‘Intense battles’ in the contested region is the latest outbreak of violence to hit the former Soviet Union

Fighting has erupted on the disputed border between Kyrgyzstan and its central Asian neighbour Tajikistan, leaving 24 people dead in the latest outbreak of violence to hit the former Soviet Union.

Both of the impoverished landlocked nations have accused each other of restarting fighting in a disputed area, despite a ceasefire deal.

The bombings also targeted the countryside, according to Syrian state media, and reportedly killed two Iranians as well

An Israeli airstrike near Damascus airport has killed five Syrian soldiers, according to state media in Syria.

“The aggression led to the death of five soldiers and some material damage,” Syria’s official news agency Sana quoted a military source as saying on Saturday.

UN to permit Zelenskiy video address despite Moscow’s objections; 99% of bodies exhumed from Izium site had signs of violent death, says Ukraine

• See all our Ukraine coverage

United Nations member states have voted to make an exception to allow Volodymyr Zelenskiy to address next week’s general assembly by video, despite Russian opposition. Of the 193 member states, 101 voted on Friday in favour of allowing the Ukrainian president to “present a pre-recorded statement” instead of in-person as usually required. Seven members voted against the proposal, including Russia. Nineteen states abstained.

Virtually all the exhumed bodies in Izium had signs of violent death, Ukraine’s regional administration chief said of the mass burial site discovered after Kyiv’s forces recaptured the east Ukrainian town. Exhumers had uncovered several bodies with their hands tied behind their backs, and one “with a rope around his neck”, Oleg Synegubov, head of Kharkiv regional administration, said on Friday. “Among the bodies that were exhumed today, 99% showed signs of violent death,” he said on social media.

The European Union was “deeply shocked” at the mass graves discovered by Ukrainian officials in Izium, said the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell. “We condemn these atrocities in the strongest possible terms.” The French president, Emmanuel Macron, also condemned what he described as the “atrocities” committed in Izium, joining growing outrage in western countries over the burial site.

Ukrainian armed forces have hit four areas held by Russian troops, according to the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces. The military also targeted an unloading station, it said, in turn preventing Russian forces from deploying additional reserves.

Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out targeted strikes in the cities of Kherson and Luhansk against top local officials who have been collaborating with Moscow. At least five Himars missiles crashed into the central administration building in Kherson, which Russian troops have occupied since March after arriving from Crimea. Video from the scene showed smoke pouring out of the complex. In the eastern city of Luhansk, a pro-Russian prosecutor died with his deputy when their office was blown up. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s senior adviser, Mikhailo Podolyak, said Ukraine was not behind the blast.

Further south, the Russian-backed separatist authority in Berdiansk also blamed Kyiv for the “double murder” of a deputy head of the military civil administration and his wife, who headed the city’s territorial election commission for the referendum.

In the southern oblast of Zaporizhzhia there were also reports on Friday of a “powerful explosion” in the Russian-occupied Melitopol, said Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol. “I hope the Russian fascists have suffered losses, among their personnel and equipment,” he said. “Awaiting good news from the armed forces of Ukraine.”

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, made his first public comment since his troops were forced to withdraw from the territories they held in the north-east, a move that prompted unusually strong public criticism from Russian military commentators. Putin said he invaded Ukraine because the west wanted to break up Russia. He grinned when asked about Ukraine’s recent military success, saying: “Let’s see how it develops, how it ends up.” Putin said nothing had changed with the ultimate goal of Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, which was to capture the Donbas.

The United States department of defence has announced it is providing an additional $600m in military assistance to Ukraine to meet the country’s “critical security and defence needs”. In total, the Biden administration has committed about $15.8bn in security aid to Ukraine – $15.1bn since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in February.

Switzerland on Friday aligned itself with the European Union in suspending a 2009 agreement easing rules for Russian citizens to enter the country. “The suspension of the agreement does not mean a general visa freeze for Russians but rather they will need to use the ordinary visa procedure to enter Switzerland,” the country’s federal council said in a statement. The EU took a similar step earlier, suspending a visa facilitation deal with Russia but stopping short of a wider visa ban in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The sheer span of Elizabeth II’s reign and the enormous changes that happened during it defy easy descriptions

When Elizabeth II came to the throne, in 1952, charming country houses that would now be worth several million could be picked up for under £10,000. Sweets, tea, butter, margarine and meat were among the foods still rationed. Only a small minority had fridges, washing machines or telephones. Outside toilets were common, cars aspirational, televisions a novelty item, central heating barely a rumour. Outside, the cities were smoky from the ubiquitous coal fires. Inside, houses were smoky because most adults’ lips held cigarettes.

Children began playing unsupervised shortly after they could walk. Crime rates were low, and front doors often unlocked. Hangings were common enough to be hardly worth reporting except in the most sensational cases. National service for young men was hard to avoid, and some conscripts were sent to fight and die in Korea.

Matthew Engel’s book The Reign – Life in Elizabeth’s Britain, Part 1: The Way It Was, 1952-1979, will be published next month

Alice Temperley’s new homeware and womenswear collection with Anthropologie, Harris Reed’s new jewellery releases, and a glossy glimpse of life backstage with the 90s supermodels

• Gala Fairydean forward makes announcement on club website
• 30-year-old Murray ‘wants to help others who are struggling’

Zander Murray has become the first current professional footballer in Scotland to come out as gay. The Gala Fairydean Rovers forward spoke about coming out in an interview published on the Lowland League club’s website on Friday.

The 30-year-old has said he “feels like the weight of the world is now off my shoulders” after coming out. Murray is the first openly gay footballer to play in the Scottish leagues since Justin Fashanu, who played for Hearts in the 1993-94 season.

• Wesley Koolhof and Matwé Middelkoop win 7-6 (0), 6-7 (6), 6-3
• Dutch into finals in Málaga after beating GB with a tie to spare

Great Britain returned to the familiar surroundings of the Emirates Arena in Glasgow this week with one of the deepest men’s teams in its recent history. Ten years on from a time when Andy Murray was the country’s sole top-200 men’s singles player, they finally had some depth. They have four top-50 singles players now, including the world number eight, and two of the top three doubles players in the world. Expectations were high.

In the end, those expectations were not even close to being met. Great Britain were dumped out of the Davis Cup with a tie to spare despite a courageous fight from Joe Salisbury and Andy Murray, who were defeated 7-6 (0), 6-7 (6), 6-3 by Wesley Koolhof and Matwé Middelkoop in the deciding doubles rubber, handing the Netherlands a 2-1 victory.

Bodies of woman, 30, and child thought to be her son found by police in Holbeck area

A woman and a child have been found dead inside a flat in Leeds.

West Yorkshire police said officers made the discovery of the body of the woman, believed to be aged 30, and the 10-year-old child, thought to be her son, when they were called to a flat in the Holbeck area of the city by someone concerned about the welfare of the occupants.

This was like the EFL Championship on steroids. Last year’s second-tier champions Fulham deserved their victory over the playoff winners Nottingham Forest after a three-goal burst in six second-half minutes. Forest lost a fourth successive Premier League game on the night Premier League football returned after the Queen’s death.

The fact Aleksandar Mitrovic did not celebrate his 28th birthday with a goal shows there is strength in depth to Marco Silva’s attacking resources but these are worrying times for Forest as they try to get their 22 summer signings to gel.