Russian assault opens new front, diverting Ukraine forces as Western aid trickles in

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials and commanders say Russian troops are locked in intense battles with Ukrainian soldiers in the embattled town of Vovchansk and are pushing ahead with a ground offensive that opened a new front to put pressure on overstretched Ukrainian forces. Moscow’s renewed northeast offensive, launched late last week, is the most significant border incursion since the full-scale invasion began. By Monday, only 200 to 300 residents remained inside Vovchansk, said Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov, as Russian forces closed in from three sides. By intensifying offensive operations, Russia seeks to stretch Ukraine’s forces thin and forge breakthroughs ahead of the arrival of much-needed new munitions from the U.S. and European allies, not expected to reach the battlefield for two months.

More bodies found in Indonesia after flash floods killed dozens

PADANG, Indonesia (AP) — Rescuers have recovered more bodies after monsoon rains triggered flash floods on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, leaving 44 people dead and 15 missing. The heavy rains, along with a landslide of mud and cold lava from Mount Marapi, caused a river to breach its banks over the weekend. Authorities are struggling to get tractors and other heavy equipment over washed-out roads in West Sumatra province. Hundreds of police, soldiers and residents dug through the debris with their hands, shovels and hoe as rain, damaged roads and thick mud hampered their progress.

Reports of army killing of villagers in Myanmar supported by photos, a survivor

BANGKOK (AP) — Reports that soldiers of Myanmar’s military government last week carried out a massacre of more than 30 civilians in a village in central Myanmar have been supported in interviews with a local administrator and a man who says he survived the killings. The bloodshed on Saturday morning in Let Htoke Taw village in Sagaing region’s Myinmu township was first reported by independent media. It was the latest of three mass killings in the past few days in Myanmar’s brutal civil war. Myanmar has been mired in violence since the military’s February 2021 seizure of power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi prompted nationwide peaceful protests that security forces suppressed with deadly force.

Town prepares for possible ‘last stand’ as wildfires rage in western Canada

FORT NELSON, British Columbia (AP) — Fire experts and officials are warning that an intense wildfire could reach a town in western Canada this week. There are forecasts of strong winds that have fueled the out-of-control blaze approaching Fort Nelson. Thousands of people have evacuated. A local official says emergency crews are preparing for a “last stand” as dozens of remaining residents are urged to leave. The blaze is one of several out-of-control wildfires in Western Canada threatening communities in provinces such as Alberta and Manitoba. Drought has made the fires worse.