Grizzly bears, Grinder and Coola are seen at their habitat at the Grouse Mountain in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on June 12, 2020. Grouse Mountain attracts 1.3 million visitors a year. (Photo by Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
(BELLA COOLA, British Columbia) — A grizzly bear attack has been reported Thursday in the small, remote community of Bella Coola along the Central Coast of Canada’s British Columbia province, according to regional and local officials.
The British Columbia Conservation Office Service, which was deployed to the scene along with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said “initial information suggests several people may have been injured.”
Acwsalcta School, an independent school in Bella Coola run by the Nuxalk Nation, said it will be closed Friday due to the “bear incident,” adding that “it’s hard to know what to say during this very difficult time.”
Nuxalk Nation said the animal “has still not been found” after warning of an “aggressive bear” in the Four Mile subdivision, a forested and residential area in the Bella Coola Valley where Acwsalcta School is located.
Officials also urged people in the area to stay indoors, warning them to not go looking for the bear and to “not go down any trails.”
ABC News has reached out to regional and local officials for more information.
British Columbia is home to an estimated 15,000 grizzly bears, which makes up more than half of the total grizzly population in Canada, according to a 2012 assessment and status report by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
An exterior view of the famous window and balcony two weeks after a robbery at the Louvre in Paris, France, November 3, 2025. The museum was targeted on October 19 by several criminals who smashed windows to steal eight precious royal jewels. (Photo by Adnan Farzat/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(PARIS) — The director of the Louvre in Paris addressed on Wednesday a new security breach at the museum while detailing plans underway to overhaul the facility’s security system in the wake of last month’s $102 million jewel heist.
Laurence des Cars, president and director of the Louvre, appeared before the National Assembly Culture Affairs Committee and was grilled about a new security breach that occurred at the museum last week.
Lawmakers asked the director how two Belgian influencers were able to hang a portrait of themselves on Friday in a gallery housing Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa painting.
Saying she wanted to “put things in perspective,” des Cars said the security breach was one of a string of incidents that have plagued the 232-year-old museum over the years.
“We constantly have incidents in the Louvre’s galleries. Two years ago, it was activists,” des Cars, referring to environmental activists who hurled soup on paintings, a tactic other museums around the world have experienced.
She said the new security apparatus being implemented at the museum will help staff head off such incidents in the future, including the installation of what she described as anti-intrusion systems.
Des Cars said a major security improvement will be the construction of a police station on the grounds of the Louvre.
The director said the police station is among more than 20 “emergency measures” that will be put in place “in the coming days.”
She said the security measures will also include the installation of 100 new security cameras at the Louvre, including cameras to monitor the perimeter of the museum that were severely lacking during the Oct. 19 jewel heist.
The creation of a security coordinator position is also part of the security boost, des Cars said. She also said two galleries that were recently closed will get a security upgrade before they reopen.
Des Cars said the “appalling irony of the situation” is that the Louvre jewel heist occurred as many of the security improvements were being made. She said that between 2022 and 2025, 134 digital cameras were installed throughout the museum as part of a $933 million “Louvre New Renaissance” plan.
“I want to instill a genuine security culture,” said des Cars, adding that she has been calling for the security upgrades since she became the museum’s director in 2022.
Since the robbery at the Louvre, several security issues have emerged, highlighting concerns about the world’s most visited museum.
Among the revelations was that a single perimeter security camera outside the Louvre was not facing the Apollo Gallery, where the robbers used a truck-mounted mechanical cherry picker to reach the gallery and power tools to cut their way in. Earlier this month, a museum employee with knowledge of the security system revealed that the password for the museum’s video surveillance system was simply “Louvre.”
On Monday, the Louvre announced that a public gallery and several offices were being temporarily closed because they had become structurally fragile.
Four suspects have been arrested and charged in the October robbery, but the eight pieces of the French crown jewel collection swiped from the Apollo Gallery have not been recovered, authorities said.
