Here are some of the stories we're covering from around the world:

Fierce Fighting Flares Around Eastern Ukrainian Town of Avdiivka

Russian and Ukrainian forces were locked in fierce fighting around the eastern frontline town of Avdiivka for a fourth straight day on Friday, in one of Moscow’s biggest military offensives in months.

Islamic State Attack Kills 17 at Shiite Mosque in Northern Afghanistan

A suicide attack by the Islamic State at a Shiite mosque in northern Afghanistan killed at least 17 people on Friday, according to hospital officials and eyewitnesses, in a bloody reminder of the insecurity that remains in the country and has spread to Pakistan two years after the end of the U.S.-led war.

Van Crowded with Migrants Crashes in Germany, Killing Seven

A van crowded with 22 migrants plus the driver crashed after a high-speed police chase on a highway near Germany’s southern border Friday, killing seven people and injuring 16 others. Among the dead was a six-year-old child.

@nytimes