The Russian army claimed on Thursday to have again captured the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, a key Kyiv bastion in the eastern Kharkiv region where Russia’s soldiers have been steadily advancing.

The United States is not taking part in this weekend’s G20 summit in Johannesburg, the White House said Thursday, denying comments from South Africa’s president who had said Washington wanted to participate.

Guy Gilboa-Dalal, an Israeli hostage released last month after more than two years in captivity, said in a television interview that he was sexually assaulted in captivity in Gaza.