French investigators said the jewel heist from start to getaway took seven minutes.
Prosecutors have not ruled out making more arrests in the case, but said investigators have yet to find any evidence implicating members of the museum staff in the robbery.
ABC News’ Joseph Simonetti contributed to this report.
A photo taken on September 14, 2024, shows seafood at Jimiya fishing port in Qingdao, China, on September 14, 2024. Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images
(HONG KONG) — China will suspend imports of Japanese seafood, according to ABC News partner NHK, escalating a diplomatic dispute triggered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent comments suggesting Tokyo could take military action if China attacks Taiwan.
Chinese authorities said the import halt is necessary to monitor treated wastewater being released from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.
China had only recently resumed buying Japanese marine products after imposing a ban when Japan began releasing the wastewater in 2023 after the Fukushima plant was damaged in the 2011 earthquake.
The move comes as tensions spike between the two countries following Takaichi’s remarks to parliament that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan — a formal classification that could justify a military response. Beijing saw this statement as a challenge to its claim of sovereignty over independent Taiwan.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday that Takaichi’s statements “fundamentally damaged the political foundation of China-Japan relations,” adding that there was “no longer a market for Japanese seafood” as a result.
Japan has since warned its citizens in China to take safety precautions and avoid crowded places. China has also advised its citizens against traveling to Japan and postponed the release of two Japanese films.
A senior Japanese official met his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Tuesday, but the talks made no progress. Chinese diplomat Liu Jinsong later made rare comments to state media, saying he was “dissatisfied” with the meeting.
Mao warned Wednesday that “if Japan refuses to retract its remarks, or even continues to make wrong moves, China will have no choice but to take severe and resolute countermeasures, and Japan will bear all the consequences that arise.”
China has also summoned Japan’s ambassador and publicly warned that Japan would face a “crushing military defeat” if it intervened militarily in Taiwan.
The dispute marks one of the sharpest downturns in relations between China and Japan in recent years, reopening long-standing tensions over security, history and regional influence in the Indo-Pacific.
On Sunday, Chinese coast guard vessels sailed through waters surrounding a group of disputed East China Sea islands. Japan’s coast guard said it drove the ships away. The islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, have long been a flashpoint, particularly since Japan nationalized them in 2012.
Japan also scrambled fighter jets Saturday after China flew a drone between Taiwan and Japan’s Yonaguni Island in a move Tokyo called provocative, though not unprecedented.
Chinese state media and diplomats have escalated rhetoric online, including one consul general who posted, and then deleted, a comment saying “the dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off.”
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass weighed in on social media, criticizing Chinese officials and writing that “Halloween has been and gone” after a Chinese diplomat called Takaichi an “evil witch.”
Meanwhile, China’s travel warning for Japan has added economic pressure as Japanese tourism and retail stocks fell 5% to more than 10% just this week amid fears that a downturn in Chinese visitors, who make up roughly a quarter of all inbound tourism to Japan, could significantly affect the sector.
Japan has attempted to cool tensions by sending senior envoys to Beijing and reiterating that its stance on Taiwan and the “One China” policy has not changed but China’s foreign ministry said Premier Li Qiang does not plan to meet Takaichi during this week’s G20 summit in South Africa.
Japan ruled Taiwan for 50 years beginning in the late 19th century, leaving complex historical, cultural and economic ties.
After World War II, the island was placed under the control of China’s Nationalist government, which later fled to Taiwan after losing the civil war to the Chinese Communist Party. The Communist government in Beijing, however, claims sovereignty over the island despite having never directly governed it.
Japan today maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan but has grown more outspoken about regional security concerns. Several of Japan’s westernmost islands lie approximately 70 miles away from Taiwan.
The dispute is unfolding as competition between the United States and China has been intensifying across the Indo-Pacific as Japan hosts the largest concentration of U.S. military personnel outside the United States.
