Russia claims its deadly attack on Ukraine’s Sumy targeted military forces

BRUSSELS (AP) — Russia claims that its deadly missile attack on Ukraine’s city of Sumy that killed and wounded scores on Sunday had targeted a gathering of Ukrainian troops. Children were among the dead. European leaders on Monday condemned the attack as a war crime. There were calls for more sanctions on Russia. A Kremlin spokesman says Russia’s military only strikes military targets. Russia’s Defense Ministry asserts that the strike targeted a gathering of senior military officers. Ukraine has called for a global response to the attack. Poland holds the European Union’s rotating presidency and says Russia is mocking ceasefire efforts.

Israeli army says Hamas is rebuilding capabilities in Gaza

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Suspected U.S. airstrikes around Yemen’s rebel-held capital have killed at least seven people and wounded 29 overnight. That’s according to Yemen’s Houthi rebels in a statement Monday. Footage aired by the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel showed firefighters spraying water on a raging fire they described as being sparked by the airstrikes. Rubble littered a street as rescuers carried one person away from the site, which the rebels claimed was a ceramics factory in the Bani Matar neighborhood of Sanaa, the capital. The Houthis also claimed shoot down another American MQ-9 Reaper drone, something U.S. officials acknowledged “reports” of on Monday.

Hungary passes constitutional amendment to ban LGBTQ+ public events

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s parliament has passed an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities. Legal scholars and critics call Monday’s decision another step toward authoritarianism as the populist government continues to restrict LGBTQ+ rights. The amendment declares that children’s rights to moral, physical and spiritual development supersede any fundamental right other than the right to life. That includes the right to peacefully assemble. The amendment was proposed by the ruling coalition led by populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Hungary’s contentious “child protection” legislation prohibits the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to minors aged under 18.

Lawmakers: UK police struggled to counter online falsehoods that fueled summer violence

LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers say outdated laws unfit for the social media age hampered police from countering false claims that helped fuel anti-immigrant violence in Britain last summer. Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee said limits on disclosing details of criminal investigations “created an information vacuum that allowed disinformation to flourish” after three children were stabbed to death at a summer dance party. The attack in the town of Southport triggered violence after far-right activists seized on incorrect reports that the attacker was a Muslim asylum-seeker who had recently arrived in the U.K. The committee said in a report published Monday that “the criminal justice system will need to ensure its approach to communication is fit for the social media age.”