Could Russian President Vladimir Putin one day stand in the dock in The Hague? The prospect seemed to move closer after Germany backed a special court for the invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine's interior minister was among 16 people, including two children, who were killed when a helicopter crashed near a kindergarten outside the capital Kyiv, officials said Wednesday.

In a video that circulated online from the aftermath of the incident, cries could be heard at the scene which was consumed by a fire.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen promised Tuesday that there would be "no let-up" in EU support for Ukraine as she addressed delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

An accidental grenade blast in a Russian region bordering Ukraine has led to at least seven deaths, the Interfax news agency reported Tuesday.

China has announced its first population decline in decades as what has been the world's most populous nation ages and its birthrate plunges.

The National Bureau of Statistics reported Tuesday that the country had 850,000 fewer people at the end of 2022 than the previous year. The tally includes only the population of mainland China, excluding Hong Kong and Macao as well as foreign residents.

Ukraine's first lady will give a rare international address as the World Economic Forum's annual gathering in the snowy Swiss town of Davos gets into full swing on Tuesday, part of a push by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his government to acquire more foreign weapons to defend against Russia's invasion.

Security teams fanned out and snowplows cleared streets as Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska and hundreds of government officials, corporate titans, academics and activists from around the world descended on the town billed as Europe's highest for the traditional winter gathering in Davos. The COVID-19 pandemic torpedoed the snow-covered event each of the last two years, but a springtime iteration was held eight months ago.

Up to 12,000 people have marched to the EU Parliament in the eastern French city of Strasbourg in support of Iran's anti-government protesters while the Eiffel Tower lit the night with the slogan "Woman. Life. Freedom," which embodies the protest movement spilling beyond Iran.

The Eiffel Tower display also beamed the message, "Stop executions in Iran," highlighting a demand of protesters.

The toll from a devastating strike on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro was expected to rise past 40 on Tuesday as rescuers searched the rubble for 25 people still missing after one of Russia's deadliest attacks since its invasion.

President Volodymyr Zelensky denounced the missile strike as a war crime.

A top lawyer was murdered at a Pakistan high court on Monday by a colleague who shot him six times while dressed in full judicial robes, police and a witness said.

A British police officer in an armed unit protecting MPs and foreign diplomats has admitted 24 counts of rape and a string of other sex offences over nearly two decades.