and chaos have stalled sporadic aid deliveries for civilians in Gaza, while in Khan Yunis -- a city just north of Rafah -- medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said an Israeli tank had fired on a house sheltering their employees and families.

Two relatives of MSF staff were killed and six others injured, it said, condemning the strike in the "strongest possible terms".

When contacted by AFP about the incident, the Israeli army said its forces had "fired at a building that was identified as a building where terror activity is occurring", adding that it "regrets" harm to civilians.

In the same town, the Palestinian Red Crescent said another hospital was also hit by "artillery shelling".

Israel has repeatedly said Hamas militants use civilian infrastructure including hospitals as operational bases -- claims that Hamas has denied.