Israeli troops press forward into Gaza City as more Palestinians flee

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli troops and tanks are pushing deeper into Gaza City as more people flee the devastated area. Strikes cut off phone and internet services on Tuesday, making it harder for Palestinians to summon ambulances during the military’s new offensive. Meanwhile, the Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war surpassed 65,000. The Israeli military said air force and artillery units had struck the city more than 150 times in the last few days, ahead of ground troops moving in. The offensive began Monday and aims to take full control of the city.

Alexei Navalny’s widow says lab reports show her husband was poisoned

(AP) — The widow of Alexei Navalny says that two independent labs have found that her husband was poisoned shortly before his death in an Arctic penal colony in Russia. Navalny, a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, died in February 2024 while serving a 19-year sentence. Authorities said he became ill after a walk but provided few details. Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said Wednesday that samples from his body were tested abroad and that they confirmed that he was poisoned. She urged the labs to publish their findings. The Kremlin said it was unaware of her statement.

Zelenskyy: Ukraine expects $3.5B fund for US weapons to sustain fight against Russia

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine expects to have a $3.5 billion fund by next month to buy weapons from the U.S. and sustain its fight against Russia’s invasion. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the amount Wednesday. The fund is known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List. It pools contributions from NATO members excluding the U.S. to purchase American weapons. Zelenskyy mentioned that the first shipments will include missiles for Patriot air defense systems and munitions for HIMARS. A U.S.-Ukraine fund to boost investments in Ukraine’s mineral sector is also set to launch with $150 million. This fund aims to spur reconstruction and military aid.

Suspect in Madeleine McCann disappearance is released after serving time in unrelated case

SEHNDE, Germany (AP) — A German man who is under investigation in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann 18 years ago was released from prison Wednesday after serving his sentence in an unrelated case, police said. The man, who has been identified by media as Christian Brückner, had been serving a seven-year sentence that stemmed from his 2019 conviction for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal. He left the prison at Sehnde, near Hannover in northern Germany, on Wednesday morning.