Briefly

RUSSIA

114 drones downed: Defense Ministry

Russia neutralized 114 drones launched by Ukraine overnight, with at least one person killed in the attacks, officials said on Friday."Russian anti-aerial defense systems intercepted and destroyed 70 drones over Crimea and the Black Sea, 43 drones over the Krasnodar region and one drone over Volgograd," the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday. In Krasnodar, an employee of a heating station was killed when a drone struck the facility near the Yuzhny train station, Regional Governor Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram. Several administrative buildings at an oil refinery were also damaged in Seversky district, he said.

UNITED STATES

Trump proposes green cards for foreign grads

Former president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said in an interview posted on Thursday that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from universities in the United States, a sharp departure from the anti-immigrant rhetoric he typically uses on the campaign trail. Trump was asked about plans for companies to be able to import the "best and brightest" in the All-In podcast. Trump has vowed a wide-ranging crackdown if reelected in the November election against Democrat Joe Biden, and has lambasted Biden's efforts to curb the record number of migrants crossing into the US illegally.

THAILAND

Formal letter to join BRICS submitted

Thailand is pushing forward with its plan to become a member of the BRICS group as early as October at the bloc's next summit in Russia. The country submitted a formal letter of intent to join during the BRICS ministerial meeting over a week ago and hoped to receive positive feedback, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura, in a bid to become the group's first member from Southeast Asia. Joining BRICS would allow Thailand to leverage further in advancing South-South cooperation as well as to play a more proactive role and contribute to crafting the global architecture, Nikorndej said on Thursday.

Agencies - Xinhua