UKRAINE

DONETSK, Ukraine — An explosion and fire rocked a chemical plant outside a separatist stronghold in eastern Ukraine Monday. Rebels said it was hit by government shelling. No casualties or damage were immediately reported from the blast, which was so powerful that it was heard as far as downtown Donetsk. 

EUROPE-UKRAINE

BRUSSELS —French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says that the European Union will hold off on expanding sanctions against Ukraine seperatists and Russians for now depending on developments in eastern Ukraine and in ongoing peace negotiations. 

FRANCE-GUNSHOTS

PARIS — Police in the southern French city of Marseille say gunmen have fired automatic weapons at the edge of a housing project the same day as the prime minister planned to visit the city. No injuries were immediately reported. The police official, who could not be named because she was not authorized to speak publicly about Monday's shooting, said riot police have blocked off the Castellane housing project in northern Marseille. The project is rife with drug gangs and violence. 

ITALY-SHIPWRECK TRIAL

GROSSETO, Italy — Whatever verdict is delivered in the trial of the Italian sea captain for the shipwreck of the Costa Concordia cruise liner and for the deaths of 32 people, survivors and victims' families already are wondering if justice will be done. The trial, expected to bring a verdict this week, has a sole defendant. Francesco Schettino is accused of causing the shipwreck on the night of Jan. 13, 2012, when he steered too close to a tiny Tuscan island, smashing into a granite reef that sliced open the hull, sending seawater rushing in. 

TURKEY-G20-GLOBAL ECONOMY

ISTANBUL — A major international economic organization is warning that developed countries have slowed efforts to reform their economies since the aftermath of the world financial crisis. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a think tank dealing with the world's developed countries, says in a report that the lagging attention to reform is preventing many advanced economies from returning to the growth rates they enjoyed before the crisis. 

BRITAIN-HSBC

LONDON — HSBC's Swiss private bank helped thousands of global clients — including arms dealers, diamond traffickers and celebrities — dodge taxes, according to a report based on leaked documents that lifts the veil on the country's banking secrecy laws. 

SERBIA-SAVE THE CARPETS

PIROT, Serbia — A Pirot carpet has magical powers, they say, its colorful patterns and symbols designed to bring luck and protect from evil. Nearly every home in this eastern Serbian town has one — big or small, rolled out on the floor, wrapped around the furniture or hung on the wall. Yet Pirot's centuries-old craft of carpet weaving is in danger of dying out and a group of women have been fighting to keep it alive. 

GERMANY-AIRPORT STRIKES

BERLIN — Police have closed entrances to the airport in the German city of Hamburg amid chaos caused by a strike. Security personnel and other staff are staging strikes Monday at airports in Hamburg, Hannover and Stuttgart to press their demands for pay increases of up to 2.50 euros ($2.86) an hour.