Israel says it has recovered the bodies of 2 Israeli-American hostages

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel has recovered the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages taken in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war in the Gaza Strip. Israeli strikes overnight and into Thursday meanwhile killed at least 13 people, including three local journalists who were in the courtyard of a hospital, according to health officials in the territory. The military said it targeted a militant in that strike. Israel said the remains of Judih Weinstein and Gad Haggai were recovered in a special operation by the army and the Shin Bet internal security agency. The military says they were killed in the Oct. 7 attack. Hamas-led militants are still holding 56 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive.

ECB cuts benchmark interest rate by quarter point as Trump tariffs threaten economy

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank cut its benchmark interest rate for an eighth time, aiming to support businesses and consumers with more affordable borrowing as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war threatens to slow already tepid growth. The bank’s rate-setting council cut interest rates by a quarter of a point Thursday at the bank’s skyscraper headquarters in Frankfurt. Analysts expected a cut, given the gloomier outlook for growth since Trump announced a slew of new tariffs April 2 and subsequently threatened to impose a crushing 50% tariff, or import tax, on European goods.

Russian strike kills 5 in Ukraine, including a 1-year-old, hours after Trump-Putin call

PRYLUKY, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials say at least five people, including a 1-year-old child, his mother and grandmother, were killed in a Russian drone strike on a northern Ukrainian overnight. Local authorities say six Shahed-type drones struck residential areas of Pryluky shortly before dawn Thursday. The attack came just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. According to Trump, Putin said “very strongly” that Russia will retaliate for Ukraine’s stunning drone attacks on Russian military airfields on Sunday. Officials also said Thursday that 19 people were wounded in a Russian drone strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, including children, a pregnant woman, and a 93-year-old woman.

Afghans who helped America during the war plead for an exemption from Trump travel ban

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghans who helped the U.S. during its 20-year war against the Taliban want President Donald Trump to exempt them from a travel ban. Thousands are stuck in Pakistan after Trump suspended a refugee resettlement program earlier this year. After Trump’s latest announcement, they face little to no hope of reaching the U.S. One Afghan, who worked with the U.S. military for eight years, said Thursday he felt abandoned and accused Trump of making up new rules every month. Pakistan has been forcibly deporting foreigners it says are in the country illegally, the majority of them Afghan.