Mali has severed diplomatic ties with Ukraine after the country supplied intelligence to Malian rebels involved in an ambush against Wagner Group forces in July.

“The transitional government of the Republic of Mali condemns the hostility of the authorities of Ukraine who do not observe that Mali has always called for a peaceful settlement of the crisis between the Russian Federation and Ukraine,” government spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga said in a televised statement on Sunday.

Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), previously said Kyiv had provided the militants with intelligence for the attack, saying on Ukrainian television in late July that “the rebels received necessary information, which enabled a successful military operation against Russian war criminals.”

The attack was claimed by a Tuareg rebels group along with the al Qaeda affiliate in the Sahel, JNIM (Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin). Known for ad hoc cooperation, they appear to have collaborated to trap the Russian convoy.

After the attack, JNIM claimed that a “complex ambush” had wiped out the convoy, killing 50 Russians and several Malian soldiers, and published videos showing several vehicles ablaze as well as dozens of bodies in the area. A Tuareg militant group spokesman said some Malian troops and Russian fighters had also been captured during the battle.

According to some unofficial Russian Telegram channels, as many as 80 Russians were killed. That would make it by far the worst loss for Russian paramilitaries in several years of operating in Africa, as the Kremlin has sought to use proxy forces to challenge Western influence across the Sahel and central Africa and prop up unstable regimes.

Rescuers in Gaza raced to dig victims from the rubble on Sunday after Israeli airstrikes on two school buildings left at least 30 people dead, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense. The strikes continue a bloody weekend, after a similar lethal attack on Saturday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency have taken responsibility for the strike, saying that they were targeting “terrorists operating inside Hamas command and control centers” that were “embedded” within the schools.

“If a warning had been given, the number of deaths would have been lower,” Basal said.

Sunday’s strike follows a series of strikes on the Al-Huda and Al-Hamama schools — also targeting alleged Hamas infrastructure, according to the IDF — that left at least 17 dead on Saturday.

In that case, Basal said, “the first bombing was unexpected and resulted in a large number of martyrs and injured individuals. While the martyrs and injured were being retrieved, the occupation forces issued a warning that another strike was imminent.”

The death toll from Israeli military action in Gaza since October 7 reached 39,583 on Sunday, with a further 91,398 people injured, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. Israel launched the action in Gaza following the Hamas attacks, wihich killed around 1,200 people.

This story has been updated with additional information.

Rioters attacked a hotel used to house asylum seekers in the UK town of Rotherham on Sunday, as the country faces the worst social unrest it has seen in years.

The violence was triggered by the stabbing of three young girls in Southport, northwest England, earlier in the week. The far right has seized on and spread a wave of disinformation, including false claims the attacker was an immigrant, to mobilize anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant protests. Police say the suspect was born in Britain.

In the latest violence, the Holiday Inn Express Hotel in Rotherham was targeted by protesters who stormed the building, with reports of it being set on fire, according to PA Media. Rioters threw objects and sprayed fire extinguishers at police officers during the clashes.

Some of the rioters waved England flags as they chanted and faced off with officers. According to PA, at least one injured officer wearing riot gear was seen being carried from the scene.

British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned the attack. “The criminal, violent attack on a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham is utterly appalling. Deliberately setting fire to a building with people known to be inside,” she wrote on X.

It comes as the UK’s policing minister has said that there will be a “nick them quick” approach to far-right rioters who have caused unrest across the country, but added there was no need to bring in the army.

In comments to the BBC, Dame Diana Johnson stressed that the plan was to carry out swift arrests and charges in order to take rioters off the street as quickly as possible and act as a deterrent to prevent further unrest.

More than 90 people were arrested in multiple cities and towns on Saturday and authorities put extra measures in place to maintain order.

The violent unrest is the worst seen since the riots of 2011 and provides a huge challenge to the Labour government of Keir Starmer just weeks after it won power.

“We’ve seen obviously, arrest which is very important, and we want to send a very clear message that if people get involved in this criminal disorder, that they will be brought to account. They will be charged, they will be taken to court, and there will be penalties,” Johnson said.

There have been discussions to bring in the army to assist police, but currently “there is no need to bring in the army,” Johnson said. “The police have made it very clear that they have all the resources they need at the moment. There’s mutual aid, as I’ve just described, and they have the powers that they need.”

