At least 20 people have died and almost 300 suffered injuries in an explosion at a gas station in Nagorno-Karabakh, as ethnic Armenians attempted to flee the contested region. The cause of the blast outside the regional capital of Stepanakert remains unclear, but separatist authorities said 13 bodies have been retrieved from the blast site and seven others succumbed to their injuries. Nearly 290 people have been hospitalised, while scores of them remain in critical condition, the breakaway region's health department said. The blast occurred as residents were lining up to fuel their cars following the Azerbaijan military's attack on separatist forces, which has driven ethnic Armenians out of the region. "A strong explosion occurred in the gasoline warehouse near the Stepanakert-Askera highway,” the authorities said in a statement, according to the New York Times. “At the moment, rescue and medical operative groups are working on the spot." Yerevan on Tuesday said more than 13,500 people from the conflict zone have fled to Armenia this week so far. Read More At least 20 dead in gas station explosion as Nagorno-Karabakh residents flee to Armenia Thousands of ethnic Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan seizes control What is Nakhchivan? And after Nagorno-Karabakh, is this the next crisis for Azerbaijan and Armenia

A recession in the euro area is looking increasingly likely as the economic downturn persists in the final

A new immigration law passed by Florida governor Ron DeSantis, described by observers as one of the harshest in the country, has caused a massive decline in the Sunshine State’s labour force since it took effect, according to some business owners. The Republican leader and 2024 presidential campaign’s signature immigration law, which took effect 1 July, makes it a third-degree felony for unauthorised immigrants to knowingly use false ID’s for employment, and business that knowingly employ unauthorised immigrants or who avoid using the E-Verify system can lose their licenses or face up to $1000 in fines. The law also requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to check for immigration status, and invalidates drivers licenses issued to unauthorised immigrants from other states. In Miami’s booming construction industry, some companies are reporpting up to a 25 per cent decline in workers, The Wall Street Joural reports. “We’ve seen some fallout on job sites, particularly as it relates to hourly labor as a result of this new law,” Tom C Murphy, co-president of Coastal Construction, a company with more than 30 active projects across the state, told the paper. There at least 400,000 undocumented immigrants working in the state, according to Samuel Vilchez Santiago, the American Business Immigration Coalition’s Florida director. “We are in dire need of workers,” he told the Associated Press last month. “So there is a lot of fear from across the state ... that this new law will actually be devastating.” Migrant groups protested the new law in June, while the governor’s office told the AP in a statement, “Any business that exploits this crisis by employing illegal aliens instead of Floridians will be held accountable.” Mr DeSantis, despite governing a state known for its vibrant immigrant populations from Latin America, has positioned himself as a hard-line anti-immigrant crusader as he runs for president. In late June, he visited the US-Mexico border, where he blamed security issues on the Biden administration and proposed a return to most of Donald Trump’s most controversial immigration policies. That includes detaining migrant families with children beyond the customary 20 days, finishing the US-Mexico border wall, and ending the long-standing practice of releasing migrants into the US ahead of their court dates on potential immigration charges, which are usually civil violations rather than criminal ones more typically associated with prison. Read More Pete Buttigieg takes down Ron DeSantis over ‘strange’ anti-LGBT campaign video with ‘oiled-up bodybuilders’ 'Parental rights' group Moms for Liberty plans nationwide strategy for school board races in 2024 Florida's new DeSantis-backed laws address immigration, guns and more Giuliani grilled by prosecutors about ‘shouting match’ in fight to overturn election Former sheriff who nabbed 'Green River Killer' to run for Washington governor Senegalese President Macky Sall says he won't seek a third term in 2024 elections after protests

