Breaking news live updates, May 19: Petrol, diesel prices hiked by 90 paise per litre

Syria's defence ministry said a car explosion near a building affiliated with it in Damascus on Tuesday killed a soldier.

In a statement, the ministry said the army had been dismantling another explosive device near the building in the Bab Sharqi area, before "a car bomb exploded in the same area, resulting in the martyrdom of one soldier and injuries to others".

Hong Kong's government introduced legislative amendments on Tuesday to ban smoking on all construction sites, after a massive fire at a housing complex killed 168 people last year.

The city's deadliest blaze in decades ripped through seven of the eight apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court complex in northern Hong Kong in November.

The estate was undergoing repair works at the time, and a panel investigating the inferno heard in March that a likely cause was construction workers smoking on the scaffolding.

Investigators were also presented with evidence that residents had complained many times about workers smoking, but that their concerns had gone unaddressed.

The amendments would "impose clear legal obligations on principal contractors of construction works, subcontractors and any persons to strictly prohibit smoking in all construction sites", the government said in a statement on Tuesday.

This was "with a view to reducing fire risks and safeguarding the safety of workers and the public", it said.

The amendments would designate construction sites as no-smoking areas and require occupational safety officers under the Labour Department to enforce the ban.

The officers would be able to issue a fixed fine of HK$3,000 (US$380) to any person found smoking on a construction site.

Contractors and subcontractors who fail to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent smoking would also be liable on conviction to a maximum fine of HK$400,000 (US$51,000).

The government said in its statement it looked forward to the legislative council's "support for early passage" of the amendments.

A drone attack on Tuesday killed 28 people and injured 23 others when it struck a Sudanese market in the paramilitary-controlled town of Ghubaysh in West Kordofan, a medical source and three witnesses told AFP.

Two witnesses said the drone hit a crowded restaurant at the town's main market, attributing the attack to Sudan's army, which has been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023.

Another witness said it first struck an RSF vehicle, "killing three people on board and destroying the vehicle, before hitting the restaurant". A medical source said casualties were taken to Ghubaysh hospital.

A NATO fighter jet shot down a Ukrainian drone in Estonian airspace on Tuesday, after it was reportedly diverted from its course by a Russian jamming system, Estonia's defence minister announced.

It was the first interception of a foreign drone in the airspace of a Baltic state by NATO since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Estonia's Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said the drone was first detected by Latvia before it was shot down by a Romanian F-16 stationed in Lithuania.

Debris from the drone was reported near Poltsamaa in central Estonia.

Pevkur said he had been in contact with his Ukrainian counterpart, Mykhailo Fedorov, who "apologised" after the incident, which happened as NATO "Spring Storm 2026" exercises are being held in Estonia this week.

"Estonia did not grant any authorisation to use its airspace" and "the Ukrainians did not ask for such authorisation", he told a news conference.

Several Ukrainian drones have crashed in recent months in the three Baltic states.

No injuries or major damage have been caused by the latest incident but in Latvia this month the government's handling of stray drones triggered a political crisis.

Prime Minister Evika Silina sacked her defence minister then had to resign herself after losing her majority.

Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery belonging to Lukoil in the Nizhny Novgorod region and an oil pumping station in the Yaroslavl region, Kyiv's general staff said on Tuesday.


The extent of the damage was being determined, it added on the Telegram app.

Moscow's missile and drone attacks across northern Ukraine killed at least four people on Tuesday, Kyiv said, as President Volodymyr Zelensky has been warning of possible renewed Russian offensives from the north.
Local officials in the Chernigiv region said Russia launched a ballistic missile on the centre of Pryluky -- some 150 kilometres (93 miles) east of Kyiv.

"Unfortunately, it is already known that two people have been killed. At least 17 are wounded, including a 14-year-old child," said Viacheslav Chaus, the head of the Chernigiv region.

He said the attack damaged a shopping mall and supermarket, posting photographs of damaged stalls and buildings with blown out windows.

Separately, officials in the northeastern Sumy region said two people were killed by Russian drones in a village near the border.

The head of the Sumy region, Oleg Grygorov, said Moscow hit "civilian infrastructure" in the village of Glukhiv.

"Sadly, two men aged 58 and 52 were killed," he said on social media, adding that four others were wounded.

When Russia launched its invasion in 2022, its troops entered Ukraine from several directions, including the borders with the Chernigiv and Sumy regions.

Ukraine pushed them back in the first weeks of the war and the regions have been under attack by Russia since.

Zelensky in recent days ordered his troops to reinforce Ukraine's northern borders, accusing Moscow of preparing new attacks from its ally Belarus -- accusations dismissed by the Kremlin.

Hungary's Prime Minister Peter Magyar begins a two-day visit to Poland on Tuesday, hoping to restore ties hit by his predecessor's closeness to Moscow during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

By choosing Poland as his first official visit as prime minister, Magyar is both looking to turn the page on the Viktor Orban era and also create a bloc of central European countries that carries weight within the European Union, analysts say.

Poland has in recent years shifted its focus towards "Nordic and Baltic cooperation", Piotr Buras, of the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, told AFP.

But Magyar, who ended nationalist Orban's 16-year rule at elections last month, is hoping that Poland will again look towards central Europe.