Washington’s response so far has been measured but firm after Glass’ comments condemning hostile rhetoric from Chinese diplomats as unprofessional and urging de-escalation without directly challenging China’s core claims on Taiwan.
(NEW YORK) — Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll and the Army’s top general have been sent to Ukraine by the Trump administration to meet with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to restart discussions about potential peace talks with Russia, according to a U.S. official.
Driscoll is set to meet with Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s prime minister and other top Ukrainian military officials to talk through a potential peace process and to discuss the United States’ position on the possibility of peace talks.
“Secretary Driscoll and team arrived this morning in Kyiv on behalf of the administration on a fact finding mission to meet with Ukrainian officials and discuss efforts to end the war,” Col. Dave Butler said in a statement on Wednesday confirming his trip.
There is the possibility that in the future Driscoll may meet with Russian officials, a U.S. official told ABC News prior to the team’s landing in Kyiv, adding that it is unclear if Driscoll was bringing a new proposal to restart the talks.
There are no plans for Russian officials to meet with Driscoll, said Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov.
“No, as far as I know, there are no plans in this regard,” Peskov said on Wednesday in response to a question from journalists about Driscoll’s arrival in Kyiv and potential meetings.
Choosing Driscoll to attempt to restart the peace process emerged from a discussion last week between President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Typically, a secretary for one of the military services would not be involved in such an important diplomatic overture, but it is possible that sending a military may be seen favorably by Russia, the official speculated.
Driscoll’s mission to Ukraine was first reported by the The Wall Street Journal.
Accompanying Driscoll are Gen. Randy George, the Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Chris Donahue, the commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, the Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer, and Lt. Gen. Curtis Buzzard who heads the U.S. military assistance program for Ukraine.
Ahead of his trip to Ukraine Driscoll had discussions with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, who has been the administration’s envoy who has worked on peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Stopping in Germany, Driscoll and his delegation participated in additional updates prior to their trip into Ukraine.
Driscoll and George have often pointed to Ukraine’s successful development and use of battlefield drones as a model for how the Army should transform its acquisitions process and quickly produce weapons for a changing battlefield. In addition to their meetings to restart the peace talks the Army leaders will also meet with military and Ukrainian business officials about their drone and weapons development programs.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized the senior military leaders trip to Ukraine since such a visit required his approval.
Andriy Bodak/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — NATO fighter jets were scrambled and ground-based air defense systems put on the highest level of alert in Poland and Romania during a massive and deadly overnight Russian attack on targets across Ukraine, military officials in Warsaw and Bucharest said.
One drone was reported penetrating some 5 miles into Romanian airspace before being lost on radar, the Defense Ministry in Bucharest said in a statement.
At least 20 people were killed in a Russian strike on the western city of Ternopil, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said, where two nine-story residential buildings were hit by Russian munitions. Another 66 people were injured, the ministry said.
“One is on fire, the other has destruction from the third to the ninth floor,” the ministry said of the buildings hit. “About five hundred rescuers and over a hundred units of equipment are working at nine active locations,” the ministry added.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 476 drones and 48 missiles into the country overnight, with Lviv, Ternopil and Kharkiv regions the focus of the attack. The attack was the largest of November to date, according to air force data, and the largest since Russia launched 705 munitions into the country on Oct. 30.
Defenders downed or suppressed 442 drones and 41 missiles, the air force said. Impacts of 34 drones and seven missiles were reported across 14 locations, it added, with falling debris reported in six locations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said attacks were reported all across the country, in regions including Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv and Dnipro.
At least 19 long-range drones attacked the northeastern city of Kharkiv, where local officials said nearly 50 people were injured.
“Every brazen attack against normal life indicates that the pressure on Russia is insufficient,” Zelenskyy wrote in a post to Telegram. “Russia must be held accountable for its actions, and we must focus on everything that strengthens us and allows us to shoot down Russian missiles, neutralize Russian drones and stop assaults.”