Joe Mulhall, Director of Research at Hope Not Hate – a charity which campaigns against racism and fascism – has warned that the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has become a central space for the spreading of dangerous disinformation and the promotion of the protests.

“A number of the most important figures spreading disinformation and exacerbating tensions, most notably Stephen Lennon (a.k.a. Tommy Robinson), had previously been de-platformed on X but have been given their accounts back since Elon Musk took control of the platform.

“This has resulted in far-right extremists once again being able to reach millions of people with their dangerous and divisive propaganda.”

The arrival of F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine marks “a new chapter” for the country’s Air Force, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday as he confirmed for the first time that the combat aircraft are in the country.

Ukraine has been urging allies to transfer the coveted jets since the start of the war to protect its skies against Russian missiles. Russia maintains air superiority over Ukraine and the F-16s offer a significant improvement in Kyiv’s weaponry. The F-16s can provide air cover for troops, attack ground targets, take on enemy planes and intercept missiles.

“We held hundreds of meetings and negotiations to strengthen the capabilities of our aviation and air defense,” Zelensky said, speaking at an airbase outside Kyiv.

“We often heard the answer that it was impossible,” he said. “Now it is a reality. F-16s are in Ukraine. I am proud of all our men who are mastering these aircraft and have already started using them for our country.”

Zelensky said he is grateful to partners, and especially to the first countries that accepted Kyiv’s request for the aircraft. “I thank Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United States. And to all our partners – we appreciate your support,” he said.

“Now is a new chapter in the Ukrainian Air Force. We have done a lot to ensure that the Ukrainian Air Force switches to a new standard of aviation – Western combat aircraft,” he said.

Zelensky said he can’t comment on specific combat missions or how many F-16s are already in Ukraine, but said, “So far, the number that is available in Ukraine and the number of pilots who have already been trained is not enough.”

Nonetheless, “these jets are in our sky. It’s good that they arrived and we can use them. At least for today I can tell you openly that we can use them,” he said.

More F-16 jets are expected to arrive in Ukraine and “many of our men are currently studying and training,” Zelensky said. “I very much believe that the partners will find an opportunity to expand the training platform for our pilots and engineers. This is very important for us,” he added.

The US committed to approving the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine in August last year, after months of lobbying by Kyiv.

The UK’s policing minister has said that there will be a “nick them quick” approach to far-right rioters who have caused unrest across the country this week, but added there was no need to bring in the army.

In comments to the BBC, Dame Diana Johnson stressed that the plan was to carry out swift arrests and charges in order to take rioters off the street as quickly as possible and act as a deterrent to prevent further unrest.

Her words come after more than 90 people were arrested in cities and towns across the country on Saturday and authorities put extra measures in place to maintain order. The UK is bracing for a new wave of protests on Sunday, after a stabbing attack in northwest England this week sparked disorder fueled by the far right.

The violent unrest is the worst seen in years and provides a huge challenge to the Labour government of Keir Starmer just weeks after it won power.

“We’ve seen obviously, arrest which is very important, and we want to send a very clear message that if people get involved in this criminal disorder, that they will be brought to account. They will be charged, they will be taken to court, and there will be penalties,” Johnson said.

There have been discussions to bring in the army to assist police, but currently “there is no need to bring in the army,” Johnson said. “The police have made it very clear that they have all the resources they need at the moment. There’s mutual aid, as I’ve just described, and they have the powers that they need.”

Several UK cities saw violent protests on Saturday. Many demonstrators chanted anti-immigrant and anti-Islam slogans. In Liverpool, PA Media reported that a community library was set on fire, with rioters trying to stop firefighters tackled the blaze.

UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper denounced the incidents of public disorder and unrest on Saturday and said “thuggery” won’t be tolerated.

“That’s why we are ensuring additional prosecutors this weekend, the courts stand ready as well,” she said. “We have to make sure that anyone who engages in this kind of unacceptable disorder will pay the price.”

Since the stabbing in Southport, which left three children dead during a Taylor Swift-themed yoga class, tensions have been rising across UK cities. The stabbing fueled a wave of online misinformation, which included false claims that the Southport attacker was an immigrant who had arrived in the UK illegally.

