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00:00The German government is looking to reach an agreement with the Taliban to take back convicted Afghan migrants.
00:10Russia launches one of its largest aerial attacks on Ukraine since its full-scale invasion, with Kyiv being its main target.
00:20A power outage hit Prague and other areas of the Czech Republic, bringing public transport and trains to a standstill.
00:30Germany wants to negotiate a direct agreement with the Taliban to take back Afghan nationals set for deportation.
00:41Berlin suspended deportations after the group returned to power in 2021, but resumed flights in August last year with the support of regional partners.
00:51My idea is that we make agreements directly with Afghanistan to enable repatriations, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrin said in an interview on Thursday, adding that a similar deal is being discussed with Syria.
01:06Germany does not currently recognize the Taliban government and maintains no official diplomatic ties with Kabul.
01:17On Friday, the United Nations criticized plans to strike a deal with the group, saying it was, quote, not appropriate to return people to Afghanistan due to documented human rights violations.
01:31Migration was a key issue as Germans headed to the polls to vote in last February's SNAP federal elections.
01:40Russia became the first country in the world to formally recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan since the group seized power in 2021.
01:56The decision follows shortly after Moscow's top court removed the group's terrorist designation in April.
02:02Relations between the two countries have been historically complex. However, Russia in recent years sought to deepen its ties with Afghanistan.
02:17A barrage of 550 drones and 11 missiles targeted Ukraine overnight into Friday.
02:24Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was one of the largest scale aerial attacks since Russia's invasion began in 2022.
02:34The attack, mainly targeting Kyiv, injured at least 23 people and left damage across multiple districts of the capital, according to local authorities.
02:43Multiple residential buildings, a school, a medical center, and a large amount of civilian infrastructure were damaged in the attacks, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko.
02:56Russia hit eight locations with nine missiles and 63 drones, igniting fires in at least five of Kyiv's ten districts, as falling debris also caused damage in 33 parts of the city.
03:09Ukraine's air defense said it shot down 270 of the UAVs, including two cruise missiles.
03:17The attack came hours after a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin,
03:25and just days after the U.S. said it would pause some arms shipments to Ukraine.
03:30As a deadly heat wave sweeps Europe, extreme weather sparked wildfires in Turkey, which took the life of an 81-year-old man.
03:43Hundreds of firefighters, supported by aircraft and helicopters, were deployed on Thursday to extinguish a wildfire blazing in the Turkish coastal town of Kesme.
03:54Turkey has, in the past week, battled hundreds of fires across the country that were fueled by fierce winds, scorching heat and low humidity.
04:05The fires, most of which have now been extinguished, led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.
04:12According to experts, Italy and the rest of southern Europe will face the worst of the heat wave on Friday.
04:21Italy's health ministry has said 17 of the country's 27 major cities were experiencing a heat wave.
04:29Earlier in the week, at least two people died there.
04:31Authorities say expanding urban greenery is key to lowering temperatures.
04:37Shaded areas can be up to five degrees cooler.
04:42In the Swiss canton of Argo, the extreme heat caused a nuclear power plant to be partially disconnected from the electricity grid.
04:50The plant's operator said the reason for the shutdown was the high water temperature of a nearby river.
04:55Discharging the plant's heated water into the already overheated river would endanger Swiss wildlife.
05:05A major power outage hit Prague and other areas of the Czech Republic on Friday, bringing public transport and trains to a standstill.
05:13Czech hospitals were immediately switched to an emergency power supply and local media reported that the capital's international airport was not affected.
05:23I'm waiting to see if there will be the whole transport, where the blackout ends.
05:30I don't know.
05:31I'm traveling to the airport and I'm waiting.
05:34It's about 46 minutes, 45 minutes, so I'm still waiting.
05:39Do you have any information about that?
05:41I don't know.
05:42I'm just waiting on the table, so I'm waiting.
05:44Prime Minister Peter Fiala said authorities were investigating the cause and were working to resolve the issue.
05:53It was not immediately clear what caused the outage.
05:56However, officials ruled out a cyber attack.
