A parliamentary employee’s home and offices raided amid accusations they were ‘paid to promote Russian propaganda’

Ukrainian military shot down 13 drones out of 14 launched by Russia in an overnight attack on three regions, the country’s air force said on the Telegram messaging app on Wednesday.

Drone debris fell on energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s northwestern region of Rivne, governor Oleksandr Koval said on Telegram. The attack triggered a defence mechanism that cut power to some localities, although it has since been restored, Reuters reported.

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© Photograph: Jean-François Badias/AP

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© Photograph: Jean-François Badias/AP

Court may order a halt to offensive, in what would be another sign of growing international isolation for Benjamin Netanyahu

The international court of justice is expected to issue a new ruling on Israel’s conduct of its war in Gaza at 3pm (1400 BST) on Friday, as the US expressed concern over Israel’s growing diplomatic isolation among countries that have traditionally supported it.

Amid speculation that the ICJ could order a halt to Israel’s offensive, a second top global court – the international criminal court – identified the three judges who will hear a request for arrest warrants against Hamas leaders, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and its defence minister, Yoav Gallant.

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© Photograph: Mohammed Salem/Reuters

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© Photograph: Mohammed Salem/Reuters

Israel indicates agreement involving defence pact with US is not possible if Palestinian state is a condition

The US is worried that Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, may be willing to torpedo a potential normalisation deal with Saudi Arabia if it entails ending the war in Gaza and committing to working towards a two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, told the Senate’s foreign relations committee on Tuesday: “There’s an opportunity for Israel to become integrated in the region, to get the fundamental security it needs and wants, to have the relationships it’s wanted since its founding. The Saudis have been clear that this would require calm in Gaza and a credible pathway to a Palestinian state,” he said, adding: “It may well be at this moment, Israel is not able or willing to proceed down this pathway.”

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© Photograph: Mariam Zuhaib/AP

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© Photograph: Mariam Zuhaib/AP

I thought this would finally be the year – but no. Oh well, I can’t find my way from my house anyway

Nice weather is here! The sun is out and the papers and the internet are filling with their annual offers of help. This is my year, at last – I can feel it! The Summer Style Dilemmas Solved are finally going to work for me! I peruse them eagerly, as I have done for the last 30 years and more, hope undimmed in my increasingly mottled and scraggy breast. But no – no, my hopes are quickly dashed. One again, this year, it seems that my Summer Style Dilemmas can only be solved by losing half my body weight and/or going back in time and making sure one of my parents mates with a gazelle instead.

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© Photograph: Hollie Adams/Getty Images

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© Photograph: Hollie Adams/Getty Images

The new U.S. approach to cyberthreats comes as early optimism about a “global internet” connecting the world has been shattered.

© Jeff Chiu/Associated Press