Russia says three people have been killed after a key bridge to Crimea was partially destroyed in an explosion.
Kerch Bridge – which is also known as the Crimean Bridge – spans 12-miles and is a key supply route for Moscow as they continue their attack on Ukraine.
Russian authorities say a truck bomb set alight seven railway carriages carrying fuel in the early hours of Saturday morning, resulting in a “partial collapse of two sections of the bridge”.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said three people have been found dead after they were believed to have been in a car close to the truck that exploded.
The bodies of two victims, a man and a woman, have been recovered from the water and their identities are being established, the committee added.
The speaker of Crimea’s Russian-backed regional parliament accused Ukraine, although the Kremlin did not apportion blame.
More on Ukraine
Related Topics:
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly threatened to strike the bridge and some lauded the attack, but Kyiv stopped short of claiming responsibility.
In the wake of the fire, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called it “the beginning”.
Advertisement
He tweeted: “Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled.”
Image: A large fire broke out on Kerch Bridge
The bridge, which has train and road sections, has been closed for train traffic until further notice.
The attack comes just a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday.
Mr Putin has sent ministers to the bridge and formed a government panel to investigate the cause of the incident.
The Crimean peninsula holds symbolic value for Russia and is key to sustaining its military operations in southern Ukraine. If destroyed, ferrying provisions from Russia would be significantly more challenging.
The Kerch bridge is the longest in Europe and has provided an essential link to the Crimean peninsula which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly threatened to strike the bridge.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
3:47
‘Special forces op’ may have caused Crimea bridge blast
Built by Putin’s childhood friend and business partner Arkady Rotenberg, the £3.2bn project was first opened to road traffic in May 2018, with the parallel bridge for rail traffic opening the following year.
The attack on the bridge marks another humiliating setback for Moscow, following weeks of battlefield reversals as Ukrainian forces push back at the frontlines.
In August, Russia suffered a series of explosions at an air base and munitions depot in Crimea, which underlined its vulnerability.
Just hours before the damage to the bridge, explosions rocked the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, triggering a series of secondary explosions.
Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said the explosions were the result of missile strikes in the centre of the city.
Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada have come into effect, as has an additional 10% on Chinese products, bringing the total import tax to 20%.
The US president confirmed the tariffs in a speech at the White House – and his announcement sent US and European stocks down sharply.
The tariffs will be felt heavily by US companies which have factories in Canada and Mexico, such as carmakers.
Mr Trump said: “They’re going to have a tariff. So what they have to do is build their car plants, frankly, and other things in the United States, in which case they have no tariffs.”
There’s “no room left” for a deal that would see the tariffs shelved if fentanyl flowing into the US is curbed by its neighbours, he added.
Mexico and Canada face tariffs of 25%, with 10% for Canadian energy, the Trump administration confirmed.
And tariffs on Chinese imports have doubled, raising them from 10% to 20%.
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
Canada announced it would retaliate immediately, imposing 25% tariffs on US imports worth C$30bn (£16.3bn). It added the tariffs would be extended in 21 days to cover more US goods entering the country if the US did not lift its sanctions against Canada.
China also vowed to retaliate and reiterated its stance that the Trump administration was trying to “shift the blame” and “bully” Beijing over fentanyl flows.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:45
What is America’s trade position?
Mr Trump’s speech stoked fears of a trade war in North America, prompting a financial market sell-off.
Stock market indexes the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.48% and 2.64% respectively on Monday.
The share prices for automobile companies including General Motors, which has significant truck production in Mexico, Automaker and Ford also fell.
Spreaker
This content is provided by Spreaker, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Spreaker cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Spreaker cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Spreaker cookies for this session only.
Consumers in the US could see price hikes within days, an expert has said.
Gustavo Flores-Macias, a public policy professor at Cornell University, New York, said “the automobile sector, in particular, is likely to see considerable negative consequences”.
This is due to supply chains that “crisscross the three countries in the manufacturing process” and ” because of the expected increase in the price of vehicles, which can dampen demand,” he added.
A truck has collided with a bus in southern Bolivia, killing at least 31Â people, according to police – just two days after a deadly crash claimed at least 37 lives.
Officers said the bus rolled some 500m (1,640ft) down a ravine after the collision on Monday, which took place on the highway between Oruro, in the Bolivian Altiplano, and the highland mining city of Potosi.
The driver of the truck has been arrested, while the cause of the accident is under investigation.
Police spokesperson Limbert Choque said men and women were among the dead, and 22 people suffered injuries.
Image: Rescue teams operating at the site of the crash. Pic: Bolivia’s attorney general/Reuters
Bolivia’s President, Luis Arce, expressed condolences for the victims on social media: “This unfortunate event must be investigated to establish responsibilities,” he said in a post on Facebook.
“We send our most sincere condolences to the bereaved families, wishing them the necessary strength to face these difficult times.”
Image: The crash happened between Oruro and Potosi
On Saturday morning, a crash between two buses killed more than three dozen people in the same region.
More on Bolivia
Related Topics:
It happened between Colchani and the city of Uyuni, a major tourist attraction and the world’s largest salt flat.
Image: People stand near the wreckage of one of the two buses involved in a crash on Saturday. Pic: Reuters/Potosi Departmental Command
Coincidentally, one of the buses was heading to Oruro, where one of the most important carnival celebrations in Latin America is currently taking place.
More than 30 people were also killed after a bus crash on 17 February.
In that crash, police said the driver appeared to have lost control of the vehicle, causing it to drop more than 800m (2,600ft) off a precipice in the southwestern area of Yocalla.
Bolivia’s mountainous, undermaintained and poorly supervised roads are some of the deadliest in the world, claiming an average 1,400 fatalities every year.
The Pope has had two episodes of “acute respiratory failure”, the Vatican has said.
The 88-year-old has been in hospital since 14 February with a severe respiratory infection that triggered other complications.
The Vatican said the respiratory failures were caused by “significant accumulation” of mucus in his lungs and a “bronchospasm”, akin to an asthma attack.
Doctors were then required to perform two bronchoscopies – a test which sees medics use a long, thin, telescope with a light to look into the lungs – to evaluate the Pope’s air passages, the statement said.
“In the afternoon, non-invasive mechanical ventilation was resumed,” the Vatican continued. “The Holy Father has always remained vigilant, oriented and collaborative. The prognosis remains reserved.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:00
Behind the scenes at the Vatican
The respiratory issues the Pope suffered today are due to an ongoing infection rather than a new one but he is not out of danger, they added.
Asked if the Pope is in good spirits, they gave no answer. When asked if the Vatican’s apartment is getting ready to welcome Francis back, the source said it was too premature to discuss this.
Earlier on Monday, Pope Francis issued a written message after Vatican officials begged him to let his voice be heard following more than two weeks out of public view.
He thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers, before praying for peace in Ukraine and elsewhere.
“From here, war appears even more absurd,” he wrote.
Image: People at a nightly rosary prayer for the Pope in St. Peter’s Square yesterday evening. Pic: AP
This has become the longest public absence of his 12-year papacy.
Cardinal Konrad Krajewski presided over the evening rosary prayer in St Peter’s Square on Sunday night.
“Let us pray together with the entire church for the health of the Holy Father Francis,” he said.