In Romania, the Defense Ministry said two German Eurofighters and two Romanian F-16s were deployed “to monitor the airspace at the border with Ukraine, following Russian airstrikes in the vicinity of the river border with Romania.”
One drone was tracked on radar penetrating some 5 miles into Romanian airspace, the ministry said. The drone reappeared on radar intermittently as it traveled along the Moldovan-Romanian border before being lost, the ministry said.
“No cases of impact with the ground of any aerial vehicle have been reported,” it said in a statement. “Teams of specialists are ready to begin field searches.”
A Romanian Defense Ministry spokesperson told ABC News they could not confirm whether the drone was Russian in origin.
In Poland, the Armed Forces Operational Command said fighters were scrambled and air defenses “reached a state of maximum readiness” during the attack.
The alert lasted for around four hours, the command said, with no reported violations of Polish airspace. Polish, Dutch, Norwegian and Spanish fighters were involved in the allied response, it added in a later post, as were German Patriot air defense systems.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed 80 Ukrainian drones overnight into Wednesday morning.
The latest exchanges came as U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George visited Ukraine to meet with Zelenskyy and other top officials.
The White House’s peace push has stalled in recent months. A U.S. official told ABC News that this week’s visit is intended to revive talks and discuss the U.S. position on the possibility of negotiations with Moscow.
Ahead of the trip to Ukraine, Driscoll held discussions with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff.
U.S. Army spokesperson Col. Dave Butler told ABC News on Wednesday that Driscoll and the accompanying team “arrived this morning in Kyiv on behalf of the administration on a fact finding mission to meet with Ukrainian officials and discuss efforts to end the war.”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz addresses the UN Security Council as they meet to vote on a draft resolution to authorize an International Stabilization Force in Gaza, on November 17, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — The United Nations Security Council voted to authorize President Donald Trump’s post-war plan for Gaza, with the president quick to declare it “one of the biggest approvals in the History of the United Nations.”
Trump’s 20-point plan, which was the basis for the ceasefire agreement signed by Israel and Hamas last month, was the subject of the resolution put to the council by the U.S. on Monday.
It was approved by a 13-0 vote, with Russia and China — both of whom wield veto power at the council — abstaining.
The vote gives authorization to the Board of Peace envisioned in Trump’s Gaza plan, which is intended as a transitional authority to oversee the strip’s redevelopment. The board is expected to be chaired by Trump. The only other member proposed by Trump to date is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The vote also gave approval for the International Stabilization Force, which — under the command of the Board of Peace — will provide security, train a new Palestinian police force and ensure the demilitarization of Gaza.
Trump touted the “incredible Vote” as a “moment of true Historic proportion!,” in a post to social media.
But key questions remain regarding both pillars of the Gaza peace effort — the Board of Peace and the International Stabilization Force.
In his social media post, the president said that “members of the Board, and many more exciting announcements, will be made in the coming weeks.” All parties involved in the peace process will be watching closely to see the makeup and political bent of the eventual Board.
Likewise, the composition and capabilities of the International Stabilization Force remains unclear. Ahead of Monday’s vote, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said in a statement that the force would be drawn from “a strong coalition of peacekeepers, many from Muslim-majority nations like Indonesia, Azerbaijan and others.”
“These brave souls will secure Gaza’s streets, they will oversee demilitarization, they will protect civilians and they will escort aid through safe corridors, all while Israel phases out its presence and a vetted Palestinian police force takes on a new role,” Waltz said.
But practical progress has been slower. Earlier this month, for example, a United Arab Emirates presidential adviser said the nation “does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force and under such circumstances will not participate.”
The U.N. said contributing nations will send troops “in close consultation and cooperation” with Egypt and Israel.
But that close cooperation is already blocking some from involvement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for example, said he would not allow Turkish forces to participate.
