Iranian forces warned a U.S. destroyer to stay out of waters claimed by Tehran, state television reported, an interaction a U.S. defense official said was "safe and professional" and did not affect the ship's mission.

Japan's far-right populist Sanseito party was one of the biggest winners in the weekend's upper house election, attracting many voters with its "Japanese First" platform that included calling for tougher restrictions on foreigners and the curtailment of gender equality and diversity policies.

Sanseito added 14 seats in Sunday's vote to the one seat already held by its leader in the 248-member upper house, the less powerful of Japan's two-chamber parliament.

Ukrainian activists called for more protests against a law they say weakens the country's anti-corruption bodies. The legislation has also drawn rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups.

Thousands of people gathered in the capital and other cities across Ukraine on Tuesday evening to urge President Volodymyr Zelensky to veto a controversial bill passed by Ukraine's Parliament earlier that day. After Zelensky approved it, activists called on social media for another demonstration in the center of Kyiv at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

A plane carrying a Russian delegation taking part in a third round of talks with Ukraine in Istanbul has left Moscow, Russian news agencies reported Wednesday.

"The plane with the Russian delegation has left Moscow for Istanbul," a source told the state RIA news agency.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said a trip to China might be "not too distant," raising prospects that the leaders of the world's two largest economies may meet soon to help reset relations after moving to climb down from a trade war.

Trump made the remarks while hosting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House, where he praised the "fantastic military relationship" with Manila as the U.S. looks to counter China's influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is rebuffing pressure to act on the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, instead sending members home early for a month-long break from Washington after the week's legislative agenda was upended by Republican members who are clamoring for a vote.

Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, said Tuesday morning that he wants to give the White House "space" to release the Epstein information on its own, despite the bipartisan push for legislation that aims to force the release of more documents.

President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, planned to head to the Middle East as the U.S. tries once again to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the State Department's spokesperson said Tuesday.

Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that Witkoff was going to the region with a "strong hope" that the U.S. can deliver a ceasefire deal as well as a new humanitarian corridor for aid distribution.

Australia's Parliament resumed Tuesday for the first time since the center-left Labor Party won one of the nation's largest-ever majorities in the May elections. The day was largely ceremonial, with reminders of conflict in the Middle East.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside Parliament House on Tuesday, calling for the government to impose sanctions on Israel after Australia joined another 27 countries in issuing a joint statement, saying the war in Gaza "must end now."

The United States announced Tuesday it will again pull out of the U.N.'s educational, scientific and cultural agency because of what Washington sees as its anti-Israel bias, only two years after rejoining.

This will be the third time that the United States leaves UNESCO, which is based in Paris, and the second time during a Trump administration. President Donald Trump had already pulled out during his first term and the United States returned after a five-year absence after the Biden administration applied to rejoin the organization.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday renewed his offer to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, but hopes of any progress were low as delegations from both governments prepared to hold a third round of direct talks.

Russian forces, meanwhile, pounded four Ukrainian cities in nighttime attacks that officials said killed a child.