An Israeli- and U.S.-backed group paused food delivery at its three distribution sites in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after health officials said dozens of Palestinians were killed in a series of shootings near the sites this week.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it was in discussions with the Israeli military on better guiding foot traffic near the sites and enhancing military training procedures to promote safety.

The outline of the U.S. offer to Iran in their high-stakes negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program is starting to become clearer — but whether any deal is on the horizon remains as cloudy as ever.

Reaching a deal is one of the several diplomatic priorities being juggled by U.S. President Donald Trump and his trusted friend and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. An accord could see the United States lift some of its crushing economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for it drastically limiting or ending its enrichment of uranium.

Mount Etna, the volcano that towers over eastern Sicily, has again captivated the world with a spectacular show, spewing smoke and high into the sky.

But the defining event of Monday's eruption was the more rare pyroclastic flow from the southwestern crater not visible from a distance.

Senior officials from almost 50 nations gathered Wednesday to drum up more weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, with the Pentagon's chief absent for the first time since the group organizing the military aid was set up three years ago.

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at NATO headquarters is going to be chaired by the United Kingdom and Germany. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would only arrive in Brussels after it's over. He will participate in a meeting of NATO defense ministers on Thursday.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled a vote Wednesday on a resolution which demands "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties." U.N. diplomats said the United States is likely to veto it.

The resolution, drafted by the council's 10 elected members who serve two-year terms, reiterates its demand for the release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups following their Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack in southern Israel.

Smoke from Canadian wildfires carried another day of poor air quality south of the border to the Midwest, where conditions in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan were rated "very unhealthy" Tuesday.

The fires have forced more than 27,000 Canadians in three provinces to flee their homes, and the smoke has even reached Europe.

Europe and the United States are meeting in Paris to negotiate a settlement of a tense tariff spat with global economic ramifications between two global economic powerhouses.

The European Union's top trade negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, met Wednesday with his American counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

A Russian rocket attack targeted the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Tuesday, killing at least four people and wounding 25, officials said. President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the assault, saying it underscored that Moscow has no intentions of halting the 3-year-old war.

The attack came a day after direct peace talks in Istanbul made no progress on ending the fighting. Local authorities said the barrage of rockets struck apartment buildings and a medical facility in the center of Sumy.

Meta has cut a 20-year deal to secure nuclear power to help meet surging demand for artificial intelligence and other computing needs at Facebook's parent company.

The investment with Meta will also expand the output of a Constellation Energy Illinois nuclear plant.

Elon Musk blasted President Donald Trump's"big, beautiful bill" of tax breaks and spending cuts as a "disgusting abomination" on Tuesday, testing the limits of his political influence as he targeted the centerpiece of Republicans' legislative agenda.

The broadside, which Musk issued on his social media platform X, came just days after the president gave him a celebratory Oval Office farewell that marked the end of his work for the administration, where he spearheaded the Department of Government Efficiency.