Earlier this month, he proposed merging the Visegrad Group -- an informal alliance of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia -- with the Austerlitz format, comprising the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria.

"I think that will be in the interest of every country," he said, suggesting such an alliance could wield greater influence over the EU's cohesion fund distribution policy.

"The peoples of central Europe are stronger together than apart," he added last week.

Petrol and diesel prices were increased by up to 90 paise per litre, marking the second hike in less than a week.

In Delhi, petrol now costs Rs 98.64 per litre after an increase of 87 paise, while diesel has risen by 91 paise to Rs 91.58 per litre, according to industry sources.

Earlier, prices had been raised by Rs 3 per litre on Friday, making this the second upward revision in a short span.

In Mumbai, petrol rose by 91 paise to Rs 107.59 per litre, while diesel increased by 94 paise to Rs 94.08 per litre.

Kolkata recorded the steepest increase in petrol at 96 paise, taking it to Rs 109.70 per litre, while diesel rose by 94 paise to Rs 96.07 per litre.

In Chennai, petrol prices went up by 82 paise to Rs 104.49 per litre and diesel by 86 paise to Rs 96.11 per litre.

Newly appointed US Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh will be sworn in on Friday during a ceremony at the White House hosted by President Donald Trump, according to the White House.

Warsh was confirmed by the US Senate on Wednesday to lead the central bank at a time when its independence has come under increasing scrutiny from Trump. He also takes office as inflation in the United States remains at its highest level in three years.

In a statement to AFP, a White House official said President Trump would host the swearing-in ceremony at the White House.

It is considered unusual for a Federal Reserve chair — whose institution is designed to operate independently from political influence — to be sworn in at the White House. The last Fed chief to do so was Alan Greenspan in 1987 after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan.

Warsh is expected to face the challenge of working with a president who has repeatedly sought to influence monetary policy and frequently criticised outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Previously regarded as a strong advocate of controlling inflation through tighter monetary policy, Warsh has more recently aligned with Trump’s calls for lower interest rates, a shift that has intensified debate over the independence of the Federal Reserve.

Commercial vehicle drivers’ unions in Delhi are planning a three-day strike from May 21 to 23, demanding an increase in taxi and auto-rickshaw fares in response to rising fuel prices.

The All India Motor Transport Congress on Monday submitted a letter to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta outlining their demands.

Anuj Kumar Rathore, vice-president of the Chaalak Shakti Union, said continuously rising prices of CNG, petrol and diesel have made it difficult for middle-class drivers to support their families.

He added that, in coordination with several transport organisations in the capital, the union has called for a “Chakka Jam” and appealed to drivers not to operate their vehicles during the three-day protest.

The union also warned that if the government fails to announce a fare hike and issue a notification within one or two weeks, the agitation could escalate into a larger movement, for which it said the Delhi government would be responsible.

A Delhi court granted transit remand to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for producing arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Deepak Singla before a court in Haryana’s Panchkula.

In an order issued around 10:30 pm, Special Judge Sushant Changotra directed the central agency to present Singla before the concerned court by 2 pm on Tuesday.

During the hearing, the ED had sought a one-day transit remand.

Earlier in the day, the agency arrested Singla in connection with an alleged multi-crore money laundering case linked to a purported Rs 150 crore fraud involving the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), officials said.

The arrest came after coordinated raids at several locations associated with Singla and alleged hawala operators in Delhi and Goa.

Singla had contested the Vishwas Nagar Assembly seat in Delhi as an AAP candidate. The ED had also conducted searches against him in 2024 as part of the same investigation. According to officials, the money laundering probe relates to an alleged bank loan fraud in which Singla and his family members are accused of cheating OBC of more than Rs 150 crore.

The Trump administration announced the creation of a $1.7 billion compensation fund for individuals who claim they were unfairly targeted by the Justice Department during the Biden administration — a move that Democrats and government watchdog groups criticized as unconstitutional and politically motivated.

Named the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” the $1.776 billion initiative is part of a settlement resolving President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.

Under the arrangement, people who believe they faced politically motivated investigations or prosecutions will be able to apply for financial compensation. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described the program as “a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.”

In a statement, Blanche said the government should never be used as a political weapon against citizens and added that the Justice Department intended to address past wrongs while preventing similar actions in the future.

However, critics noted that the statement did not address accusations that investigations and prosecutions involving Trump’s political opponents during his administration have also raised concerns about politicized law enforcement.

Four people were killed and at least 30 others injured in Kenya during protests against rising fuel prices, as the country’s public transport system was brought to a standstill.

Kenya, like many African nations reliant on fuel imports from the Gulf region, has been severely impacted by Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route through which around one-fifth of the world’s oil supply normally passes.

Last week, the Kenyan government announced sharp fuel price increases in response to soaring global oil costs, including a 23.5 percent rise in diesel prices. The move prompted transport workers to call for a nationwide strike.

In the outskirts of the capital, Nairobi, protesters blocked roads and set bonfires early Monday in an effort to stop vehicles and boda boda motorbikes from operating, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday that an American citizen has contracted Ebola while working in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to Satish Pillai, the CDC’s Ebola response incident manager, the individual developed symptoms over the weekend and tested positive for the virus late Sunday.

Health officials said arrangements are being made to transport the patient to Germany for treatment.