NewsLite

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian air defences intercepted nearly 900 Ukrainian drones overnight over multiple regions of the country, as well as the occupied Crimean Peninsula and the Sea of Azov, the Defence Ministry in Moscow said Tuesday (Oct 6).

Unconfirmed media reports said a major fuel depot in the Moscow region was on fire after the attack that killed two people.

Ukraine's domestically developed long-range drones and, increasingly, missiles have allowed Kyiv to hit Russian soil during the more than four-and-a-half-years since Moscow's forces launched a full-scale invasion. It has hit targets as far east as the Urals and Siberia.

The bigger Russian military's air superiority during the war has made aerial attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine routine.

SUBANG JAYA — An e-hailing driver tested positive for methamphetamine in a urine screening test after a crash on the New Pantai Expressway (NPE) that killed a 22-year-old female student from the Maldives, Harian Metro reported.

The 37-year-old driver was carrying two Maldivian women when his Perodua Ativa collided with a Proton S70 near the PJS Toll Plaza at about 8.48pm on Sunday (Oct 4), according to Subang Jaya district police chief Assistant Commissioner Wan Azlan Wan Mamat.

Police said the Ativa spun and overturned in the middle of the road following the impact.

"One of the passengers was trapped in the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, while the other was injured," Wan Azlan was quoted as saying.

PERTH — Oil prices rose on Wednesday (Oct 7) as the market weighed supply constraints from a storm heading for US oil-producing regions and attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi Arabia against increased supplies of Middle East crude.

Brent futures rose 93 cents, or 0.92 per cent, to US$101.51 (S$129) a barrel by 12.22am GMT (8.22am SGT). US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 82 cents, or 0.92 per cent, to US$90.25.

US forecasters said on Tuesday a storm forming in the Gulf of Mexico would become the first Atlantic hurricane of 2026 within two days and would likely hit oil and gas producing facilities.

The offshore areas in the Gulf in the storm's path produce 15 per cent of US crude oil and five per cent of the country's natural gas.

SEOU — North Korea criticised the US over its arms sales and military support for Taiwan, accusing Washington of fuelling tensions in the Taiwan Strait, state media KCNA said on Wednesday (Oct 7).

A KCNA commentary citing North Korean international affairs analyst Kim Myong-chol said US policy on Taiwan was undermining peace and stability in the region.

The commentary condemned the appearance of US-sold fighter aircraft in Taiwan, saying the US "should think twice whether it is ready to stand in frontal confrontation with the powerful national power of the People's Republic of China for the security of Taiwan and whether it can cope with its consequences".

The first two of a batch of 66 new F-16V Block 70 fighter jets ordered in 2019 arrived in Taiwan last week, as Taiwan faces a rising military threat from Beijing which claims the democratically governed island as its own territory.

A prison officer's intense caning demonstration at a prison in Malacca, Malaysia, has caught attention online after a video of the session was posted on social media.

In a video shared on Threads by myrul_arif on Tuesday (Oct 6), the officer can be seen demonstrating how a prisoner would be caned using a dummy.

Demonstrating the motions involved in judicial caning, he repeatedly swings the cane in wide, forceful arcs, building up momentum before striking the dummy.

The demonstration gets so vigorous that the identification card attached to the officer's uniform is knocked loose, prompting him to take it off.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentina is girding itself for the once-unimaginable prospect of a national team without football great Lionel Messi.

On Tuesday (Oct 6), the 39-year-old Messi is set to bid farewell to international football after 21 years, 125 goals, two Copa America titles and a World Cup championship. What would otherwise be an unremarkable friendly match against the West African nation of Benin has become the moment that this football-crazed country has long dreaded.

"It feels like an era is ending, knowing he won't play for the national team anymore," said Valentino Ruso, 17, who was heading to a friend's house in Buenos Aires to watch the game. "I'm sad. I think everyone is upset today. He will be missed."

Argentines have had an intense, often unforgiving relationship with the shy boy who left his hometown of Rosario at 13 for the youth academy of Spanish club Barcelona. As he grew into a global icon of near-mythical stature, his compatriots adored and abused him, doubted his commitment and accused him of indifference to his own country.

Residents in the northern and southern regions woke up to slightly improved air quality on Wednesday (Oct 7), after 24-hour Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) reading turned high-moderate overnight.

At 8am, PSI in central (130), eastern (119) and western (118) Singapore were in the unhealthy range.

Meanwhile, one-hour PM2.5 in the same three regions are in the elevated band, with western Singapore recording the highest concentration reading of 80.

PM2.5 concentration readings in the northern and southern regions were in the normal band.

A landlord secretly entered his female tenant's room while she was away and took her undergarments to perform a lewd act.

CCTV camera caught the Filipino man, 61, committing the obscene act on at least two occasions, reported Shin Min Daily News on Monday (Oct 5).

The Singapore permanent resident was recently sentenced to three weeks' jail.

He cannot be named as the court imposed a gag order to protect the female victim.

Saudi Arabia said three people were injured in the latest attacks on its airports since fighting with Yemen's Houthi rebels reignited.

Meanwhile, Palestinian officials said Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City killed two people, while condemning home demolitions in east Jerusalem and violence in the occupied West Bank.

Israelis are readying to mark the third anniversary of the Palestinian militant Hamas group's Oct. 7, 2023 attack as conflict in the Middle East has spread to include Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said airports in the cities of Najran and Jizan were hit on Monday (Oct 5), damaging both facilities and leaving three lightly injured. The statement didn't say who was responsible, but followed an announcement by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels that they fired missiles and drones at the kingdom.

A Haji Lane retailer has accused two secondary school students of stealing cameras from his shop, but a male teen allegedly implicated in the case has denied the allegation and lodged a police report.

Digicam Diaries SG took to TikTok on Sunday (Oct 4) to allege that a pair were involved in the incident.

In the posts, which have since been deleted, the retailer shared a 12-second clip showing the two students entering the shop and walking towards a shelf of cameras.

The girl is then seen picking up a camera with her back to the CCTV camera.