The battle that turned Mariupol into a worldwide symbol of defiance and suffering drew toward a close as Russia said nearly 1,000 last-ditch Ukrainian fighters who held out inside a pulverized steel plant had surrendered.

Ukraine's military made no mention of Mariupol in its early morning briefing Thursday, saying only that Russian forces were still pressing their offensive on various sections of the front in the east, but were being successfully repelled.

Coming from around the globe, airplanes carrying world leaders have landed in the capital of the United Arab Emirates to offer condolences for the death of the country's president — and acknowledge the influence of the man now fully in charge.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan rarely speaks publicly. The new president shies away from the United Nations' annual summit in New York. And his thoughts on the world around him come filtered through a tight-knit coterie and leaders who interact with him rather than from his pronouncements.

The U.N. special envoy for Iraq warned its political leaders Tuesday that "the streets are about to boil over" because of their deadlock and failure to address a host of issues, including the suffering of ordinary people and armed groups firing rockets with impunity.

Jeannine Hennis-Plasschaert told several reporters after briefing the U.N. Security Council that Iraq and the region cannot afford to go back to October 2019.

With his team's Champions League qualification ambitions in ruins, Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka felt it was time to deliver some home truths.

"Disastrous" was how Xhaka summed up Arsenal's 2-0 loss to Newcastle on Monday that left Tottenham in charge of the race between the north London rivals for a top-four finish in the English Premier League.

It's often said that fans at live concerts give the band a jolt of electricity. Coldplay wants to literally harness that.

The pop superstars have added kinetic dance floors and energy-storing stationary bikes to their latest world tour, encouraging fans to help power the show as they dance or spin.

A look at what's happening in European soccer on Tuesday:

Liverpool looks to extend the Premier League title race with Manchester City to the final round on Sunday by avoiding defeat at Southampton. In reality, though, a win at St. Mary's Stadium is necessary to stand a realistic chance of catching City. Liverpool is four points behind City so needs to beat Southampton and then Wolverhampton on Sunday and hope City slips up against Aston Villa on the same day. A loss for Liverpool means City wins a sixth league title in 11 seasons. A draw leaves Liverpool three points behind and with an inferior goal difference of seven compared to City. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he will make changes following the energy-sapping FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday, when his team won on a penalty shootout after extra time. Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are doubts after sustaining injuries against Chelsea. Southampton is in 15th place and safe from relegation. In the Championship playoffs, Nottingham Forest takes a 2-1 lead into the second leg of its playoff semifinal against Sheffield United. The team that advances will take on Huddersfield in the final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday for the right to play in the Premier League next season.

Elon Musk's ties to China through his role as electric car brand Tesla's biggest shareholder could add complexity to his bid to buy Twitter.

Other companies that want access to China give in to pressure to follow Beijing's positions on Taiwan and other issues. But Twitter is shut out by internet barriers that block most Chinese users from seeing global social media, which gives Beijing no leverage over the company, though the ruling Communist Party uses it to spread propaganda abroad.

Japan's government announced Tuesday it will begin allowing small package tours from four countries later this month before gradually opening up to foreign tourism for the first time since it imposed tight border restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito said the tours will be allowed from Australia, Singapore, Thailand and the United States as an experiment.

The land borders between Spain and Morocco at Ceuta and Melilla, Spain's North African enclave cities, have begun to reopen after being closed for just over two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic and later a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Crowds gathered at the first border to reopen — Tarajal, in Ceuta, and Beni Enzar in Melilla — to witness the reopening at midnight Monday.

The Spanish government approved a draft bill Tuesday that widens abortion rights for teenagers and may make Spain the first country in Europe entitling workers to paid menstrual leave.

The measures are part of a package of proposals that will be sent to the Spanish parliament for debate. The package includes an extension of abortion rights, scrapping the requirement for 16- and 17-year-olds to obtain parental consent before terminating a pregnancy.