Putin accuses Kyiv of seeking to ‘frighten’ Russians after Moscow drone attack; EU official says import restrictions on Ukraine grain should be extended

Russian president, Vladimir Putin, accused Ukraine of seeking to “frighten” Russians after Moscow was targeted with a large-scale drone attack for the first time in the 15-month war. He said that Ukraine had chosen the path of attempting “to intimidate Russia, Russian citizens [with] attacks on residential buildings” and added that the drone attacks were “clearly a sign of terrorist activity.”

Ukrainian presidential aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, denied Ukraine was involved. However, he did he predict “an increase in the number of attacks”.

One of the drones used in Tuesday morning’s raid on Moscow appears to have been a Ukrainian manufactured UJ 22 drone produced by the Ukrjet company. Alleged footage of the drone, captured in flight during the attack, appears to match released images of the unmanned aerial vehicle which Russia has claimed has been used in other attempted attacks.

James Cleverly, the UK’s foreign secretary, told reporters that Ukraine has the “legitimate right” to defend itself and can “project force” beyond its borders. At a news conference in Estonia on Tuesday, Cleverly said: “[Ukraine] has the right to project force beyond its borders to undermine Russia’s ability to project force into Ukraine itself.”

The Russian defence ministry said eight drones targeted the city overnight but Russian media close to the security services wrote that the number was many times higher, with more than 30 drones participating in the attack.

Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, faced its third air raid in 24 hours on Tuesday morning. Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, confirmed that 20 residents were evacuated from a damaged building. One person died and four were injured in the strike.

Restrictions on grain imports from Ukraine into the EU would need to be extended, the bloc’s agricultural minister said on Tuesday, despite opposition from Kyiv. The restrictions were implemented after complaints from eastern EU countries that a surplus of Ukrainian grain was driving down local prices and affecting local farmers.

Ukraine wants to begin work to make its Danube shipping canal deeper as early as this year, to expand its alternative routes to export grain, deputy minister of renovation and infrastructure, Yuriy Vaskov, said on Tuesday. The push for alternative export routes has taken on urgency during the war, after Russia blocked Ukraine’s traditional export routes via the Black Sea.

Sweden’s accession into Nato is “within reach”, secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday. Sweden formally applied to join Nato last year, but was blocked by Turkey over claims that Kurdish militants had settled in the country. Stoltenberg said it was “possible to reach a solution and enable the decision on full membership for Sweden by “ the Nato summit in July.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine committed to respect the five principles laid out by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to try to safeguard Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The principles included that there should be no attacks on, or from the plant and that no heavy weapons should be housed there.

Ex-leader of Conservatives says Canadian Security Intelligence briefed him on a ‘Chinese-orchestrated campaign’ to manipulate the vote

Canada’s spy agency told former Conservative party leader Erin O’Toole that China campaigned to discredit him and suppress votes ahead of the 2021 election he lost to Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, O’Toole has said.

In a briefing on Friday, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (Csis) informed O’Toole about intelligence saying Beijing had targeted him in 2021, when he was Conservative leader and running to defeat Trudeau.

Creatures dubbed the ambulator roamed across the continent’s arid interior 3.5 million years ago, scientists say

Scientists have identified one of Australia’s first long-distance walkers: a 250kg marsupial with “heeled hands” that roamed across the continent’s arid interior 3.5 million years ago.

Using 3D scanning, Flinders University palaeontologists have described a new group of ancient marsupial, calling it Ambulator – meaning walker or wanderer – for its specific leg and feet adaptations that equipped it to efficiently roam long distances.

‘New chapter’ in economic ties means new opportunities for Australian businesses, minister says

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The free trade deal between Australia and the UK has major exporters excited.

The British high commissioner, Vicki Treadell, on Tuesday handed over the UK’s diplomatic note confirming the completion of the UK’s domestic procedures for entry into force of the trade agreement.

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Study of patients in England with neurological damage related to laughing gas finds group overrepresented

Young people experiencing neurological harm after using laughing gas are most likely to be male and Asian, according to a small study of patients admitted to hospital in England.

Nitrous oxide is the second most common drug used by 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK. It is typically released into balloons from small silver canisters before being inhaled. Rishi Sunak recently announced plans to criminalise the drug.

Court reverses earlier decision by Governor Gavin Newsom not to free woman convicted of killings of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca

A California appeals court said on Tuesday that Leslie Van Houten, who participated in two killings at the direction of cult leader Charles Manson in 1969, should be let out of prison on parole.

The appellate court’s ruling reverses an earlier decision by Gavin Newsom, the state’s governor who rejected parole for Van Houten in 2020. She has been recommended for parole five times since 2016. All of those recommendations were rejected by Newsom or Jerry Brown, California’s former governor.

Sirens sound across Seoul with warning of potential evacuation after North announces plan for its first military spy satellite

North Korea has launched what was described as a space launch vehicle, after announcing a plan to put its first military spy satellite into orbit.

Sirens were heard across Seoul early on Wednesday as the city issued a warning asking citizens to prepare for potential evacuation.

