Officials: Russian forces edge closer to a key eastern Ukraine city in intense fighting

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s top military commander says fighting around a key eastern Ukraine city is “extremely intense” after a monthslong Russian push. Analysts estimate Russian forces are now within just a few kilometers, or miles, of Pokrovsk. Ukraine’s General Staff said on Thursday that Ukrainian troops repelled nearly 40 Russian attempts to storm defenses around Pokrovsk over the previous 24 hours. Ukraine’s stretched defenses in Donetsk have been creaking since early this year under a fierce Russian drive. Russian forces are trying to overwhelm Ukraine’s battlefield defenses with sheer numbers of troops and powerful glide bombs that blast fortifications to smithereens. Pokrovsk is one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region.

Paraguay reopens its embassy in Jerusalem, handing Israel a rare diplomatic victory

JERUSALEM (AP) — Paraguay has reopened its embassy in Jerusalem, a move that marks a diplomatic win for Israel as it faces increasing international isolation because of the Gaza war. It’s a controversial move, putting Paraguay among a handful of countries to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Israel annexed east Jerusalem in 1967 in a move that was not recognized by the international community. Most countries run their embassies out of Tel Aviv. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar lauded President of Paraguay Santiago Peña at a ceremony following the opening.

ECB cuts rates a quarter point amid concerns of tepid growth

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank is cutting interest rates by a quarter percentage point amid signs of weakening growth and concern about the impact of political chaos in France and the possibility of new U.S. import tariffs. The bank’s rate-setting committee made the decision Thursday at its skyscraper headquarters in Frankfurt to lower the benchmark rate from 3.25% to 3%. Lower rates should support growth amid signs that the post-pandemic recovery is slowing in the 20 countries that use the euro currency and concerns that U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump might impose new tariffs, or import taxes, on goods imported to the US after he is inaugurated Jan. 20.

Israeli strike in Gaza kills 25 people as US makes new push for a ceasefire

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian medics said an Israeli airstrike hit a refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, killing at least 25 Palestinians and wounding dozens more. The strike Thursday evening came just hours after President Joe Biden’s national security adviser was in Jerusalem and raised hopes about a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. Officials at two hospitals in the Gaza Strip, al-Awda Hospital in the north and al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, reported they received a combined total of 25 bodies. Health officials said Israel struck on a multistory house in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strike.