Israel seizes Gaza’s vital Rafah crossing

CAIRO (AP) — Israeli troops have seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing in what the White House described as a limited operation. Fears are mounting of a full-scale invasion of the southern city and cease-fire talks with Hamas remain on a knife’s edge. The U.N. warned of a potential collapse of the flow of aid to Palestinians from the closure of Rafah and the other main crossing into Gaza at a time when officials say the northern part of the enclave is already experiencing “full-blown famine.” The Israeli foray overnight into Tuesday came after hours of whiplash in the Israel-Hamas war. The militant group said Monday it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari mediated cease-fire proposal, but Israel insisted it did not meet its core demands.

Brazil’s flooded south struggles to access basic goods

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) — More than 80% of residents in Brazil’s southern city of Porto Alegre don’t have running water one week after major flooding. The floods have left at least 90 people dead and more than 130 missing. Five of the city’s six water treatment facilities aren’t working. Porto Alegre Mayor Sebastião Melo pleaded on Tuesday with residents to comply with his water rationing decree. Melo ordered the rationing of potable water indefinitely. Melo’s decree says running water should be used exclusively for “essential consumption.” Local shops have also been short on water supplies. More rain is expected in Rio Grande do Sul state into next week.

Rescuers contact some workers in the rubble of a building collapse in S. Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Rescue teams trying to find dozens of construction workers missing since a multi-story apartment complex collapsed in a coastal city in South Africa have made contact with 11 people buried alive beneath the wreckage. One man called his wife from underneath the rubble of the five-story building that was under construction when it collapsed. Six workers have been confirmed dead and there are fears that the death count could rise sharply as there is no news on 37 others missing after the huge slabs of concrete and metal scaffolding came crashing down. The building collapsed Monday in the city of George, about 250 miles east of Cape Town.

Ukraine says it foiled a Russian spy agency plot to assassinate President Zelenskyy

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian counterintelligence investigators say they have foiled a Russian plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top military and political figures. A statement Tuesday from Ukraine’s state security service says that two colonels in the State Guard of Ukraine were detained on suspicion of enacting the plan drawn up by Russia’s Federal Security Service. The State Guard protects top officials. The statement said that the plan was to carry out an attack before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration for a fifth term in power Tuesday. Ukrainian claims of Russian efforts to kill Zelenskyy aren’t new. Zelensky said in 2022 there has been at least 10 attempts to assassinate him as the war with Russia stretches into a third year.