Russia attacks Ukraine’s energy supplies as US cuts its access to satellite images

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials said Russia had targeted energy facilities with dozens of missiles and drones in a nighttime attack. The barrage hobbled the country’s ability to deliver heat and light to its citizens and to power weapons factories vital to its defenses. The overnight onslaught — which also pounded residences and wounded at least 10 people — came days after the U.S. suspended military aid and intelligence to Ukraine to pressure it into accepting a peace deal being pushed by the Trump administration. Also on Friday, the U.S. government said it halted Ukrainian access to unclassified satellite images that had been used to help it fight back against Russia.

WWII bomb disposal operation in Paris causes hours of travel chaos

PARIS (AP) — The disposal of what Paris police called an “excessively dangerous” unexploded World War II bomb caused hours of transportation chaos on rail and road networks in the French capital. Disposal experts managed to unscrew and then destroy the fuse of the half-ton British-made bomb. But their lengthy operation to make it safe forced the suspension of high-speed train links with London and Brussels. And it forced the cancellation of hundreds of train services and also shut down major roads. Commuters’ workdays and passengers’ travel plans were upended. The French transport minister expressed relief when it was all over on Friday.

90,000 Palestinians attend the first Friday prayers of Ramadan in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (AP) — Some 90,000 Palestinians have prayed at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City under tight security by Israeli forces. It was the first Friday prayers of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Thousands made their way from the West Bank into Jerusalem for the prayers after Israel allowed men over 55 and women over 50 to enter from the occupied territory for the prayers. Tensions have risen in the West Bank the past weeks amid Israeli raids on militants. But there was no immediate sign of frictions on Friday. This Ramadan takes place as a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is in place in Gaza since mid-January — though its future is uncertain.

Clashes in Syria between government forces and Assad loyalists kill nearly 200

BEIRUT (AP) — A war monitor says two days of clashes between Syrian security forces and gunmen loyal to former President Bashar Assad have left nearly 200 dead. The clashes along the coast are the worst since Assad was removed from power in early December by insurgent groups led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. On Friday morning, large numbers of Syrian troops under the new Islamist authorities were deployed in Latakia, where a curfew kept civilians off the streets. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that the outskirts of coastal towns are still under the control of Assad loyalists, as is Assad’s hometown of Qardaha, in the mountains overlooking the coast.