International news brief: Russia hits power stations in Ukraine; Rules issued to pay respects the Queen

Washington, Sep 12: Continuing its attack, Russia hit power stations and other infrastructure, causing widespread outages across Ukraine as Kyiv's forces pressed a swift counteroffensive that has driven Moscow's troops from swaths of territory it had occupied in the northeast.

The bombardment on Sunday ignited a massive fire at a power station on Kharkiv's western outskirts and killed at least one person. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the "deliberate and cynical missile strikes" against civilian targets as acts of terrorism. Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv appeared to be without power Sunday night.

Rules issued for those wanting to pay respects to the queen

People wanting to pay their final respects to Queen Elizabeth II as she lies in state at the Houses of Parliament in London need to be prepared for a long wait and forget about trying to take a selfie with her coffin. The government has published guidelines for people wishing to file past the late queen's closed coffin as it lies in state at the Palace of Westminster from 5 pm (1600 GMT) Wednesday until 6:30 am (0530 GMT) on September 19.

Thousands are expected to want to pay tribute to the only monarch that many in the United Kingdom have ever known. The rules were made public a day after thousands of people lined roads and bridges Sunday as a hearse carried the queen's coffin across the Scottish countryside from her beloved Balmoral Castle to Edinburgh.

Biden accepts invitation to attend Queen Elizabeth II's funeral

US President Joe Biden has accepted the British invitation to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. "This morning, President Biden formally accepted an invitation to attend the State Funeral Service of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on September 19," the White House said in a statement on Sunday. "He will be accompanied by the First Lady," it said. Earlier, the White House had announced that Biden would travel to New York on September 18 and attend the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 19 and 20. The White House has not announced when Biden will now be addressing the UN General Assembly.

with PTI inputs