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 Russian troops are inching toward the city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, trying to establish a foothold close to a heavily defended area, ‌Ukraine’s top army official said on Saturday. Kostiantynivka, along with other cities, forms a so-called fortress ‌belt in the country’s east – an area well fortified by the Ukrainian military. “We are repelling the Russian occupiers’ persistent attempts ​to gain a foothold in the outskirts of Kostiantynivka using infiltration tactics. Counter-sabotage measures are going on in the city,” Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s army chief, said on the Telegram app. A Ukrainian battlefield mapping project called DeepState shows that Russian troops control an area around only one kilometre (0.6 mile) from the city’s southern outskirts. Small chunks ‌of Kostiantynivka, in southeast Ukraine, are ⁠marked as a grey zone, meaning neither Ukraine nor Russia has full con...

Russia has test launched its new Soyuz-5 rocket ‌for the first time, the country’s ‌space agency said late on Thursday, saying it had ​lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan without any issues. The Soyuz-5, which Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, describes as a ‌launch vehicle equipped ⁠with the world’s most powerful liquid-fuelled engine, lifted off successfully at ⁠2100 Moscow time (1800 GMT) on April 30, it said in a statement. The new ​rocket is ​capable of carrying ​payloads of up to ‌17 metric tonnes, will significantly reduce launch costs, and is more effective than its predecessors at placing objects like satellites in near earth orbit, the agency said. Dmitry ‌Bakanov, the head of ​Roskosmos, said the rocket – ​which he ​hailed as a “new step in space ‌exploration” – would create new ​jobs in ​Russia and Kazakhstan. SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/kJlXIjQ

Kosovo is heading for its third parliamentary election in over a year after lawmakers repeatedly failed to elect a new president, pushing the young Balkan nation into renewed political uncertainty. Parliament, which is tasked with choosing the president, on Tuesday faced a midnight deadline to choose a successor to Vjosa Osmani, whose term expired earlier this month. When it failed to do so, the legislature was automatically dissolved. The early election must be held within the next 45 days, but a date was not immediately announced. Political analyst Ilir Deda predicted that the election is likely to be held in June. The vote, Deda added, will test “whether people are willing to hold politicians accountable.” The small Balkan country of 2 million people has faced political turmoil since an election in February 2025 ended inconclusively. A new government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti was formed after an early vote on Dec. 28 but another crisis emerged over who should succeed Osmani...

Mali’s military leader on Tuesday insisted the situation in his country was “under control” as he made his first public address since unprecedented large-scale attacks at the weekend destabilised his ruling junta. Jihadists and Tuareg separatists are still positioned in the vast Sahelian country’s north, three days after launching a stunning wave of attacks, in what junta chief Assimi Goita acknowledged was a situation “of extreme gravity”. Goita had made no public appearance or statement for three days, fuelling doubts about his ability to cling to power, but on Tuesday evening — hours after jihadists threatened to blockade the capital Bamako — he made a speech to the nation on state TV. “As I am speaking to you, security arrangements have been reinforced. The situation is under control and clearing operations, search efforts, intelligence gathering and security measures are continuing,” he said. He urged the population to “stand up against division and national fracture”, saying ...

By Ahmed Kingimi Reuters Gunmen killed at least 29 people in ​an attack on a community ‌in Nigeria’s Adamawa state, the state governor said on Monday. The attackers invaded the community late on Sunday ‌and ​carried out sporadic ⁠shootings for several hours, ⁠killing residents and destroying property, according to local officials and community leaders. Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri ​confirmed the death toll during a visit to Guyaku ⁠community in Gombi ⁠local government area, where ​he condoled with bereaved families and ​described the incident as tragic ‌and unacceptable. He said the state government was working with security agencies to prevent further attacks ⁠and restore normalcy. The motive behind the attack is unknown. However, Adamawa, in northeastern ⁠Nigeria, ‌has in recent years ⁠suffered repeated attacks by ​Boko ‌Haram insurgents including armed ​groups and ⁠criminal gangs, contributing to rising insecurity across rural communities in the region. from The Times Of Ea...

Mali’s defence minister died after an attack on his house, his family said Sunday, as the army fought a second day of battles with jihadist fighters and separatist rebels near the capital Bamako and other cities, putting the Sahel nation’s ruling junta under severe pressure. Defence Minister Sadio Camara, his second wife and two of his grandchildren died after a car bomb attack on his home in the junta stronghold of Kati, outside Bamako, his family and an official said. Saturday’s shock attacks, synchronised by Tuareg rebels of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) coalition and the jihadist Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), targeted several areas in the vast arid country. Fighting resumed Sunday in several areas, including Kati, Kidal, Gao and Severe. Tuareg rebels meanwhile announced an agreement allowing Russian forces backing Mali’s army to withdraw from the northern city of Kidal, which they claimed was “totally” under their control. “An accord has been reached p...