President Joe Biden said Russia's war in Ukraine amounted to "genocide," accusing President Vladimir Putin of trying to "wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian."

"Yes, I called it genocide," he told reporters in Iowa on Tuesday shortly before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington. "It's become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of even being a Ukrainian."

Iran's supreme leader has insisted negotiations over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal "are going ahead properly," even after repeated comments by American officials that an agreement to restore the accord may not happen.

The comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a meeting with hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi's administration marking the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, offered his endorsement of their "faithful and diligent" efforts.

Ukraine investigated a claim that a poisonous substance was dropped on besieged Mariupol, as Western officials warned Tuesday that any use of chemical weapons by Russia would be a serious escalation of the already devastating war.

Thwarted in his apparent ambition to overrun the Ukrainian capital, Russian President Vladimir Putin is now building up forces for a new offensive in the eastern Donbas region, and insisted Tuesday that his campaign would achieve its goals. He said Russia "had no other choice" but to launch what he calls a "special military operation," saying it was to protect civilians in the predominantly Russian-speaking Donbas.

A German woman who allegedly abused a Yazidi slave while in Islamic State-held territory in Syria has been charged with crimes against humanity and other offenses, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

The woman, identified only as Jalda A. in keeping with German privacy laws, was arrested upon her arrival back in Germany on Oct. 7. Before her repatriation, she had been held captive by Kurdish forces since late 2017.

Honda is investing 5 trillion yen ($40 billion) over the next decade in research, especially to realize a major shift to ecological electric vehicles, the Japanese automaker said Tuesday.

The products and services in the works will account for more than half of its 8 trillion yen ($64 billion) research and development budget in that time and will be tailored for each major market, the U.S., China and Japan.

Some vendors on Etsy say they are halting sales of their items on the site for a week to protest a hike in the fees the crafts e-commerce marketplace charges them.

Starting Monday, Etsy sellers must pay a 6.5% commission on each transaction, up from the 5% in place since 2018.

FIFA is getting into the streaming platform business with a soccer version of Netflix and Amazon Prime.

The service is free and largely featuring documentaries and some live games at the launch but it could eventually be a way for FIFA to broadcast World Cup matches itself at a cost.

Madrid authorities have reinforced security measures in the Spanish capital ahead of the arrival of thousands of English fans for Champions League matches this week.

The quarterfinal games between Real Madrid and Chelsea on Tuesday and Atlético Madrid and Manchester City on Wednesday have been declared "high-risk" matches by the local authorities.

This time, defense alone won't be enough to keep Atlético Madrid alive in the Champions League.

Diego Simeone's team needs its attack to wake up if it wants to overcome the 1-0 first-leg loss to Manchester City in the quarterfinals of the European competition.

Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho does not want to extend his stay at the English club to a 10th year and plans to return to his native Brazil at the end of the season.

The 36-year-old holding midfielder said his desire for more game time was behind his decision to leave City.