Police were called when the female, called Sundara, was spotted roaming the town on Monday

An 11-month-old red panda surprised workers in Cornwall after escaping from Newquay zoo.

Police received a call on Monday morning about the escaped red panda strolling down the streets of Newquay. Workers at a fruit wholesaler had spotted the creature, whose name is Sundara, and distracted her with an apple to keep her from running off again.

Former Senate staffer who made claim in 2020 appears on Russian media alongside convicted Russian agent in US Maria Butina

Tara Reade, a former Senate staffer who in 2020 accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, said on Tuesday she had defected to Russia.

“I’m still kind of in a daze a bit but I feel very good,” Reade told Sputnik, a Russian press outlet supportive of President Vladimir Putin, while sitting with Maria Butina, a convicted Russian agent jailed in the US but now a member of parliament in Russia.

The incident is the latest in a season of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing this year

A Chinese fighter pilot performed an “unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” near an American surveillance aircraft operating over the South China Sea last week, according to US military.

The incident – which the Pentagon says is part of a pattern of behavior by China – comes at a time of already heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over issues including Taiwan and an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down after traversing the United States earlier this year.

One of Bear River state park’s white heifers had given birth to a snowy calf, who is healthy and runs in circles called ‘zoomies’

The Bear River state park in south-west Wyoming welcomed four brown bison calves this spring and thought the birthing season was finished.

But earlier this month, as staff visited the animals’ pasture, they saw a “little white ball of fluff”, park superintendent Tyfani Sager said.

PM challenged as Cabinet Office battles to withhold Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages from Covid inquiry

Rishi Sunak has been accused of attempting to cover up the actions of ministers during the pandemic as the Cabinet Office intensified its battle to withhold Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages from the Covid inquiry.

The prime minister insisted his government has been cooperating with the investigation but is facing increasing calls from experts and MPs – with some coming from within his own party – to hand over evidence without redactions.

MPs will today finalise the wording of the question in the Indigenous voice to parliament vote

Philip Lowe to be quizzed about next interest rate call

Eyes will be trained on the Reserve Bank of Australia governor during a parliamentary hearing ahead of the June cash rate call.

The company is now the fifth most valuable in the US after investing in artificial intelligence early on

Nvidia saw its valuation soar to $1tn on Tuesday, making it the fifth most valuable American company and one of the first major corporate beneficiaries of the hype around.

The chipmaker has been a major, and in some cases, dominant player in several industries for years. But no development has raised its profile – and its potential windfall – as much as the current excitement around generative AI.

House speaker says he isn’t worried the agreement will fail as prominent rightwinger Chip Roy calls it a ‘turd sandwich’

The Republican speaker of the US House, Kevin McCarthy, insisted on Tuesday that supporting the debt ceiling deal would be “easy” for his party and it was likely to pass despite one prominent rightwinger’s verdict that the proposed agreement is a “turd sandwich”.

Amid loud denunciations from the Republican right and also from closer to the centre, McCarthy said he was not worried the agreement would fail, or that it would threaten his hold on the speaker’s gavel.

Reports say members of DCMS committee will discuss the handling of the issue with executives

MPs are reportedly planning on questioning ITV executives over This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield’s affair with a younger male colleague.

It came as the Prince’s Trust said it has dropped Schofield as an ambassador. “In light of Phillip’s recent admissions, we have agreed with him that it is no longer appropriate to work together,” a spokesperson for the charity said on Tuesday.

Scott Seddon, 26, from Liverpool was being filmed by his partner as the tragedy happened off coast of Rhodes

The partner of a British tourist who died when he was struck by lightning while paddleboarding off Rhodes had beseeched him to return to shore when the storm hit.

Scott Seddon’s girlfriend repeatedly shouted “come out” when it became clear the 26-year-old from Liverpool was struggling in the waters off Agathi beach. The woman, who has not been named, was on land filming Seddon, an accomplished sportsman, with her mobile phone as the tragedy unfolded.

René Olivieri tells Hay festival the charity is in process of deciding what to do about stolen objects in its properties

The National Trust is working on a policy on the return of stolen objects in its properties, the charity’s chair has told the Hay festival.

The restitution or repatriation of objects that were taken from other countries during colonial rule was a huge issue, said René Olivieri, adding: “Provenance needs to come into public access, public benefit.”

Gender-critical feminist’s speech temporarily stopped after protester glues herself to floor

The gender-critical feminist Kathleen Stock was forced to temporarily halt her contested appearance at the Oxford Union after a trans activist glued herself to the debating chamber close to the speaker’s chair.

Stock, who argues that transgender people cannot expect all the rights afforded by biological sex, had been speaking over the sound of up to 200 people protesting outside about her invitation when a group of activists stormed the debating chamber on Tuesday.

Government is raising amount parents can claim by almost 50% from 28 June

Parents claiming universal credit will receive hundreds of pounds more from the end of June, the government has announced.

The Department for Work and Pensions is raising the amount parents can claim by almost 50% from 28 June, it said on Tuesday.