Civilian casualties in Ukraine caused by Russian strikes surged by 26% in 2025, reflecting increased Russian targeting of cities and infrastructure in the country, according to a global conflict monitoring group.
Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) said 2,248 civilians were reported killed and 12,493 injured by explosives violence in Ukraine, according to English-language reports – with the number of casualties in each attack rising significantly.
An average of 4.8 civilians were reported killed or injured in each strike, 33% more than in 2024, with the worst attack taking place in Dnipro on 24 June. Russian missiles hit a passenger train, apartments and schools, killing 21 and injuring 314, including 38 children.
Ukrainian civilian casualties rose by 26% in 2025, researchers say
FBI won’t share Alex Pretti shooting evidence, Minnesota authorities say
Minnesota law enforcement authorities have said the FBI is refusing to share any evidence on its investigation into the death of Alex Pretti, the man killed by federal immigration authorities in late January.
Pretti was shot on 24 January by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials in Minneapolis during the Trump administration’s surge of immigration enforcement operations in the city. His killing came just two weeks after an immigration official shot and killed Renee Good and 10 days after the shooting of Julio C Sosa-Celis.
On Monday, Minnesota’s bureau of criminal apprehension (BCA), a state-level criminal investigative law enforcement agency, said the FBI had formally notified it that it would not share any information or evidence related to Pretti’s shooting.
The Minnesota governor, Tim Walz, has demanded an “impartial” investigation into the shootings in Minneapolis.
“Trump’s left hand cannot investigate his right hand,” he said on Monday in response to the FBI’s refusal to share evidence. “The families of the deceased deserve better.”
Shooting at Rhode Island ice rink leaves at least two people dead
At least two people are dead in an apparent mass shooting at an indoor ice rink in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on Monday afternoon, officials told the WPRI local news outlet.
Police confirmed to the outlet that the suspect is dead. A local sports reporter, Branden Mello, said that one of the shooting victims also died.
The shooting allegedly took place during a boys’ hockey game between two local schools.
Shots came from behind the stands, according to Mello. He also reported that a local father is being hailed as a “hero” after grabbing a gun from the shooter, though the shooter also had a second weapon.
Four people have been taken to the hospital.
Hillary Clinton gets in testy exchange with European leader over Trump
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sparred with Czech Deputy Prime Minister Petr Macinka on Monday at the Munich Security Conference over their views on President Trump’s policies.
Clinton railed against Trump’s betrayal of traditional Western values and institutions, while Macinka, the leader of a right-wing party, framed Trump’s moves as a correction to liberal overreach.
“He has betrayed the West, he’s betrayed human values, he’s betrayed the NATO charter, the Atlantic Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a lot of what has been done before to try to make sense of how difficult it is to restrain people who want unaccountable power,” Clinton said on the panel.
“And none of us in this room, including all of us on this panel, would choose to live under a regime that was so unaccountable that it could act with impunity the way that Putin does, except that’s who Trump is modeling himself as,” she added.
Macinka responded, saying, “First, I think you really don’t like him.”
Olympics turn political as US athletes speak out against Trump
A growing number of Olympic athletes competing for the U.S. in this month’s Winter Games are expressing discomfort with representing the country under President Trump’s administration, sparking intense pushback from the president’s supporters and Trump himself.
Trump attacked U.S. athlete Hunter Hess directly after Hess said he was conflicted about competing for Team USA given the country’s political climate.
“It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now. I think it’s a little hard,” Hess, a freestyle skier, told reporters during a recent press conference. “There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t. Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”
The president in a Truth Social post hours later called Hess a “real loser” and said it is “very hard to root for someone like this” when watching the games.
Hess’s comments came days after Amber Glenn, an American figure skater, decried the administration’s policies toward people in the LGBTQ community.
Robert Duvall, 'Apocalypse Now' and 'The Godfather' icon, dies at 95
Robert Duvall, the Academy Award-winning actor known for his roles in Hollywood classics such as "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now," has died. He was 95.
Duvall died "peacefully" at home on Feb. 15 in Middleburg, Virginia, a representative for the actor confirmed. He was with his wife, Luciana Duvall.
"To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything," Luciana Duvall wrote on Facebook. "His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court.
"For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented. In doing so, he leaves something lasting and unforgettable to us all."
Mayor Mamdani launches $1M Coney Island Business Improvement District
Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Sunday signed the certificate of incorporation creating a new Business Improvement District in Coney Island with a first-year operating budget of up to $1 million.
Speaking on the boardwalk, Mamdani called the move the start of a new chapter for the waterfront neighborhood.
“The launch of the Coney Island Business Improvement District marks a new era of investment in this beloved community,” he said.
The mayor said the BID would bring supplemental sanitation, marketing and business support to the neighborhood ahead of the 2026 summer season, when officials say the area draws more than 5 million visitors each year.
Coney Island will become Brooklyn’s 24th BID and the city’s 78th overall, according to the Department of Small Business Services.
‘I could not stay silent’: Palestinian prisoner tells of sexual abuse in Israeli jail
Sami al-Saei said he heard the Israeli prison guards who raped him laughing through the assault, before they left him lying blindfolded, handcuffed and in agony on the floor to take a cigarette break.
At least one of the group knew a crime was being committed and intervened, not to stop the torture but to prevent its documentation. Al-Saei said he heard the man warning others “don’t take a photo, don’t take a photo” as they attacked.
He bled from his rectum for more than three weeks after the assault, which happened soon after he was detained in February 2024. He described sexual torture that lasted more than 20 minutes including beatings on his buttocks, a guard applying extreme pressure to his genitals, and forced anal penetration with two different objects.
“I tried to prevent them by clenching my muscles (in my anus), but I could not. They forced it in very deep, it was extremely painful,” he said in an interview about his ordeal. “I don’t know how loudly I screamed from the pain.”
It left him in so much pain that he collapsed twice when ordered to stand up and walk afterwards. Moved to an overcrowded cell, al-Saei said he received no medical treatment and was forced to use wads of toilet paper to staunch the blood.
The 47-year-old father of six was held without charge or trial until June 2025. About 40 days after his release, he posted a video on TikTok detailing the attack, defying the extreme social stigma and Israeli warnings against going public about abuse in jails.
“I could not stay silent. I have a moral responsibility to say what happened to me and other prisoners,” he said.
Israeli prisons 'begin preparations to apply death penalty' for Palestinians
The Israeli Prison Service has begun preparations to introduce the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners, Israeli media reported on Sunday.
According to Israel's Channel 13, preparations include the creation of a facility dubbed "Israel's Green Mile", where executions will take place.
Training and procedural preparations have also started, while a delegation from the prison service is expected to visit an East Asian country to study the legal and regulatory framework for implementing capital punishment, the report added.
The move follows the Knesset’s approval of the death penalty bill in its first reading last year, with 39 MPs in favour and 16 against.
The bill must pass two further readings before becoming law.
The report added that executions will be carried out by hanging, with three guards pressing the trigger simultaneously.
Specialist teams, composed entirely of volunteers, will be assigned to the task.
An Israeli source told the channel that death sentences will be carried out within 90 days of the final verdict.
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