While negotiations continue as to the makeup of the Board of Peace and International Stabilization Force, the Gaza ceasefire looks far from secure. Hamas agreed to return all living and dead hostages as part of the deal, but three hostage bodies are still thought to be inside Gaza.
Israeli forces have withdrawn to the so-called “yellow line” inside Gaza as stipulated in the deal, but there has already been one short resurgence in fighting since the ceasefire went into effect.
There have also been several instances in which Israeli forces have killed people alleged to have crossed the line. The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said on Sunday that since the ceasefire was signed on Oct. 11, 266 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli actions.
Hamas, meanwhile, said after Monday’s U.N. vote that it will not disarm and that the issue of its weapons cannot be separated from “a political path that ensures the end of the occupation, the establishment of the state and self-determination.”
Netanyahu has said that Israel will disarm Hamas by force if it does not do so voluntarily, or in coordination with the proposed International Stabilization Force.
“We believe that this plan will lead to peace and prosperity, as it includes full demobilization, disarmament and a process to deradicalize Gaza,” Netanyahu said in a statement following Monday’s vote.
“We will also begin the process of demilitarizing and disarming the Gaza Strip and ending Hamas rule,” Netanyahu said.
“Israel extends its hand of peace and prosperity to all its neighbors, and calls on them to normalize relations and join the movement to remove Hamas and its supporters from the region,” the prime minister added.
For all Palestinian factions and influential foreign parties, the issue of Palestinian statehood remains a key and unanswered element of any long-term peace deal.
A slew of nations formally recognized a Palestinian state in September as they pushed Israel and the U.S. to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.
The eventual agreement stated that, if redevelopment in Gaza and significant reform to the Palestinian Authority proceeds, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people.”
That clause prompted significant consternation in Israel, where Netanyahu, his officials and particularly his far-right coalition partners vowed to block any semblance of Palestinian statehood.
Reacting to Monday’s vote, Netanyahu made no comment on that aspect of the blueprint. But just one day before, the prime minister told a cabinet meeting that his opposition to Palestinian statehood “has not changed one bit.”
“I have been rebuffing these attempts for decades and I am doing it both against pressures from outside and against pressures from within,” the prime minister said. “So, I do not need affirmations, tweets or lectures from anyone.”
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart and Jordana Miller contributed to this report.
Nina Liashonok/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Life support facilities and critical infrastructure in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa were forced onto backup power by overnight Russian strikes on energy targets, Ukrainian officials said early Sunday.
“The enemy continues to deliberately strike civilian infrastructure in the southern part of the Odesa region,” Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, wrote on Telegram.
“Despite active air defense efforts, last night strike drones again damaged energy facilities, including a solar power plant,” Kiper added. “Fires that broke out were promptly extinguished by the State Emergency Service units. Fortunately, there were no casualties.”
“Resilience points have been deployed in the affected area,” Kiper wrote. “Life-support facilities and critical infrastructure have been switched to backup power.”
The Ukrainian Energy Ministry confirmed Kiper’s report, saying in social media posts that there was “a power outage” in Odesa as a result of Russian strikes.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched one ballistic missile and 176 drones into the country overnight, of which 139 drones were shot down or suppressed. Thirty-seven drones impacted across 14 locations, the air force said.
Moscow is intensifying its strikes against critical infrastructure — particularly energy targets — all across Ukraine coinciding with the onset of wintry weather, according to Ukrainian officials. Russian forces have targeted energy infrastructure throughout Moscow’s full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement on Sunday that Kyiv is working to enhance its air defenses in cooperation with Western partners. “We have prepared new strong agreements with Europe to significantly strengthen our air defense, our resilience and our diplomacy,” he wrote on Telegram.
The president also said his government is bolstering its energy grid and securing more natural gas supplies in response to Russian attacks.
“We already have agreements in place for financing gas imports — and we will cover nearly 2 billion euros needed for gas imports to compensate for the losses in Ukrainian production caused by Russian strikes,” Zelenskky said in a statement posted to the presidential office website.
