UKRAINE

LUHANSKE, Ukraine — Fierce fighting raged on Friday in east Ukraine between government troops and Russian-backed separatists as the warring sides attempted to bolster their positions ahead of a weekend cease-fire deadline. Combat persisted in the first hours after the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France signed a peace deal Thursday in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.

GREECE-BAILOUT

BRUSSELS — Greek stocks led a European market rally on Friday amid hopes that the new government is inching its way to a debt compromise deal with its creditors in the 19-country eurozone. The main stock index in Athens was up almost 5 percent in midday trading, with bank shares leading the charge, as investors grew optimistic that a deal is possible on Greece's demand to lighten the load of its bailout. 

EUROPE-ECONOMY

BRUSSELS — Strong growth in Germany helped the eurozone economy expand faster than expected in the final three months of 2014, the latest in a string of indicators showing the region is picking up steam amid lower oil prices and a weaker euro. 

TURKEY-EXPLOSION

ANKARA, Turkey — A bomb exploded Friday near a police checkpoint at a Turkish town near the border with Syria, injuring two people, officials said. Turkish Labor Minister Faruk Celik said the bomb inside a garbage container was left beside a parked car 15 meters (yards) from a police checkpoint in Suruc. A policeman and a passer-by sustained slight injuries, he said. 

GERMANY-DRESDEN FIREBOMBING

DRESDEN, Germany — Soviet troops were pressing into Germany from the east and the other Allies from the west, but for 12-year-old schoolboy Eberhard Renner the war seemed far away. Dresden had been spared the destruction suffered by other cities like Berlin and Hamburg, and Renner clung to the hope that the Saxon capital would stay off the target list with the war so clearly near its end. By Kerstin Sopke and David Rising. 

VATICAN-CARDINALS

VATICAN CITY — One hails from Tonga, where climate change is threatening the very existence of the archipelago. Several live in places tormented by drug violence and organized crime. The 20 men from 18 countries who will join the College of Cardinals on Saturday reflect the far-flung diversity of the Catholic Church.