Vladimir Putin’s forces have launched the “largest-scale offensive action” in eastern Ukraine’s Avdiivka town since the start of Russia’s invasion. The major push on the battlefield comes after Avdiivka witnessed two days of intense fighting as Russian tanks and equipment were seen moving towards Ukrainian lines. Major attacks, including hundreds of rocket and artillery strikes on the town, have been underway since Tuesday. “This is the largest-scale offensive action in our sector since the full-fledged war began,” said Vitaliy Barabash, the head of Avdiivka administration. Russia is pouring in a large number of troops and equipment in the region as they look to wrest the town from Kyiv, Ukrainian military officials said. The flare-up comes as drone attacks killed three people, including a child, in Russia’s Belgorod region and injured another two, regional officials said. The Russian defence ministry blamed Ukraine for carrying out the attack. Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said debris from a drone downed by Russia’s anti-aircraft units damaged several houses and cars in the region. Mr Barabash said while the situation in Avdiivka on Wednesday was not quite as heated as the day before, battles have continued. Nearly two dozen attacks were made on the town’s old district and others in the city centre. A group of up to three Russian battalions with tanks and armoured vehicles support intensified operations near Avdiivka, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said. It said 10 enemy attacks on the town had been repelled. Russian accounts of the situation in Avdiivka also suggested fighting had intensified, but claimed its forces had “improved their position in the immediate outskirts around Avdiivka”. Avdiivka was retaken by Ukraine last month in a successful counteroffensive push in the east, but is facing the same fate as Bakhmut as it remains under siege for months now. Most of the town has been reduced to rubble. Russia’s gains around Avdiivka have been limited to the southwest of the town and its troops have not managed to complete an operational encirclement of the settlement, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said. Mr Putin’s forces will likely struggle to encircle the town if that is their intent, said the US-based think-tank monitoring the war. It said Avdiivka is “notoriously well-fortified and defended Ukrainian stronghold, which will likely complicate Russian forces’ ability to closely approach or fully capture the settlement”. Any hypothetical capture of the town will not offer Russia new routes to the rest of the Donetsk oblast as Russian forces already control critical segments of the nearby highway and routes, it said. The territorial control of the region, however, could be a bonus for Ukraine. “Russian forces likely intend attacks in the Avdiivka area to fix Ukrainian forces and prevent them from redeploying to other areas of the front. However, Ukrainian officials have already identified the Avdiivka push as a Russian fixing operation, and they are unlikely to unduly commit Ukrainian manpower to this axis,” the ISW said in its latest assessment. Ukrainian gains elsewhere along the frontline and on the battlefield continued on Wednesday as the General Staff said its forces were successful in the east of Klishchiivka and Andriivka near Bakhmut. The tactical positions held by Ukrainian forces were improved in the west of Robotyne, another critical battlefield zone in Zaporizhzhia oblast, the Ukrainian general staff and Tavriisk group commander Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said. In southern Ukraine, Russian forces were pushing their attacks “sometimes using infantry and in some areas deploying quite a lot of vehicles into battle”, said Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern group of forces. Now in its fifth month, Ukraine’s counteroffensive has two major battle zones as Kyiv’s troops look to secure areas around Bakhmut. They aim to retake the town and recapture villages in the south in a drive towards the Sea of Azov to sever a Russian land bridge between positions Moscow holds in the south and east. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Missile strike kills four in Ukrainian school, say Kyiv officials Could Putin be arrested? President to leave Russia for first time since international arrest warrant issued Russia loses vote to rejoin UN’s top human rights body despite Putin’s charm offensive with stolen grain Russia claims it could play unlikely role of peacemaker in Israel and is ‘speaking to both sides’

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The Ukrainian capital Kyiv shook from several explosions in the early hours today after Russia fired more than 40 missiles and drones in its biggest such attack since the war began in February last year. “A missile shot down near Kyiv,” the city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. “Air defence working!” The Monday morning attack included a combination of missiles and drones, exceeding the largest barrage of 36 aerial weapons launched on Kyiv the previous night, which killed one person and injured several. All targets were shot down, the Ukrainian air defences claimed. No major damage or casualties have been recorded so far, officials said. On Sunday, the Ukrainian military said it had downed 58 of 59 drones headed for several parts of Ukraine, described by the air force as a record assault with Iranian-made “kamikaze” drones. Elsewhere on war frontlines, Kyiv indicated that its forces were ready to launch a long-promised counteroffensive to recapture territory taken by Russia in its full-scale invasion. Read More Russia’s ambassador to the UK openly defends attacks on Ukraine by shifting blame Lindsey Graham calls ‘Russians dying’ the ‘best money US has spent’ in Zelensky meeting Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk booed for refusing to shake opponent’s hand after French Open match

South Africa assistant coach Mzwandile Stick says scrumhalf Cobus Reinach is "in a good space” after receiving a death threat on social media during the Rugby World Cup