05:58At least 21 people have been injured in an explosion at a petrol station in Rome on Friday, according to reports.
06:15None of the injured, which include eight police officers, a firefighter and an emergency operator, are in serious condition.
06:22But a few suffered from minor burns and shattered glass from the explosion.
06:29The fire brigade said the accident was caused by a technical fault during refueling.
06:37Rome's mayor Roberto Guartieri said two chain explosions followed after firefighters arrived,
06:45with the shock wave causing damage to surrounding buildings and vehicles catching fire.
06:50Residents said the explosion was so strong it felt like an earthquake and the blast was heard in other parts of the city.
07:05The UK's Deputy Prime Minister was in Liverpool for a conference when she heard about Diogo Jota's death.
07:12Accompanied by the city's mayor, she made a point of being present outside the club's stadium.
07:17She's joined the tribute to one of Anfield's best-loved players.
07:24He's done an incredible job here at Liverpool Football Club.
07:27One of their greatest strikers and, you know, just getting married, having his young children,
07:33looking forward to all the great things that he was going to do here and in his life and it's just so heartbreaking.
07:37The head of the British government was in London but also reacted to the tragedy.
07:43This is devastating news and I'm sure I speak for everyone in saying our first thoughts are going to be with his family and his friends in particular.
07:59There are millions of Liverpool fans but also football fans and non-fans who will also be shocked by this.
08:05In Portugal, the President of the Republic mourned a premature death.
08:10He highlighted a player who he had said represented Portuguese soccer at the highest level.
08:16The Prime Minister also highlighted Jota's legacy as an athlete who greatly honoured the country's name.
08:22Cristiano Ronaldo spoke of a tragedy that makes no sense.
08:25He recalled that he'd recently been with Jota in the national team and that his colleague had just got married.
08:33The former Portugal international left his mark on the national team and in England.
08:38For Liverpool, he won the championship last season.
08:41You don't know these people personally but when you do lose somebody in this fashion, it's devastating.
08:49It's going to affect everybody. It's like losing somebody that's really, really close to you.
08:52In Liverpool, the clubs flagged by the stadium and that of the town hall were flown at half-mast as a sign of mourning.
09:07China's first domestically built aircraft carrier docked in Hong Kong where it will be open to public visits over the weekend.
09:14Local media reported that residents had already bought all 10,000 tickets for the public tours.
09:19It comes as part of Beijing's campaign to foster national pride in Hong Kong, especially after widespread anti-government protests took place in 2019.
09:31The campaign also comes just days before the territory marked the 20th anniversary of its handover from British to Chinese sovereignty.
09:40Hong Kong retains some semi-autonomous status but its military and foreign affairs remain under control of Beijing.
09:47In April, the carrier was dispatched for exercises in the eastern maritime and airspace surrounding Taiwan.
09:55A month later, it carried out joint drills in the Pacific in a show of increasing naval ambition.
10:01Michael Madsen, whose menacing characters in Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill made him a standout in Quentin Tarantino's films, has died at the age of 66.
10:15He was found unresponsive in Malibu, California on Thursday morning and pronounced dead.
10:23Madsen is believed to have died of natural causes and authorities do not suspect any foul play was involved.
10:29His manager, Ron Smith, said cardiac arrest was the apparent cause.
10:41The U.S. Congress has passed President Donald Trump's huge tax breaks and spending cuts bill,
10:47bringing an end to days of debate and overnight voting in the capital.
10:53House Republicans propelled the $4.5 trillion Big Beautiful Bill to final congressional passage on Thursday,
11:02overcoming multiple setbacks to approve Trump's signature second-term policy package before a 4th of July deadline.
11:09GOP leaders worked overnight, and the president himself leaned on a handful of skeptics to drop their opposition and send the bill to him to sign into law.
11:20The motion is adopted.
11:22Democrats had been unified in opposition of the bill, with protests taking place across the country.
11:28According to them, the nation's social safety net would face massive changes under the bill.
11:34This includes access to health insurance, food assistance and health services.
11:42Supporters say the measures would save taxpayers money and block fraud.
