UKRAINE

KIEV, Ukraine — International monitors overseeing a cease-fire in Ukraine between government troops and Russian-backed separatists say that both sides are delaying progress in the planned withdrawal of heavy weaponry. However, Ukraine's military said Thursday it has noted a substantial reduction of unrest in the east and that its positions had not been shelled once over the previous night. 

RUSSIA-UKRAINE-GAS

MOSCOW — A spokesman for the Russian gas giant Gazprom says the company could cut off supplies to neighboring Ukraine by the end of the week, barring further payments. 

GERMANY-TRAPPED IN WORK

BERLIN — Edur Ansa couldn't find work for a year after he got his nursing degree from Barcelona University. Like many other Spaniards, he started looking for work in Germany and ended up with a job at a private hospital. That's when he found himself trapped.

SPAIN-US-POWER-COMPANIES

MADRID — Spain's leading electricity and natural gas company, Iberdrola, will buy the northeastern U.S. utility UIL Holdings Corp. in a deal valued at about $3 billion, the companies said Thursday. The combined company will serve 3.1 million electric and natural gas customers in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and New York. 

GERMANY-ECONOMY

BERLIN — Germany's economy, Europe's largest, is showing more signs of strength, with new figures released Thursday showing consumer confidence at a 13-year high and unemployment declining further.

SPAIN-LATIN-GANGS

MADRID — Spain says it plans to deport 34 top members of violent Latin American street gangs operating in the Spanish capital. The Interior Ministry delegate for Madrid, Cristina Cifuentes, said the expulsions aim to prevent gangs like the Netas or the Latin Kings from getting a foothold in the city.