Ukraine’s eastern military command said it had ordered a pullback from the hilltop coal mining town of Vuhledar to avoid encirclement by Russian troops.

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian troops on Wednesday took charge of the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, a bastion that had resisted intense attacks since Russia launched its full-scale assault in 2022.

The advance of Moscow’s forces, which control just under a fifth of Ukraine, has underlined Russia’s vast superiority in men and materiel as Ukraine pleads for more weapons from the Western allies that have been supporting it.

Ukraine’s eastern military command said it had ordered a pullback from the hilltop coal mining town to avoid encirclement by Russian troops and “preserve personnel and military equipment.”

Hamas has taken responsibility for the fatal shooting and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv that unfolded on Tuesday just as Iran was launching a ballistic missile barrage on Israel.

Seven people were killed in the attack, and 16 people were injured, the Israel Police Spokesperson's Unit and Shin Bet said in a joint statement Wednesday. The two alleged attackers were also killed, police said.

In a statement Wednesday, Hamas' military wing claimed responsibility for the attack.

Israel’s military says eight of its soldiers have been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, its first losses since the start of the ground invasion against the armed group Hezbollah.

Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, said it had destroyed Israeli tanks during the fighting and insisted it had enough men and ammunition to push back the forces.

Earlier, the Israeli military announced that more infantry and armoured troops had joined the operation seeking to dismantle what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in Lebanese border villages.

Meanwhile, there have been more Israeli air strikes in Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has its most important base.

Hezbollah has been weakened after two weeks of Israeli strikes and other attacks that have killed more than 1,200 people across Lebanon and displaced around 1.2 million, according to Lebanese authorities.

"Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without António Guterres," he concluded.

Israel's foreign minister declared UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres 'persona non grata' and was henceforth banning him from entering Israel, according to a post on X/Twitter on Wednesday.

US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller later stated the US believes this step is "not productive at all" due to the UN's role in the region.

(Bloomberg) -- German police cordoned off part of a train station in Hamburg and isolated two people to reduce the risk of the deadly Marburg virus spreading.

A medical student who was traveling to Hamburg from Rwanda reported that he might have contracted a tropical disease, according to the local government. The person had been working at a hospital in the African country that had also treated people with Marburg. Upon arrival on Wednesday, the student and a companion were isolated and transported for more testing.

Mr. Ahmadinejad makes the claim during an interview with CNN’s Turkish affiliate.

After weeks of daring Israeli attacks on Iranian proxies in Lebanon and Gaza — and even in Iran itself — comments made recently by the former president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to the effect that Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency managed to infiltrate even the top echelons of Iran’s intelligence services are drawing increased scrutiny.

According to a report in the Times of Israel, Mr. Ahmadinejad says an intelligence group tasked primarily with spying on Israel was all-but taken over by Mossad, which managed to recruit the head of the Iranian group — as well as most of his lieutenants — as a double agent. The goal of the Mossad operation, according to Mr. Ahmadinejad, was to steal information about Iran’s nuclear program.

Some 400 rockets were launched onto Israel on Tuesday night by Iran, The Jerusalem Post understands, following rocket alert sirens that blared throughout the country.

So far, 4 people were reportedly killed during the aerial attacks, and there have been two direct hits, one of which was in Tel Aviv.

Iran launched the wave of attacks after the IDF announced on Monday night that it had begun limited ground operations in Lebanon.

WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio (AP) — Stubborn drought in Ohio and the shifting weather patterns influenced by climate change appear to be affecting North America’s largest native fruit: the pawpaw.

Avocado-sized with a taste sometimes described as a cross between a mango and banana, the pawpaw is beloved by many but rarely seen in grocery stores in the U.S. due to its short shelf life. The fruit grows in various places in the eastern half of North America, from Ontario to Florida. But in parts of Ohio, which hosts an annual festival dedicated to the fruit, and Kentucky, some growers this year are reporting earlier-than-normal harvests and bitter-tasting fruit, a possible effect of the extreme weather from the spring freezes to drought that has hit the region.

Take Valerie Libbey’s orchard in Washington Court House, about an hour’s drive from Columbus. Libbey grows 100 pawpaw trees and said she was surprised to see the fruit dropping from trees in the first week of August instead of mid-September.

“I had walked into the orchard to do my regular irrigation and the smell of the fruit just hit me,” said Libbey, who added that this year’s harvest period was much shorter than in previous years and the fruits themselves were smaller and more bitter.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Hundreds of LGBTQ+ people and their supporters rallied in Nepal’s capital Tuesday during the annual Pride parade, the first since gay couples were able to register same-sex marriages officially in the Himalayan nation following a Supreme Court order in Nov 2023.

The annual event brings together the sexual minority community and their supporters in Kathmandu during the Gai Jatra festival.

Tuesday’s rally was participated by a government minister, diplomats and officials, which began at the city’s tourist hub and went around its main streets.