BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces battling Russian troops in a key eastern city appeared on the cusp of retreat. But the regional governor insisted Wednesday they are still fighting “for every centimeter” of the city. The urban battle for Sievierodonetsk testified to the painstaking, inch-by-inch advance by Russian forces as they close in on control of the entire Luhansk region.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Owliyo Hassan Salaad has watched four of her children die this year. A drought in the Horn of Africa has taken them, one by one. A drought in the Horn of Africa has taken them, one by one. Previously unreported data shared with The Associated Press show nearly 450 deaths this year at malnutrition treatment centers in Somalia alone.

El ROCÍO, Spain (AP) — After a two-year hiatus forced by the pandemic, tens of thousands of pilgrims — many of them outfitted in tiered flamenco dresses, crisp riding suits and wide-brimmed Cordoba hats — descended on the tiny Spanish village of El Rocío to take part in riotously colorful and ancient festival, la Romería del Rocío, or the Rocío virgin pilgrimage.

MILAN (AP) — Italian agents have confiscated 4.3 tons of cocaine with a street value of nearly a quarter-billion euros (dollars) in the northeastern port city of Trieste, dealing a blow to Colombia's feared Gulf Clan in one of the largest drug busts ever in Europe. Arrest warrants were being executed for 38 people on suspicion of international drug trafficking in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Colombia.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and its Asian allies have flown dozens of fighter jets over waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula in a show of force as their diplomats discussed a coordinated response to a possibly imminent North Korean nuclear test. The flights came as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman traveled to Seoul for discussions with South Korea and Japanese officials over the gathering North Korean threat and warned of a “swift and forceful” counterresponse if the North proceeds with a nuclear test explosion.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia claims it has occupied large swaths of eastern Ukraine after a relentless, weeks-long barrage and the recent deployment of more troops. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that Moscow’s forces have control of 97% of the Luhansk region.

OWO, Nigeria (AP) — Authorities in southwestern Nigeria say the gunmen who killed 50 people at a church opened fire both inside and outside the building in a coordinated attack before escaping. No one has claimed responsibility.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has survived a no-confidence vote, securing enough support in his party to remain in office despite a rebellion that will likely weaken him as a leader and casts a shadow over his future. Known for his ability to shrug off scandals, the charismatic leader has struggled to turn the page on revelations that he and his staff repeatedly held boozy parties that flouted the COVID-19 restrictions they imposed on others.

BEIJING (AP) — Diners are returning to restaurants in most of Beijing for the first time in more than a month as authorities further eased pandemic-related restrictions. The moves Monday came after a small COVID-19 outbreak in the capital was largely eradicated under China’s strict “zero-COVID” approach.

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — Several dozen World War II veterans are expected to attend D-Day commemoration ceremonies Monday in France. For two years, D-Day ceremonies were reduced to a minimum amid COVID-19 restrictions. This year, crowds of French and international visitors are back in Normandy for the 78th anniversary.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The British government says the multiple-launch rocket systems it's offering to Ukraine will bring “a significant boost in capability” for the country’s efforts to resist Russia’s invasion. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement Monday that “if the international community continues its support, I believe Ukraine can win” its war against Russia.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The gunmen who attacked a church during Sunday Mass in southwestern Nigeria opened fire inside and outside, killing at least 50 people. No one has claimed responsibility for the massacre, and local authorities said the gunmen had evaded capture.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. and South Korea have launched eight ballistic missiles into the sea in a show of force matching a North Korean display a day earlier that extended a provocative streak in weapons demonstrations. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday's drill was aimed at demonstrating an ability to respond swiftly and accurately to North Korean attacks.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Lawmakers in southwestern Nigeria say more than 50 people are feared dead after gunmen opened fire and detonated explosives at a church. Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole with the Ondo State House of Assembly said the gunmen targeted the St Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state on Sunday morning just as the worshippers gathered for the weekly Mass.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials say a volcano southeast of Manila has spewed ash and steam about half a mile into the sky, scattering ash on nearby villages. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level at Mount Bulusan following the 17-minute blast Sunday but added there are no sign of an impending major eruption.

The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is headed toward Bermuda after dumping rain on Florida, flooding some roads. Alex reached tropical storm force after strengthening off Florida’s east coast early Sunday. National Hurricane Center forecasters say Alex had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and was centered about 550 miles west-southwest of Bermuda on Sunday.

RANVILLE, France (AP) — More than 20 British World War II veterans have gathered near Pegasus Bridge for D-Day commemorations in Normandy. The bridge is one of the first sites liberated by Allied forces from Nazi Germany. A series of commemorations are honoring the nearly 160,000 troops from Britain, the United States, Canada and elsewhere who landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia took aim at Western military supplies for Ukraine by launching airstrikes on Kyiv that it claimed destroyed tanks donated from abroad. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin warned Sunday that any Western deliveries of long-range rocket systems would prompt Moscow to hit “objects that we haven’t yet struck.”

LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II has appeared at the balcony of Buckingham Palace, delighting fans who had hoped to catch a glimpse of her during the final day of festivities marking the monarch’s 70 years on the throne. The 96-year-old monarch has curtailed her schedule in recent months due to problems moving around.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A massive fire at a container depot near a port city in southeastern Bangladesh has killed at least 49 people including nine firefighters and injured more than 100 others. Firefighters on Sunday struggled as the blaze continued into a second night. The inferno at the BM Inland Container Depot, a Dutch-Bangladesh joint venture, broke out around midnight Saturday following explosions in a container full of chemicals.

LONDON (AP) — Prince Charles and his son Prince William have honored the past and looked to the future as they paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at a star-studded concert outside Buckingham Palace celebrating the monarch’s 70 years on the throne. The 96-year-old monarch did not attend the concert, but she delighted the crowds when she appeared in a surprise video recorded with an animated version of another British national treasure: Paddington Bear.

BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) — Block-by-block fighting is raging in two key eastern Ukrainian cities on the 100th day of Russia’s war, grinding them to rubble. The governor of the Luhansk region says that fierce battles continue in Sievierodonetsk and that the Russians continue to pummel neighboring Lysychansk. Those are the only two cities in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk province not controlled by Russian forces or Moscow-backed separatists. The Russians have been trying to encircle them.

When Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in late February, the Russian president vowed his forces would not occupy the neighboring country. But as the invasion reached its 100th day on Friday, Russia seemed increasingly unlikely to relinquish the territory it has taken in the war. The ruble is now an official currency in the southern Kherson region. Residents there and in Russia-controlled parts of a neighboring region are getting offered Russian passports.

GUANGZHOU, China (AP) — Dragon boat festivities have returned in parts of China for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in late 2019 as restrictions are lifted along with a major drop in COVID-19 cases. A historic area in the southern Chinese manufacturing hub of Guangzhou staged boat displays and other celebrations Friday to mark the holiday that commemorates the death more than 2,200 years ago of a revered poet and government minister.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some Afghans who were evacuated from their country as it fell to the Taliban last summer have found their journey to the United States stalled at a cluster of tents and temporary housing at a military base in the Balkans. More than 78,000 Afghans have arrived in the U.S. for resettlement since August. But the fate of people who were flagged for additional security vetting, and diverted to Camp Bondsteel in the small nation of Kosovo, remains up in the air.