Czech police investigated Friday why a student went on a dayslong violent rampage culminating in a shooting at the university he attended in Prague that left 14 dead and dozens wounded.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — More than 20,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza during Israel’s war against Hamas, according to claims by health officials in the Hamas-controlled enclave, as Israel expands its ground offensive and orders tens of thousands more people to leave their homes.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — When Alexis Cholas lost his right arm as a volunteer combat medic near the front lines in eastern Ukraine, his civilian career as a surgeon was over. But thanks to a new bionic arm, he was able to continue working in health care and is now a rehab specialist helping other amputees. The 26-year-old is delighted with his sleek black robotic arm — he described it as “love at first sight” — and realizes how lucky he was to get one.

PRAGUE (AP) — A student opened fire Thursday at a university in Prague, killing at least 14 people, officials said, and injuring more than 20 in the Czech Republic’s worst mass shooting. The bloodshed took place in the philosophy department building of Charles University, where the shooter was a student, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said. The gunman also died, authorities said. His name has not been released.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Workers using cranes on Thursday installed two more restored crosses on top of the domes of Kyiv’s 11th-century St. Sophia Cathedral as part of ongoing repair work at the landmark site. The seven golden crosses atop the iconic cathedral’s seven domes had become corroded. Officials said they required urgent attention.

It’s known as The Christmas Truce, and few events in history illustrate that when wars are fought, soldiers on the field don’t feel any real malice toward those they are asked to try to kill. The History Channel proclaimed it to be “one of the most storied and strangest moments of the Great War — or of any war in history.”

The year started with high hopes for Ukrainian troops planning a counteroffensive against Russia. It ended with disappointment on the battlefield, an increasingly somber mood among troops and anxiety about the future of Western aid for Ukraine's war effort. In between, there was a short-lived rebellion in Russia, a dam collapse in Ukraine, and the spilling of much blood on both sides of the conflict.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — President Javier Milei announced sweeping initiatives Wednesday to transform Argentina’s struggling economy, including easing government regulation and allowing the privatization of state-run industries as a way to boost exports and investment.

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military on Wednesday said it had uncovered a major Hamas command center in the heart of Gaza City, inflicting what it described as a serious blow to the Islamic militant group. The army said it had exposed the center of a vast underground network used by Hamas to move weapons, militants and supplies throughout the Gaza Strip. Israel has said destroying the tunnels is a major objective of the offensive.

After blunting Ukraine’s counteroffensive from the summer, Russia is building up its resources for a new stage of the war over the winter, which could involve trying to extend its gains in the east and deal significant blows to the country's vital infrastructure. Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be hoping that relentless military pressure, combined with changing Western political dynamics and a global focus on the Israeli-Hamas war, will drain support for Ukraine in the nearly 2-year-old war and force Kyiv to yield to Moscow’s demands.

OMO FOREST RESERVE, Nigeria (AP) — Men in dusty workwear trudge through a thicket, making their way up a hill where sprawling plantations lay tucked in a Nigerian rainforest whose trees have been hacked away to make room for cocoa bound for places like Europe and the U.S. Kehinde Kumayon and his assistant clear low bushes that compete for sunlight with their cocoa trees, which have replaced the lush and dense natural foliage.

YANGWA, China (AP) — Surrounded by destruction, survivors of an earthquake mourned the dead and endured a frigid cold in temporary shelters Wednesday, unsure how to rebuild their lives in the remote mountains of northwest China. “Look at this,” said Han Zhongmin, retrieving some belongings with his wife from the ruins of their house, built six years ago in Yangwa village. "My house turned into this overnight.”

YANGWA, China (AP) — Surrounded by destruction, survivors of an earthquake mourned the dead and endured a frigid cold in temporary shelters Wednesday, unsure how to rebuild their lives in the remote mountains of northwest China.

PARIS (AP) — A Rwandan doctor was sentenced by a Paris court on Wednesday to 24 years in prison for his role in the 1994 genocide in his home country. Sosthene Munyemana, 68, was found guilty of charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and helping prepare a genocide.

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo headed to the polls Wednesday to vote for president as authorities scrambled to finalize preparations in an election facing steep logistical and security challenges.

LONDON (AP) — Scientists anticipated the eruption of a volcano in southwestern Iceland for weeks, so when it happened on Monday night, it was no surprise. The region had been active for more than two years and thousands of small earthquakes rattled the area in recent weeks.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday he's certain the United States will make good on its promise to provide billions of dollars in further aid for Kyiv to continue its fight against Russia, and he bluntly replied “No,” to a question about whether his country might lose the war.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces raided one of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza’s north and bombarded the south with airstrikes, pressing ahead with their …

BEIJING (AP) — A strong overnight earthquake rattled a mountainous region of northwestern China, authorities said Tuesday, destroying homes, leaving residents out in a below-freezing winter night and killing 127 people in the nation’s deadliest quake in nine years.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A volcanic eruption started Monday night on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, turning the sky orange and prompting the country’s civil defense to be on high alert. The eruption appears to have occurred about 2.4 miles from the town of Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — The U.S. and a host of other nations are creating a new force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea that have come under attack by drones and ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced early Tuesday in Bahrain.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The head of the CIA jetted to Europe for talks with Israeli and Qatari officials Monday, sounding out the potential for a deal on a new cease-fire and the release of hostages in Gaza, as the U.S. defense secretary spoke to Israeli military leaders about scaling back major combat operations against Hamas.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A gloomy mood hangs over Ukraine's soldiers nearly two years after Russia invaded their country. Despite a disappointing counteroffensive this summer and signs of wavering financial support from allies, Ukrainian soldiers say they remain fiercely determined to win. But as winter approaches, they worry that Russia is better equipped for battle and are frustrated about being on the defensive again in a grueling war. Some doubt the judgment of their leaders.

FASS BOYE, Senegal (AP) — The voyage from the struggling Senegalese fishing town of Fass Boye to Spain’s Canary Islands, a gateway to the European Union where they hoped to find work, was supposed to take a week. But the wooden boat carrying 101 men and boys was getting blown further and further away from its destination.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the sea Monday in a resumption of its high-profile weapons testing activities, its neighbors said, as the North vows strong responses against U.S. and South Korean moves to boost their nuclear deterrence plans.