Zelenskyy announced a new deal for gas imports from Greece and said Kyiv is working with European Union, American, Norwegian, Polish and Azerbaijani partners to secure more supplies and arrange financing for additional imports.
On Saturday, Zelenskyy said in a statement that the government’s “winter support elements” include the fixing of electricity and gas prices for households, financing of gas imports and the building of equipment reserves for repairs after Russian strikes.
A general view of the aftermath following an overnight wave of Russian strikes on November 14, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Kyiv was attacked by a wave of Russian drones and missiles on the night of November 14, with the Ukrainian president alleging that Russia had launched 430 drones and 18 missiles, damaging dozens of high-rise buildings. Search and rescue operations are ongoing as damage is reported across nine districts of the capital. (Photo by Maksym Kishka/Frontliner/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — At least six people have been killed and 35 injured, including a pregnant woman, from ongoing Russian attacks in the Kyiv region early Friday morning, Ukrainian officials said.
Sections of certain heating networks in the region were damaged from the attack, and some buildings were without heat supply, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a post on Telegram.
At least 15 buildings have been damaged in Kyiv so far from the attacks, the Kyiv City State Administration said in a post on Telegram.
Ukrainian officials said that 430 drones and 18 missiles were launched as debris from the strike rained down on Kyiv.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw from several positions in the Zaporizhzhia region, the southeastern front, due to intense Russian assaults, according to a spokesperson for the army.
Russian forces have launched more than 400 artillery strikes per day and Ukrainian troops faced the destruction of defensive fortifications, Southern Defense Forces spokesman Vladyslav Voloshyn told ABC News.
The withdrawal affected the areas around Novouspenivske, Nove, Okhotnyche, Uspenivka and Novomykolaivka, according to Voloshyn.
“The situation there remains difficult, in part because of weather conditions that favor the attacks. But we continue to destroy the occupier, and I thank every one of our units, every warrior involved in defending Ukraine’s positions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday.
Ukraine is also facing the potential fall of Pokrovsk — a city home to around 60,000 people at the time of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine — to Russia after an 18-month battle of attrition. This could be one of the most serious defeats of the war for Ukraine.
A general view of the aftermath following an overnight wave of Russian strikes on November 14, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Kyiv was attacked by a wave of Russian drones and missiles on the night of November 14, with the Ukrainian president alleging that Russia had launched 430 drones and 18 missiles, damaging dozens of high-rise buildings. Search and rescue operations are ongoing as damage is reported across nine districts of the capital. (Photo by Maksym Kishka/Frontliner/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — At least 5 people have been killed with over two dozen injured, including a pregnant woman, from ongoing Russian attacks in the Kyiv region early Friday morning, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a post on Telegram.
Sections of certain heating networks in the region were damaged from the attack, and some buildings were without heat supply, the mayor added.
At least 15 buildings have been damaged in Kyiv so far from the attacks, the Kyiv City State Administration said in a post on Telegram.
Ukrainian officials said that 430 drones and 18 missiles were launched as debris from the strike rained down on Kyiv.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw from several positions in the Zaporizhzhia region, the southeastern front, due to intense Russian assaults, according to a spokesperson for the army.
Russian forces have launched more than 400 artillery strikes per day and Ukrainian troops faced the destruction of defensive fortifications, Southern Defense Forces spokesman Vladyslav Voloshyn told ABC News.
The withdrawal affected the areas around Novouspenivske, Nove, Okhotnyche, Uspenivka and Novomykolaivka, according to Voloshyn.
“The situation there remains difficult, in part because of weather conditions that favor the attacks. But we continue to destroy the occupier, and I thank every one of our units, every warrior involved in defending Ukraine’s positions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday.
Ukraine is also facing the potential fall of Pokrovsk — a city home to around 60,000 people at the time of Russia’s 2022 full scale invasion of Ukraine — to Russia after 18-month battle of attrition. This could be one of the most serious defeats of the war for Ukraine.
