In brief: Separatists claim advances in Ukraine

Kiev, Ukraine – Ukrainian troops and separatists battled for control of the strategic railway junction of Debaltseve on Tuesday, with each side blaming the other for violating a weekend cease-fire meant to end 10 months of combat in eastern Ukraine.

At day’s end, pro-Russia separatists claimed to control about 80 percent of the city, including the railway station and police precinct. Their assertion could not readily be confirmed.

A Ukrainian official denied his nation’s forces were losing ground.

Both sides failed Tuesday to begin pulling back heavy weapons from the front lines, a deadline set under the cease-fire reached last week. Each had said Monday it would not begin to pull back its weapons until it saw that the other side had done so.

Pro-Russia separatists reportedly used Russian Grad missile systems and Russian tanks in the fighting in Debaltseve, where most of residents have been evacuated in recent weeks.

Report blasts Netanyahu for spending

Jerusalem – In a scathing report with potential political and criminal repercussions, Israel’s state comptroller sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday for excessive spending of public funds in his official and private residences.

The highly anticipated report, which came just four weeks before Israeli elections, faulted Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, for using public funds to spend lavishly on a variety of personal goods and services, including cleaning, clothing, water and grooming, between 2009 and 2012. The spending dropped after that.

Netanyahu defended his behavior, but political opponents seized on the report. Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog said he found the findings infuriating.

The Netanyahus live and work in the official prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem and keep a private home in Caesarea, one of the country’s priciest spots. According to the report by Comptroller Joseph Shapira, spending on both often far exceeded necessity, formal budgets and good taste. In addition, the report pointed to improprieties in management of finances, human resources and external contractors.

Amid thefts, Mexico won’t ship gasoline

Mexico City – Slammed by a 70 percent increase in illegal pipeline taps in one year, Mexico’s state oil company announced Tuesday it will no longer ship finished, usable gasoline or diesel through its network of ducts.

Analysts said it was a striking admission of Mexico’s inability to stop the fuel thefts, in which thieves drill into pipelines operated by Petroleos Mexicanos more than 10 times each day, on average.

“This is a big admission of the vulnerability of Pemex,” said George Baker, publisher of the Houston-based newsletter Mexico Energy Intelligence.

Petroleos Mexicanos, known as Pemex, said the number of illegal taps rose to 3,674 in 2014, up 70 percent from 2013 and 137 percent over 2012 figures. The market for illegal gasoline and diesel, in which drug cartels have been implicated, has more than doubled in the last two years.

Pemex lost an estimated $1.15 billion in fuel thefts in the first nine months of 2014, according to the latest figure available.