At least three people killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine
Russia used an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 146 drones in its attacks, according to Ukraine’s air force. By News Agencies Published On 28 Jan 202628 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share A Russian air attack has killed two people in Kyiv region’s Bilohorodska community, and a drone attack killed another person in central Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, according to local authorities. The deadly attacks came overnight on Wednesday, just hours after a deadly drone attack on a commuter train in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv – an incident denounced as “terrorism” by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Also on Wednesday, three people were injured in a Russian drone attack on port infrastructure in the southern region of Odesa, according to Governor Oleh Kiper. In the capital, Kyiv, a 17-storey residential building was hit, causing minor damage to the roof and damaging windows on the upper floors, emergency services said. Several residential buildings in Kyiv remain without power due to earlier Russian attacks on the country’s energy grid. Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 146 drones – 103 of them neutralised by air defences, Ukraine’s air force said. On Tuesday night, five people were confirmed dead and several others injured after a Russian drone hit a passenger train near Kharkiv city, Al Jazeera’s Audrey Macalpine said, reporting from Kyiv. “This attack has struck fears among Ukrainians,” Macalpine said, noting that the train was carrying about 100 passengers. “With the country’s airspace closed, people rely heavily on trains as a means of moving around the country,” she said. “And this is a culmination of weeks of threats on the security of the train system.” Advertisement In a statement, Zelenskyy said the attack in Kharkiv undermined peace efforts and urged allies to step up pressure on Moscow to end the war. “In any country, a drone strike on a civilian train would be viewed the same way – exclusively as terrorism,” Zelenskyy said on his Telegram channel. “The Russians have significantly increased their ability to kill, their ability to terrorise,” he said, while rallying the international community to put more “pressure” on Moscow to halt its deadly offensive amid ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire. “Russia must be held responsible for what it is doing,” Zelenskyy said. The attacks that have left many Ukrainians without power in freezing winter temperatures come after Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in the United Arab Emirates last week for United States-brokered talks aimed at ending the conflict. The next round is expected to take place on February 1, according to Zelenskyy. Ukraine is asking partners, particularly the US, for strong security guarantees in the event of a peace deal that would prevent Russia from attacking again. A source familiar with internal discussions told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday that Washington has told Ukraine it must sign a peace deal with Russia to get US security guarantees. Adblock test (Why?)
Israel’s attacks on Gaza fertility clinics shatter dreams of parenthood
Israel’s war has devastated the enclave’s reproductive health system; advocates call it a genocidal measure. Gaza City – Maysera al-Kafarna, a Palestinian woman in Gaza, sorts through blue baby overalls brought for the child she was supposed to have. But her dreams of motherhood have been dashed by Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which ravaged the enclave’s healthcare system that saves lives, as well as the fertility centres that plan them. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list After years of trying, al-Kafarna and her husband turned to in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). Their embryos were frozen in a fertility centre, waiting for the war to end, but the clinic was attacked by Israel. “We had four viable embryos stored there in the first months of the war. We were shocked to learn they had been destroyed when the clinic was attacked,” al-Kafarna told Al Jazeera. “It was deeply painful. We felt like we had lost a part of ourselves. We were waiting for a chance to have our baby.” Medical officials in Gaza say Israel has destroyed nine out of 10 fertility clinics in the territory. In addition, embryos that remain are still in danger, despite the ceasefire, due to fuel shortages and a lack of liquid nitrogen to keep them at the required temperature. Rights advocates say Israel’s attacks on reproductive health in Gaza are a textbook implementation of genocidal policies, as defined by the United Nations. Last year, UN investigators concluded that Israeli attacks on fertility clinics and maternity wards were part of Israel’s push to destroy the Palestinian people. The 1948 UN Convention lists “imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group” as one of five acts it classified as genocidal. Advertisement In September 2024, a UN Commission of Inquiry found that Israel had engaged in four of the five acts during its war on Gaza, including efforts to prevent births. “Attacks on healthcare facilities, including those offering sexual and reproductive healthcare and services, have affected about 545,000 women and girls who are of reproductive age in Gaza,” the UN investigators wrote in their report. They specifically reviewed an Israeli attack on Al-Basma IVF clinic in Gaza City in December 2023 that destroyed thousands of embryos, sperm samples and other reproductive material. “The commission found that the Israeli authorities knew that the medical centre was a fertility clinic and that they intended to destroy it,” the UN inquiry said. “Therefore, the Commission concluded that the destruction of the Al-Basma IVF clinic was a measure intended to prevent births among Palestinians in Gaza.” The Gaza Ministry of Health reported a 41 percent decrease in births in Gaza in the first half of 2025 compared with the previous three years. Beyond the direct attacks on reproductive healthcare facilities, Israel’s blockade on medical supplies and food has further harmed newborns and birth rates. “Inability to access medical care and proper nutrition harmed reproductive capacity by causing infertility, miscarriage, complications, and maternal death for women, as well as poor health outcomes for newborns,” a study by Physicians for Human Rights said. Despite the dire conditions that persist, fertility doctor Abdel Nasser al-Kalhout said he hopes to resume his work as soon as conditions allow it. “We hope that after the war ends, we can start again, restoring hope for people who lost their embryos and for the couples whose treatment began but couldn’t continue because of the war,” al-Kalhout told Al Jazeera. Adblock test (Why?)