(NEW YORK) — The Supreme Court of India issued an order directing all states and union territories to remove stray dogs from public spaces — including schools, universities, hospitals, and transport hubs — sparking a debate about animal welfare.
The move came through a suo motu petition, where the court takes on a matter of public interest without any official petition, and was said to be in response to the alarming number of dog-bite incidents and the threat to human safety, particularly children.
The order called for dogs that are taken off the street for preventative medical treatments — including those related to rabies — to not be returned. They are meant to be shifted to a “designated shelter,” as per the judgement, because India’s 2023 law doesn’t allow culling.
The conditions and capacity of these shelters to host millions of India’s stray dogs has been questioned by activists and protestors.
Although some animal rights groups have noted a need for a solution to the problems caused by the dogs, some have also called the proposed approach into question.
The judgment announced on Nov. 7 cites several media reports and incidents, including one with a Welsh entrepreneur who was bitten by a stray dog during a morning run in Bengaluru, a city in India’s south.
India had an estimated 9 million dogs in their 2019 livestock census; other surveys done in 2021 estimated the number much higher, at 52 million. In 2024, the country recorded 3.7 million dog bite incidents and 54 human deaths from rabies. Estimated cases of rabies have declined by 75% between 2003 and 2023.
“These numbers have been falling steadily for two decades — the court orders do not seem to have taken this official and research data into consideration,” said Dr. Krithika Srinivasan, professor of political ecology at the University of Edinburgh.
Until now, India’s stray dog management was guided by the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, under which stray dogs were to be sterilized, vaccinated and dewormed before being released back into the same locality.
Though the recent judgment calls for the dogs not to be released back at all.
“Stable dog populations are less likely to bite and transmit rabies,” Srinivasan said. “When you start removing them, you create what ecologists call a perturbation effect.”
Ayesha Christina Benn, founder of Neighbourhood Woof and a longtime partner of the local urban body in implementing the ABC program, warned that infrastructure simply cannot handle the court’s directive.
Benn says the order isn’t practical. Delhi alone has a million dogs, and almost 20 centers to house them. “These centers themselves lack compliance,” Benn said. “We had to tear ours down and rebuild it to meet the norms.”
Her NGO currently receives the equivalent of about $11 per dog for sterilisation and vaccination — which is about two-thirds of the actual cost per dog. The government doesn’t have the necessary funds.
A similar directive was issued by the same court, in August, but on a smaller scale in Delhi National Capital Region. This directive was rescinded after protests from animal-rights groups.
In the current judgment, the court wants adequate fencing, boundary walls and gates around education institutes and hospitals within eight weeks.
Akanksha Majumdar, a lawyer by training, said, “The judgment is a step in the right direction, but detached from the ground reality.”
She runs an organization called The Philanthropist and the Happy Dog, which assists in the rescue and rehabilitation of community animals, including dogs and cats. Her group is “taking steps to file a review petition against the said order,” she said.
Srinivasan said she agreed that while the ABC policy’s implementation needs improvement, it has nonetheless been instrumental in bringing down rabies and dog population numbers in some regions.
She attributed the country’s progress to two key factors: the widespread availability of post-exposure prophylaxis for bite victims and the 2001 decision to end mass culling in favour of sterilisation and vaccination programmes.
Yet, despite the long-term decline, controversies around stray dogs have grown. Srinivasan warned that such incidents, while tragic, cannot be effectively addressed by policy decisions that are not based on long-term, nation-wide data and evidence that show which strategies have been successful.
Srinivasan said officials should focus on what has worked: Ensure human anti-rabies treatment is available across the country, avoid regular mass feeding of complete meals to prevent increases in dog population density in particular locations, and, of course, the vaccination-sterilization program.
And, to make them more effective, she said, officials should take the help of grassroots groups that work in the community and understand the dogs better.