UK police have confirmed that the 17-year-old attacker was born in the Welsh capital of Cardiff.

Joe Mulhall, Director of Research at Hope Not Hate – a charity which campaigns against racism and fascism – has warned that the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has become a central space for the spreading of dangerous disinformation and the promotion of the protests.

“A number of the most important figures spreading disinformation and exacerbating tensions, most notably Stephen Lennon (a.k.a. Tommy Robinson), had previously been de-platformed on X but have been given their accounts back since Elon Musk took control of the platform.

“This has resulted in far-right extremists once again being able to reach millions of people with their dangerous and divisive propaganda.”

At least 27 people were killed and scores injured in clashes in Bangladesh on Sunday, as police fired tear gas and lobbed stun grenades to disperse tens of thousands of protesters calling for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign.

The interior ministry declared an indefinite nationwide curfew starting at 6 p.m. (8 a.m. ET) on Sunday, the first time it has taken such a step during the current protests that began last month.

The unrest, which spurred the government to shut down internet services, is its biggest test since deadly protests when Hasina won a fourth straight term in January elections boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Critics of Hasina, along with human rights groups, have accused her government of using excessive force to stamp out the movement, a charge she and her ministers deny.

Demonstrators blocked major highways on Sunday as student protesters launched a non-cooperation program to press for the government’s resignation, and violence spread nationwide.

“Those who are protesting on the streets right now are not students, but terrorists who are out to destabilize the nation,” Hasina said after a national security panel meeting.

“I appeal to our countrymen to suppress these terrorists with a strong hand.”

Two construction workers were killed on their way to work and 30 injured in the central district of Munsiganj, during a three-way clash of protesters, police and ruling party activists, witnesses said.

“They were brought dead to the hospital with bullet wounds,” said Abu Hena Mohammad Jamal, the superintendent of the district hospital.

Police said they had not fired any bullets, however, when some improvised explosives were detonated and the area turned into a battleground.

In the northeastern district of Pabna, at least three people were killed and 50 injured during a clash between protesters and activists of Hasina’s ruling Awami League, witnesses said.

Two more were killed in violence in the northern district of Bogura, and five were killed in four other districts, hospital officials said.

“An attack on a hospital is unacceptable,” said Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen after a group vandalized a medical college hospital in Dhaka, the capital. “Everyone should refrain from this.”

For the second time during the recent protests, the government shut down high-speed internet services, mobile operators said, while social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp were not available, even via broadband connections.

Last month, at least 150 people were killed, thousands injured and about 10,000 arrested in violence touched off by demonstrations led by student groups protesting against quotas for government jobs.

The protests paused after the Supreme Court scrapped most quotas, but students returned to the streets in sporadic protests last week, demanding justice for the families of those killed.

The US, UK and France are among several countries urging their citizens to leave Lebanon as heightened tensions in the region spark fears of a widening Middle East conflict.

The US Embassy in Lebanon called on citizens to book “any ticket available to them.” Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said his message for British citizens was “leave now.”

The region is on high alert after Iran vowed revenge on Israel, who it blames for the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in the capital Tehran earlier this week. Haniyeh’s death came just hours after an Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut killed Hezbollah’s most senior military commander, Fu’ad Shukr.

The developments have raised concerns that Israel’s war in Gaza, which is now well into its ninth month, could spill over into a full-blown Middle Eastern conflict.

It is thought that Lebanon-based Hezbollah could play a prominent part in any such retaliation. The militant group has been involved in daily exchanges of fire with Israel; overnight on Saturday Hezbollah fired 30 projectiles, most of which were intercepted by Israel.

Many countries already had travel warnings in place but have issued fresh advice in the wake of the latest developments.

France told its citizens to make arrangements to leave Lebanon “as soon as possible” in a statement from the Ministry for Europe and Foreign affairs on Sunday.

Jordan issued a similar warning to its citizens. The country was involved in shooting down Iranian drones when Iran launched unprecedented retaliatory strikes in April for a suspected Israeli attack on a diplomatic complex.

Iran’s state news agency (IRNA) reported that the Foreign Minister of Jordan will make a rare visit to the Iranian capital Tehran on Sunday, to “meet and exchange views with Iranian officials regarding bilateral, regional and international issues.”