Tech giant ASML announces record orders in boost for AI boom
Dutch firm says it expects strong growth in 2026, countering fears of an investment bubble. Tech giant ASML has reported a quarterly record in orders of its chip-making equipment, boosting hopes for the sustainability of the artificial intelligence boom and countering fears of an investment bubble. The Dutch firm said on Wednesday that it booked orders worth 13.2 billion euros ($15.8bn) in the final quarter of 2025, more than half of which were for its most advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list ASML logged orders worth 7 million euros during the same period the previous year. Net sales came to 9.7 billion euros in the October-December period, ASML said, taking sales for all of 2025 to 32.7 billion euros. Net profit for the year was 9.6 billion euros, up from 7.6 billion euros in 2024. The Veldhoven-based company forecast net sales of between 34 billion euros and 39 billion euros in 2026. ASML Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet said the company’s chip-making customers had conveyed a “notably more positive assessment” of the market situation in the medium term based on expectations of strong AI-related demand. “This is reflected in a marked step-up in their medium-term capacity plans and in our record order intake,” Fouquet said in a statement. “Therefore, we expect 2026 to be another growth year for ASML’s business, largely driven by a significant increase in EUV sales and growth in our installed base business sales.” Fouquet also said the company would cut about 1,700 jobs, most of them at the leadership level, amid concerns work processes had become “less agile”. Advertisement “Engineers in particular have expressed their desire to focus their time on engineering, without being hampered by slow process flows, and restore the fast-moving culture that has made us so successful,” Fouquet said. The proposed cuts, which would affect positions in the Netherlands and the United States, represent about 4 percent of ASML’s 44,000-strong global workforce. ASML holds an effective monopoly on the production of machinery used by TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and Intel to make the most advanced AI chips. The company sells only about 50 of its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines each year, with each unit costing about 250 million euros. ASML’s share price surged on Wednesday, with its stock up nearly 6 percent as of 9.30am local time. “ASML’s latest results suggest the AI boom is still in full swing, with strong orders and a bullish outlook,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. “However, job cuts in the business would suggest it is not getting carried away with the strength of current trading.” ASML’s restructuring “looks like a sharper focus on efficiencies and different ways of working, rather than saying there isn’t enough work for existing staff to do,” Mould added. “Nonetheless, it’s a sign that the AI craze might be trying to catch its breath.” Tech giants such as Meta, OpenAI, Nvidia and Oracle have poured billions of dollars into AI in the expectation that the technology will deliver dramatic changes to how people work and live. Global AI-related spending is forecast to hit $2.53 trillion in 2026 and $3.33 trillion in 2027, according to projections by technology insights firm Gartner. The investment boom has propelled the US stock market to record highs, stoking concerns about the sustainability of huge spending on a technology whose promise remains largely unrealised. Adblock test (Why?)
Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar dies: How did aircraft crashed, here’s what we know so far
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, four others dies after the aircraft crashed in the Pune district on January 28. Here’s what we know so far
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other leaders condoled his tragic demise.
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Who was Captain Shambhavi Pathak? Pilot of Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s private plane that crashed in Baramati, killing all onboard
Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has been confirmed dead in a major plane crash after the aircraft was attempting to make a landing in Baramati, Pune but lost control and crashed. Along with Ajit Pawar, five others including his PSO, pilots and crew members are also reportedly dead. One of the pilot was Capt. Shambhavi Pathak.
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Who is Altafhusen Ghanchibhai alias Shakil? Key accused sentenced to 5.5 years imprisonment, Rs 5000 fine in Pakistan espionage case
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court at Visakhapatnam has sentenced simple imprisonment of five-and-a-half years to a key accused in a Pakistan-led espionage conspiracy case involving fraudulent use of mobile SIM cards and misuse of social media platforms. The man named as the accused is Altafhusen Ghanchibhai alias Shakil.
Who was Captain Sumit Kapoor, pilot flying Ajit Pawar’s plane that crashed in Baramati?
Along with the NCP leader, four others died, including two pilots, Captain Sumit Kapoor, the Pilot-in-Command (PIC) and the First Officer (FO) Shambhavi Pathak; one Personal Security Officer (PSO) and one attendant, Pinki Mali.