World News Roundup: Russian air strikes destroy Kyiv power plant, damage other stations; Netanyahu not consulted on killing of Haniyeh's sons, Israeli media say and more

The major attack more than two years since Russia's full-scale invasion completely destroyed the Trypilska coal-powered thermal power plant near the capital, a senior official at the company that runs the facility told Reuters. Middle East on alert for Iranian attack as Lufthansa suspends Tehran flights The German airline Lufthansa on Thursday extended the suspension of its flights to Tehran due to the situation in the Middle East, which is on alert for Iranian retaliation for a suspected Israeli air strike on Iran's embassy in Syria.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

One Ukrainian war amputee's return to civilian life

Oleksandr Revtiukh fires a vicious hook at the seasoned fighter facing him. He's in the boxing ring, eight months after losing his left arm and most of his left leg in mine blasts while fighting in Ukraine. Revtiukh follows with a snarling jab. His old life is gone. Only two years ago he had enjoyed a comfortable civilian life as an electronics technician abroad, before he returned to Ukraine to sign up and fight the Russian invasion.

Russia and Kazakhstan battle record floods as rivers rise further

The Russian city of Orenburg battled rising water levels on Thursday after major rivers across Russia and Kazakhstan burst their banks in the worst flooding seen in the areas in nearly a century. The deluge of melt water has forced over 110,000 people from their homes in Russia's Ural Mountains, Siberia and Kazakhstan as major rivers such as the Ural, which flows through Kazakhstan into the Caspian, overwhelmed embankments.

The Ukrainian amputees returning to the front to resist Russian advance

Ukrainian commander Odin's lower leg was blown off in a mine explosion last year. Now he's back in the trenches. "I had offers to go back to my local academy as a teacher or to work at a draft office in Odesa," the 32-year-old from the 28th Separate Mechanised Brigade told Reuters from a cramped bunker on the front line in the eastern region of Donetsk.

Myanmar troops retreat as rebels declare control over key border town

About 200 Myanmar military personnel withdrew to a bridge to Thailand on Thursday after a days-long assault by the anti-junta resistance, which declared it had won control of the critical border town of Myawaddy, the latest in a string of rebel wins. Myanmar's military-run government is battling insurgencies on several fronts and has suffered a series of defeats in frontier areas since last October, when rebel groups launched a coordinated offensive near the Chinese border.

Netanyahu not consulted on killing of Haniyeh's sons, Israeli media say

Israeli forces killed three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in an air strike in Gaza without consulting senior commanders or political leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli media reported on Thursday. Quoting senior Israeli officials, Walla news agency said neither Netanyahu nor Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had been told in advance of the strike, which was coordinated by the Israeli military and the Shin Bet intelligence service.

Russia urges restraint as Iranian threat puts Middle East on edge

Russia urged countries in the Middle East to show restraint and warned against travelling to a region on edge over an Iranian threat to strike Israel, while Germany's Lufthansa extended a suspension of flights to Tehran. Iran has vowed revenge for the April 1 airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus that killed a top Iranian general and six other Iranian military officers, escalating tensions in a region already shaken by the Gaza war.

A decade on, tragedy of Nigeria’s Chibok Girls endures outside the spotlight

Ten years ago, Solomon Maina's daughter, Debora, was one of 276 schoolgirls kidnapped from their dormitory in the middle of the night by Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist militants. Global outrage was swift. A ubiquitous "Bring Back Our Girls" campaign, drawing support from the likes of Michelle Obama and Sylvester Stallone, shined a spotlight on the abductions. Then, in 2016 and 2017, negotiations led to the highly publicised liberation of around 100 of the captives.

Opposition win in South Korea election to deepen policy stalemate for Yoon

South Korea's liberal opposition scored a landslide victory in a parliamentary election, vote counts showed on Thursday, dealing a resounding blow to President Yoon Suk Yeol and his conservative party but falling just short of a super majority. The Democratic Party (DP) was projected to take 175 of the 300 seats in the new assembly, data from the National Election Commission and network broadcasters showed with all votes counted.

Russian air strikes destroy Kyiv power plant, damage other stations

Russian missiles and drones destroyed a large electricity plant near Kyiv and hit power facilities in several regions of Ukraine on Thursday, officials said, ramping up pressure on the embattled energy system as Kyiv runs low on air defences. The major attack more than two years since Russia's full-scale invasion completely destroyed the Trypilska coal-powered thermal power plant near the capital, a senior official at the company that runs the facility told Reuters.

Middle East on alert for Iranian attack as Lufthansa suspends Tehran flights

The German airline Lufthansa on Thursday extended the suspension of its flights to Tehran due to the situation in the Middle East, which is on alert for Iranian retaliation for a suspected Israeli air strike on Iran's embassy in Syria. An Iranian news agency had published an Arabic report on the social media platform X saying all airspace over Tehran had been closed for military drills, but then removed the report and denied issuing such news.

(With inputs from agencies.)