Airlines including Air France, Lufthansa and Kuwaiti Airlines have already cancelled flights to and from Lebanon while others diverted flights away from the country.

In a further sign of the region bracing for an Iranian retaliation, the US on Saturday sent a carrier strike group, a fighter squadron and additional warships to the Middle East. It marked perhaps the largest movement of US forces to the region since the early days of the Gaza war, when the Pentagon sent two carrier strike groups toward the Middle East in a very public warning to regional militant groups not to expand the fighting.

Israel says it is ready for “range of scenarios” following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.

Israelis have been stocking up on supplies, while a file from the Jerusalem municipality advised residents to “clean and prepare their bomb shelters,” warning they must be able to reach shelters in 90 seconds.

Two people have been killed in a stabbing attack in the Israeli city of Holon, near Tel Aviv, medical officials have said.

The two killed were a 66-year-old woman and an “approximately 80-year-old man,” medical officials said. Two others were injured.

Police said the attacker was a West Bank resident and was “neutralized” at the scene. He was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

A large police presence is at the scene conducting “extensive searches with a helicopter and other means,” a police spokesperson added.

Israel’s Minister for State Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited the site of the attack and repeated a call for Israelis to arm themselves.

“I share in the grief of the families and wish a full recovery to the wounded. Our war is not only against Iran, but here in the streets. This is exactly why we armed the people of Israel. More than 150,000 licenses for weapons in the last eight months,” he said, urging people to “carry a weapon, it saves lives.”

Palestinian militant groups celebrated the attack in Holon with the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella organisation of armed groups, and the Al-Qassam Brigades posting messages of support on their social media channels.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Ukraine’s military has claimed it sank a Russian submarine in a port in Crimea, in what would be another major setback for Moscow in the occupied peninsula.

The submarine Rostov-on-Don was hit in the port of Sevastopol on Friday, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in a statement Saturday.

“The boat sank on the spot,” the General Staff said, without providing further evidence.

If confirmed, the sinking would be Ukraine’s latest blow to Russia’s navy, which Kyiv claims has already lost a third of its Black Sea Fleet.

The alleged loss of the Rostov-on-Don “proves once again that there is no safe place for the Russian fleet in Ukrainian territorial waters of the Black Sea,” the General Staff said.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry hailed the attack, saying in a post on social media that “a Russian submarine went to the bottom of the Black Sea” after it was attacked in Sevastopol’s port. “As a result of the attack, the submarine sank. Great work, warriors.”

Russia has occupied Crimea since its forces annexed the peninsula in 2014. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine more than two years ago, it has come under sporadic attack from Kyiv’s forces.

The Russian-appointed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said submarine defense exercises were taking place on Saturday, and “everything is calm in the city.”

On a post on Saturday, Russian military blogger Boris Rozhin said the ship repair plant in Sevastopol, where the submarine was docked, appears to have been hit.

Commissioned in 2014, the Rostov-on-Don is a 73.8-meter (242-foot) Kilo II-class submarine and carries a crew of 52. With a submerged displacement of 3,100 tons, the diesel-electric-powered vessel can carry Kalibr cruise missiles.

“Hitting this submarine is a big, big deal,” Leighton said.

Ukraine has targeted the Rostov-on-Don before.

The submarine was “severely damaged” in a Ukrainian missile attack in September 2023, according to Ukraine’s General Staff. After that attack, open-source intelligence photos, including ones cited by Britain’s defense ministry, showed what the ministry said was “catastrophic damage.”

But Ukraine’s General Staff said the Rostov-on-Don was repaired and recently tested in the waters of Sevastopol harbor.

Kyiv’s forces have enjoyed sustained successes targeting Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, with either missile strikes or sea drone attacks.

More than 20 Russian naval vessels have now been disabled or destroyed, a third of the entire fleet. Though Ukraine has virtually no navy of its own, technological innovation, audacity and Russian incompetence have given it the upper hand in much of the Black Sea.

Russia’s worst naval loss of the war was the sinking of the guided-missile cruiser Moskva in April 2022.

In October last year, satellite imagery indicated that Russia relocated some of its naval ships away from Sevastopol after a series of Ukrainian attacks.

In addition to striking the submarine, Ukrainian forces also severely damaged four S-400 anti-aircraft missile launchers on Friday, the Ukrainian General Staff said.

