Cuba says 4 killed, 6 wounded on US-registered boat in ‘confrontation’ off Cuba’s coast
The Cuban flag waves outside of the Embassy of Cuba in Washington, DC on October 3, 2017, in Washington, DC. The U.S. orders on Tuesday the expulsion of 15 Cuban Diplomats from the Washington DC Embassy. (Photo by Olivier Douliery/Getty Images)
(CUBA) — Four people on a speedboat were killed and another six injured in a “confrontation” near Cuba’s coast after those on board the United States-registered vessel opened fire on Cuban troops, according to the Cuban Ministry of the Interior.
As Border Guard troops approached the boat for identification after it was detected in Cuban waters, those on board the speedboat “opened fire,” injuring the commander of the Cuban vessel, the ministry said.
“As a consequence of the confrontation, as of the time of this report, four aggressors on the foreign vessel were killed and six were injured,” the ministry said in a statement released by the Cuban Embassy in the United States.
Those injured were evacuated and received medical assistance, it said.
The speedboat was registered in Florida, according to the ministry. It approached Wednesday morning about 1 nautical mile northeast of the El Pino channel, in Cayo Falcones in the Villa Clara province, the ministry said.
When reached for comment, the U.S. Coast Guard, White House and other related agencies referred ABC News to the State Department.
“In the face of current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its determination to protect its territorial waters, based on the principle that national defense is a fundamental pillar of the Cuban State in safeguarding its sovereignty and ensuring stability in the region,” the Cuban Ministry of the Interior said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — A man has been arrested for possession of an offensive weapon near the U.K. home of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, police said Thursday.
The suspect, who was not named, “was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and possession of an offensive weapon,” Norfolk Police said in a statement to ABC News.
He remains in custody, according to police.
Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, lives on his brother King Charles III’s privately owned Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England.
Buckingham Palace has not commented on the arrest.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
A screen grab from a video released on U.S. President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account shows Donald Trump making statements regarding combat operations on Iran on February 28, 2026 in Pal Beach, Florida, United States. (Photo by US President Trump Via Truth Social/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(LONDON and NEW YORK) — President Donald Trump said that the U.S. military has begun “major combat operations” in Iran and calling on the Iranian people to rise up and seize the opportunity for regime change.
“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” Trump said in a video statement on Truth Social early Saturday morning.
The “massive” operation comes as the U.S. has been trying to negotiate with Iran over its nuclear and missile programs and hours after Trump said he was “not happy with the negotiation.”
And it comes amid questions about the potential justification for a U.S. strike on Iran since Trump has said the Iranian nuclear weapons program was “obliterated” in a U.S. strike last year.
“Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world. For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted “death to America” and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder targeting the United States, our troops and the innocent people in many, many countries,” Trump said.
The military operation against Iran was a preemptive joint attack by the United States and Israel and could last several days, U.S. officials said, with potential targets including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps military sites, government buildings, Iranian intelligence assets and defense installations.
“Iran is the world’s number one state sponsor of terror and just recently killed tens of thousands of its own citizens on the street as they protested,” Trump said. “It has always been the policy of the United States, in particular my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. I will say it again. They can never have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump, who campaigned on a message of keeping the U.S. out of foreign entanglements, gravely suggested that “the lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties.”
“That often happens in war. But we are doing this not for now, we are doing this for the future and it is a noble mission,” Trump continued.
At the end of his message, Trump called on the Iranian people to seize this opportunity for regime change.
“Finally, to the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump said.
He added, “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”
Appearing to speak to the Iranian people, Trump said: “No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is giving you what you want, so let’s see how you respond. America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach.”
Meanwhile, some Democratic members of Congress have begun demanding answers.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D.-FL) said on social media that he is “formally requesting” that the State Department and Department of War “fully brief Congress on the rapidly evolving situation in Iran.”
Senator Ruben Gallego (D.-Ariz.), a Marine veteran, also posted on X, saying “I lost friends in Iraq to an illegal war. Young working-class kids should not pay the ultimate price for regime change and a war that hasn’t been explained or justified to the American people.”
The aftermath of Russia’s large-scale combined strike on the morning of May 14, 2026 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Danylo Dubchak/Frontliner/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Russian drone and missiles strikes killed at least seven people and left around 20 people missing, possibly trapped under rubble, amid 24 hours of intense attacks on the Ukrainian capital and other areas around the country, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukraine’s air force said in a post to Telegram on Thursday that Russia launched 675 drones and 56 missiles into the country overnight, of which 652 drones and 41 missiles were intercepted or suppressed.
Fifteen missiles and 23 drones impacted across 24 locations, the air force said, while falling debris was reported in 18 locations. The Russian attack was still ongoing as of Thursday morning, the air force warned.
The overnight barrage followed an intense day of strikes on Wednesday, during which time the air force reported 892 Russian drones launched into the country, of which 821 failed to reach their targets.
In total, Ukraine’s air force reported at least 1,623 Russian munitions launched into the country through Wednesday and Thursday. Ukrainian officials said that at least 16 people had been killed and more than 100 injured across two days of Russian attacks.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said on Thursday that responders were digging through the rubble of a partially-collapsed nine-story apartment building in Kyiv’s southeastern Darnytsia district, searching for missing people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post to social media that at least 20 buildings were damaged in Kyiv, including a school. “There will be a just response to all these attacks. And we need to put pressure on Moscow so that they feel the consequences of their terror there,” he wrote.
“It’s important that there be worldwide sanctions against Russia. Russia’s responsibility for the war and our sanctions pressure should work at full capacity. And it’s also very important that the world not remain silent about this terror and stand with Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged foreign leaders — including President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping — to condemn the latest strikes.
“This barbaric attack during such an important summit shows that the Russian regime poses a global threat to international security. Instead of peace and development, Moscow pursues aggression and terror,” he wrote in a post to X, referring to Trump’s ongoing visit to Beijing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sybiha wrote, “wants this war to continue in order to prolong his control and rule over Russia. There should be no illusions or wishful thinking: only pressure on Moscow can force him to stop.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported the interception of 36 Ukrainian drones overnight into Thursday. The ministry claimed to have downed 431 Ukrainian drones during the course of Wednesday.
Both Russia and Ukraine have expanded their long-range attacks exponentially over the past year, with the ongoing frontline combat grinding into a near-stalemate with little apparent hope for either side to achieve significant breakthroughs.
April saw Russia launch the most attacks of any month of the war to date, according to Ukrainian air force data. Kyiv reported facing 6,663 Russian drones and 141 missiles during the course of the month.
Ukraine’s long-range drone attacks reached a high point in March, according to data published by the Russian Defense Ministry. In that month, Moscow said its forces downed at least 7,347 Ukrainian drones.
ABC News cannot independently verify the data released by either Russia or Ukraine. It is possible that both sides may seek to exaggerate the effectiveness of their air defenses, or to amplify the attacks against them as proof that their enemies are not interested in pursuing a peace deal, experts have suggested.
Neither side provides detailed data on the scale of their own attacks or their targets, though often release statements describing the targets as military, energy or industrial sites. Both sides accuse the other of intentionally attacking civilian targets.
Ukraine’s air force publishes what it says is a daily tally of Russian drone and missile strikes, including information as to how many munitions were intercepted and how many penetrated air defenses.
Moscow, meanwhile, publishes only the number of Ukrainian drones and other projectiles it claims to have intercepted.
ABC News’ Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.
