The United States on Wednesday announced the approval of $322 million in arms sales to bolster Ukraine's air defenses and its armored combat vehicles.

A delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency will visit Iran within two to three weeks, an Iranian official said Wednesday, adding that the group will not have access to the country's nuclear sites.

The White House pulled out all the stops Wednesday to promote claims that Barack Obama headed a "treasonous conspiracy" against Donald Trump, seeking to redirect public attention from uproar over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein affair.

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.