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Poland said Wednesday it would close the last Russian consulate in its territory and deploy thousands of soldiers to protect infrastructure in response to a railway explosion it blames on Moscow. Poland, a major ally in Kyiv's fight against Russia's invasion, says two Ukrainians collaborating with Moscow perpetrated the weekend blast on the Warsaw-Lublin line, which connects Warsaw to the Ukrainian border.Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said at a news conference that the first response would be to close Russia's last operating consulate in the northern city of Gdansk. Warsaw has previously closed Russian consulates in Krakow and Poznan over sabotage acts. "It was not only an act of sabotage but also an act of state terrorism," Sikorski told lawmakers.Moscow denies responsibility for sabotage, citing "Russophobia", and said it would likewise limit Poland's diplomatic and consular presence in Russia. Sikorski said he would ask other EU nations to limit Russian diplomats' travel in the 25-nation Schengen free-travel area. There has been a wave of arson, sabotage and cyberattacks in Poland and other European nations since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said up to 10,000 soldiers will be deployed to help protect critical infrastructure such as railways. The Polish army chief of staff, Wieslaw Kukula, speaking to reporters alongside the defence minister, warned that the upcoming long winter nights and Christmas period could be perceived by Poland's enemies as a good time for sabotage.A special app is planned for citizens to report suspicious situations. Jacek Dobrzynski, spokesperson for Poland's minister in charge of intelligence services, said that in addition to the two main Ukrainian suspects who have fled to Belarus, several other people had been detained over the railway blast. A spokesperson for Polish prosecutors, Przemyslaw Nowak, said a prosecutor signed a decision to charge in absentia the two Ukrainian men — named as Oleksandr K and Yevhenii I — for sabotage on November 15 and 16 on orders of Russian intelligence.Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about the threat and agreed on cooperation between special services and state railways, plus the need to identify collaborators. The European Union's top diplomat Kaja Kallas said the attack highlighted risks to European rail infrastructure essential to move military equipment and troops fast.

Around 20 people were injured in a massive explosion at a chemical plant on the outskirts of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. Local officials reported that rescue teams have begun operations to control the fire and secure the area. For its part, the Argentine Federal Emergency Agency confirmed that it is taking all necessary measures to provide assistance to the injured, whose number has reached about 20 people. Drone footage showed huge flames rising from the crash site.

At least eight people were killed in a car explosion near the historic Red Fort in a densely populated area of the Indian capital Delhi Monday, a police spokesperson said, a rare blast in the heavily guarded city of more than 30mn people.The exact cause of the blast is being investigated, said the police spokesperson, Sanjay Tyagi. However, India's financial capital of Mumbai as well as its most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, which borders Delhi, went on high security alert after the blast, local media reported.At least 20 people were injured in the explosion, TV channels reported, as ambulances raced to the scene.Mangled bodies and the wreckage of several cars could be seen on a congested street near a metro station in the old quarter of Delhi, as police poured into the area to secure it and push back gathering crowds.Delhi Police commissioner Satish Golcha said the blast had occurred minutes before 7pm (1330GMT)."A slow-moving vehicle stopped at a red light. An explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged," he told reporters.Federal and state investigative agencies are at the site and federal Home Minister Amit Shah has been briefed about the incident, Golcha added.Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to those who had lost loved ones."May the injured recover at the earliest. Those affected are being assisted by authorities," Modi posted on X, adding that he had reviewed the situation with Shah and other officials.At least six vehicles and three auto-rickshaws caught fire, Delhi's deputy fire chief said later, adding that the flames had been doused by firefighting teams."I was at the metro station, going down the stairs, when I heard an explosion. I turned around and saw a fire. People started running," Suman Mishra, whose husband owns a hotel in a nearby area, said.Wali Ur Rehman said he was sitting at his shop when he heard a loud explosion. "I fell from the impact of the explosion, it was that intense," he told news agency ANI.About 30 to 40 ambulances were near the site of the blast and the entire area was cordoned off after the fire was put out, a witness said, adding that he could see remains of mangled cars and crowds milling around.

A violent explosion occurred Tuesday morning in the town of Castel d'Azzano in Verona province, northern Italy, inside a rural house, killing three members of the Carabinieri security forces and wounding 13 other police and firefighter personnel while they were carrying out a forced evacuation of the house. Italy's ANSA news agency reported that two siblings, a man and a woman in their 60s, were arrested by security forces, while a third sibling remains at large. According to preliminary investigations, police were in the process of executing an evacuation order for the three siblings' home, following several previous failed attempts. Gas cylinders exploded inside the building as soon as the door was opened, causing the two-story house to collapse and a massive fire to break out, completely consuming its interior. For his part, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi described the incident as "a tragic loss," in which the loss of the three Carabinieri officers "honored the uniform to the ultimate sacrifice." Firefighters and ambulance crews are still working at the explosion site, while authorities continue to investigate to determine the responsibilities and exact circumstances of the incident, which has been described as the most violent in recent years in the Veneto region of northern Italy.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Dr. Badr Abdelatty affirmed that the situation in the Middle East is on the brink of explosion, stressing that Egypt rejects any scenarios of forced displacement of the Palestinian people and that the continued violations of the Israeli occupation threaten the foundations of peace.In a speech at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, the Egyptian Foreign Minister said the multilateral international system is in a state of unprecedented fluidity, its mechanisms are collapsing, and its credibility is eroding due to crimes committed under the watchful eye of the international community, which is content to play the role of spectator to the systematic violations taking place.He added that the Middle East stands on the brink of explosion, as all elements of peace, security and stability are absent, there is little respect for international legitimacy, and the brotherly Palestinian people are falling victim to the most heinous Israeli practices. He pointed out that the hands of the Israeli aggression have extended, in a frenzy of power and lack of accountability, to the countries of the region one after the other, and the latest episode was the treacherous aggression against the sisterly State of Qatar.Dr. Abdelatty explained that since the outbreak of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, Egypt has devoted all its efforts to achieving a sustainable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, in partnership with Qatar and the US, and to resuming uninterrupted flow of aid to confront the current famine, which is of Israeli origin.He pointed out that Egypt affirmed that reforming the UN and international financial institutions is no longer an option that can be postponed, but rather an urgent necessity to ensure fair and balanced representation in international decision-making mechanisms.