World News Roundup: Spanish prosecutor files complaint against Rubiales for sexual assault and coercion; G20 members 'almost ready' with leaders' declaration, India says and more
Minister Kanja Sesay told Reuters that the outstanding amount "was accrued over time because the government subsidises more than half the cost the ship charges per kilowatt hour". North Korea unveils first tactical, nuclear-armed submarine North Korea has launched its first operational "tactical nuclear attack submarine" and assigned it to the fleet that patrols the waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan, state media said on Friday.
Following is a summary of current world news briefs.
Spanish prosecutor files complaint against Rubiales for sexual assault and coercion
A Spanish prosecutor said on Friday she had filed a complaint with the High Court against suspended soccer federation President Luis Rubiales for sexual assault and coercion over the allegedly unsolicited kiss on the lips of player Jenni Hermoso. Prosecutor Marta Durantez Gil's decision came three days after Hermoso lodged a criminal complaint. It is up to the court to present formal charges.
G20 members 'almost ready' with leaders' declaration, India says
G20 countries have almost finalised a declaration for the weekend summit of its leaders, host India said on Friday, suggesting that negotiators had made progress in bridging differences in the group over the war in Ukraine. The streets of the usually bustling capital New Delhi were deserted ahead of the summit with businesses, offices and schools closed as part of security measures to ensure the smooth running of the meeting, the most high-powered to be hosted by the country.
Syrians tear down poster of Assad in Sweida as protests swell
Demonstrators in the southern Syrian city of Sweida tore down a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad on Friday as anti-government protests that began three weeks ago swelled with crowds coming in from surrounding villages. In footage posted on activist pages, a group of men could be seen ripping a banner portraying Assad's face that was hanging above the local branch of the Farmers' Union.
Human-machine teams driven by AI are about to reshape warfare
Some technology experts believe innovative commercial software developers now entering the arms market are challenging the dominance of the traditional defense industry, which produces big-ticket weapons, sometimes at glacial speed. It is too early to say if big, human-crewed weapons like submarines or reconnaissance helicopters will go the way of the battleship, which was rendered obsolete with the rise of air power. But aerial, land and underwater robots, teamed with humans, are poised to play a major role in warfare.
Four killed, scores wounded in Russian air strikes on Ukraine
Four people were killed and scores wounded on Friday in Russian air strikes on Ukraine, including a deadly attack in which a missile slammed into a police building in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's hometown. In the latest wave of aerial attacks since Russia's invasion last year, two women and a 46-year-old man were killed in the village of Odradakamianka in the southern region of Kherson, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.
Hong Kong, Shenzhen deluged by heaviest rain on record
The heaviest rain since records began 140 years ago drenched Asian financial hub Hong Kong on Friday, killing two people and injuring more than 100, media reported, as unusually wet weather caused by typhoons brought more disruption to southern China. Videos showed water cascading down steep hillsides in the former British colony, flooding waist-deep in narrow streets, and inundating malls, metro stations and tunnels.
New submarines and nuclear drones: Why is North Korea developing its navy?
Over the past year North Korea has moved to boost its navy with new nuclear weapons, including an underwater drone, warships, and its first operational missile submarine, unveiled on Friday. North Korea's navy has historically been dwarfed by the country's land forces, and overshadowed by its rapidly advancing ballistic missile program.
Russia says it has repelled numerous Ukrainian attacks along front line
Russia said on Friday it had repelled numerous Ukrainian attacks along the front line and inflicted hundreds of losses on enemy forces, challenging Kyiv's assertion that Ukraine was making slow but steady progress in a counteroffensive. Russia controls about 18% of Ukrainian territory, including Crimea which it annexed in 2014 and a swathe of eastern and southern Ukraine which it took control of in 2022.
Sierra Leone hit by power cuts after Turkish power ship switches off supply
Sierra Leone's capital Freetown has been hit by power cuts after Turkey's Karpowership switched off the electricity supply due to an unpaid debt of around $40 million, the energy minister said on Friday. Minister Kanja Sesay told Reuters that the outstanding amount "was accrued over time because the government subsidises more than half the cost the ship charges per kilowatt hour".
North Korea unveils first tactical, nuclear-armed submarine
North Korea has launched its first operational "tactical nuclear attack submarine" and assigned it to the fleet that patrols the waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan, state media said on Friday. Submarine No. 841 - named Hero Kim Kun Ok after a North Korean historical figure - will be one of the main "underwater offensive means of the naval force" of North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un said at the launch ceremony on Wednesday.