Leighton said destruction of the anti-aircraft batteries could help open up the skies over Crimea for Ukrainian warplanes to take on more Russian targets on the occupied peninsula.

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu celebrates what he sees as major victories against Hamas and Hezbollah this week, the mood in Tel Aviv is far from celebratory.

Often bustling with crowds on a weekend, the coastal city of more than 400,000 residents was quieter than usual, with some attributing the subdued mood to fears of an Iranian attack in retaliation to the assassinations carried out against Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in recent days.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was on “high alert,” and Israeli supermarkets are reporting a spike in shopping for basic goods as citizens stock up.

On Wednesday, Netanyahu said that his country “struck crushing blows” to the “the three H’s” – Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah, all Iranian-backed, all fierce Israeli foes. The prime minister was celebrating the assassination of Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, Hezbollah military commander Fu’ad Shukr and retaliatory strikes on the Houthis in Yemen last month.

Hamas also blamed Israel for the assassination of their political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed on Wednesday in Tehran. Israel has not commented on the killing.

Netanyahu’s tone stands at odds with the mood on the ground in Tel Aviv, including among families of the hostages still in Gaza.

Four of Yifat Zailer’s relatives are still held in Gaza by Hamas – Zailer’s cousin Shiri and her husband Yarden, along with their two sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, who spent his first birthday in captivity in January.

The Bibas boys remain the youngest of 111 hostages still held in Gaza since October 7, according to Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“I feel they (the government) don’t hear it’s enough; I feel they don’t hear the people on the streets shouting, that our priority is getting the hostages back,” Zailer said.

Polls have repeatedly shown that most Israelis prioritize the release of hostages over continued war.

A recent survey conducted by independent research center the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) showed that 56% of Israelis support a deal to release all the hostages and end the war in Gaza. It also showed that most right-wing Israelis have a greater appetite for the war.

“A large majority of those on the left and in the center consider a deal for the release of hostages to be the highest priority,” the survey said, “while the majority on the right prioritize a military operation in Rafah.”

Zailer’s family was taken from Kibbutz Nir Or on October 7, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage, according to Israeli authorities. Israel retaliated by waging a war in Gaza, which Palestinian authorities say killed more than 39,000 people in the enclave, most of whom are women and children.

The war has also displaced almost all of Gaza’s population, flattened much of the strip and triggered a humanitarian crisis. But Netanyahu has said that the war will continue until Hamas is eliminated, a goal deemed unrealistic by his critics.

Hopes that a deal that would release Zailer’s family, along with the more than 100 other hostages, have ebbed and flowed throughout the past ten months of war. The spike in tensions last week only raised the worst of fears.

Zailer worries she will wake up one day to find that all the hostages had been killed, she said, “because they (Hamas) decided they have nothing to gain out of them.”

‘We’re waiting for an attack’

As families worry for their loved ones in Gaza, those in Israel are bracing for a possible Iranian retaliation, a move that could plunge the Middle East into an all-out war that drags in other regional players and potentially the United States.

On Tel Aviv’s main beach promenade, some Israelis are spending their Saturday swimming and surfing, knowing an Iranian attack could hit their city at any moment.

“The achievements (assassinations) are good, but let’s get this thing over with. Let’s get out. Let’s finish this thing. We’re tired, everyone is tired,” Oved said.

Alona Lelchuk, 31, said this war feels different, however, mainly because there are hostages still in captivity.

Netanyahu has been accused of losing focus of one of the main purposes of the war, which was to bring back those kidnapped. Without a ceasefire deal, they are unlikely to come home. But the Israeli leader has been under pressure from far-right ministers of his coalition to delay a ceasefire deal and press on with the war in Gaza, which today shows few signs of ending.

Even before the last escalation, the prime minister has been accused by critics of obstructing negotiations leading to a deal, and instead clinging to an extended war in efforts to ensure his political survival and that of his coalition.

Zailer is worried that as the war drags on and the death tolls rise in Gaza, her concerns for the hostages become less and less “legitimate” in the eyes of the world, especially as Israel increasingly loses international support for its military campaign in the Palestinian enclave.

She also worries for the children, Israeli and Palestinian, who will be forced to grow up with the wounds of this drawn-out war.