Russian forces thwarted an attempt at another cross-border incursion by Ukraine into southwestern Russia, a local official reported Sunday, months after Kyiv staged a bold assault on its nuclear-armed enemy that Moscow is still struggling to halt.

An “armed group” sought Sunday to breach the border between Ukraine and Russia’s Bryansk region, its governor, Aleksandr Bogomaz, said but was beaten back. Bogomaz did not clarify whether Ukrainian soldiers carried out the alleged attack, but claimed on Sunday evening that the situation was “stable and under control” by the Russian military.

There was no immediate acknowledgement or response from Ukrainian officials.

The region neighbors Kursk province, where Ukraine launched a surprise push on Aug. 6 that rattled the Kremlin and constituted the largest attack on Russia since World War II. Hundreds of Russian prisoners were blindfolded and ferried away in trucks in the opening moments of the lightning advance, and Ukraine’s battle-hardened units swiftly pressed on across hundreds of square miles of territory.

Responsibility for previous incursions into Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk regions has been claimed by two murky groups: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion.

Russian officials and state media have sought to downplay the significance of Kyiv’s thunderous run in Kursk, but the country’s forces have so far been unable to dislodge Ukrainian troops from the province. Western officials have speculated that Moscow may send troops from North Korea to bolster its effort to do so, stoking the almost three-year war and bringing geopolitical consequences as far away as the Indo-Pacific region.

Biden marks 6 years since synagogue attack

President Joe Biden on Sunday marked the sixth anniversary of a gunman’s deadly attack on a Pittsburgh synagogue and called out what he called an “appalling surge of antisemitism” amid the war in Gaza.

The 2018 attack claimed the lives of 11 worshippers from Dor Hadash, New Light and Tree of Life congregations, which shared space in the synagogue in Squirrel Hill, the heart of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community. Two worshippers and five responding police officers were also injured in the attack, the deadliest act of antisemitism in U.S. history.

Biden said in a statement that the attack “shattered families, pierced the heart of the Jewish community, and struck the soul of our nation.” But he said that in the years since, the Jewish community “has also shown the country how to courageously turn pain into purpose” launching “a global initiative to counter hate and hate-fueled violence.”

Election shifts Japan’s parliamentary balance

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling coalition lost a majority in the 465-seat lower house in a key parliamentary election Sunday, Japan’s NHK public television said. The results reflect voters’ outrage over the governing party’s extensive financial scandals.

Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party remains the top party in Japan’s parliament, and a change of government is not expected. But the results create political uncertainty. Falling short of a majority makes it difficult for Ishiba to get his party’s policies through parliament, and he may need to find a third coalition partner. The LDP’s coalition retains a majority in the less powerful upper house.

Official results are expected later Monday.

Ishiba took office on Oct. 1 and immediately ordered the election in hopes of shoring up support after his predecessor, Fumio Kishida, failed to address public outrage over the LDP’s scandals.

Ishiba said the LDP would still lead a ruling coalition and tackle key policies, compile a planned supplementary budget and pursue political reform.

Iran’s imprisoned Nobel laureate hospitalized

Iranian authorities have allowed imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to be hospitalized after almost nine weeks of feeling sick, a group campaigning for the activist said Sunday.

The Free Narges Coalition said in a statement that Mohammadi must be granted a medical furlough to receive comprehensive treatment for multiple conditions. It said that just transferring her to the hospital will not address the severe health issues caused by months of neglect and deprivation.

Mohammadi is being held at Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, which houses political prisoners and those with Western ties. She already had been serving a 30-month sentence, to which 15 more months were added in January.

On Saturday, Iranian authorities issued an additional six-month sentence against her after she protested the execution of another political prisoner in the women’s ward of Evin Prison on Aug. 6.

Mohammadi suffers from heart disease, and according to her medical report issued in September, the main artery of her heart has again developed a serious complication.

Sao Paolo mayor avoids Bolsonaro mention

Voters in Brazil’s biggest city, Sao Paulo, on Sunday reelected mayor Ricardo Nunes following a tumultuous campaign that had pitted him against a leftist ally of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Nunes, who received lukewarm support from former President Jair Bolsonaro in the campaign, distanced himself from the far-right leader in his victory speech.

Nunes, who inherited the mayorship after Bruno Covas died of cancer in 2021, had almost 60% of the vote to secure another four years on the job, election officials said.

The reelected mayor did not mention Bolsonaro as one of the people who helped him win and championed Sao Paulo Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas, an ally of the far-right leader.

McDonald’s: Beef is back on the menu

McDonald’s announced Sunday that Quarter Pounders will again be on its menu at hundreds of its restaurants after testing ruled out beef patties as the source of the outbreak of E. coli poisoning tied to the popular burgers that killed one person and sickened at least 75 others across 13 states.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to believe that slivered onions from a single supplier are the likely source of contamination, McDonald’s said in a statement. It said it will resume selling the Quarter Pounder at affected restaurants —- without slivered onions — in the coming week.

Early information analyzed by the FDA showed that uncooked slivered onions used on the burgers “are a likely source of contamination,” the agency said.

Indonesia’s Marapi volcano erupts

One of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes erupted Sunday, spewing thick columns of ash at least three times and blanketing villages with debris, but no casualties were reported.

Mount Marapi, in Agam district of the province of West Sumatra, is known for sudden eruptions that are difficult to predict because they are not caused by a deep movement of magma, which sets off tremors that register on seismic monitors.

It unleashed hot ash clouds that spread for several miles, covering nearby villages and towns with thick volcanic residue, said Ahmad Rifandi, an official with Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center at the Marapi monitoring post. It also shot ash columns as high as 6,560 feet.

Georgian president calls for public protests

Georgia’s president said Sunday she did not recognize the results of this weekend’s parliamentary vote, which election officials say was won by the ruling party, adding that the country fell victim to a “Russian special operation” aimed at moving it off a path toward Europe.

Standing alongside opposition leaders, President Salome Zourabichvili urged Georgians to rally Monday night on Tbilisi’s main street to protest what she called a “total falsification, a total stealing of your votes,” raising the prospect of further political turmoil in the South Caucasus nation.

She spoke the day after an election which could decide whether Georgia embraces Europe or falls under the sway of Russia.

“This election cannot be recognized, because it is the recognition of Russia’s intrusion here, Georgia’s subordination to Russia,” Zourabichvili said.

The Central Election Commission said Sunday that the ruling party, Georgian Dream, got 54.8% of Saturday’s vote with almost 100% of ballots counted.

Morales claims assassination attempt

Former President Evo Morales of Bolivia claimed he survived an assassination attempt on Sunday after unidentified men opened fire on his car. He was not injured in the alleged attack that quickly became the latest flashpoint in a power struggle between the ex-leader and his protégé-turned-rival, current President Luis Arce.

Morales, 65, blamed President Arce’s government for the outburst of violence, saying it was part of a coordinated campaign by Bolivian authorities to sideline him from politics.

Deputy Security Minister Roberto Rios insisted that police had not acted against the former president. He said authorities were investigating a theory that Morales had staged “a possible self-attack,” citing allegations swirling within the government that Morales had directed the assault on himself to help his own political fortunes.

— From news services