The EU's top officials threw their support Wednesday behind International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane, after she was hit by U.S. sanctions.

In twin statements on X, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Antonio Costa said they "stand firmly" with the ICC's president and top officials, which "must be able to act independently and without external pressure."

A head-on collision between a bus and a truck killed at least 21 people on Wednesday in the municipality of Imbituva in southern Brazil, local officials said.

Images in the local press showed a bus with a sign for people with disabilities smashed to pieces next to a truck.

Waves of Ukrainian drones targeted the massive logistics center outside Moscow overnight. The next morning, it was still ablaze, dark smoke rising into the sky from what was one of Russia's largest retail warehouses.

Hundreds of miles away, Ukrainian drone crews had barely paused after the night's work before starting to prepare for another attack.

The South Korean and U.S. militaries have agreed to sharply scale back their drills at the U.S.'s request, South Korean officials said Wednesday, a move that likely reflected President Donald Trump's hopes to reengage with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but that could undermine a U.S.-South Korean defense readiness.

Trump had ordered his Pentagon chief to downsize the allies' summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, just before they began Monday for an 11-day run. Trump cited what he said was a good relationship with Kim and South Korea's refusal to support him over Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that no talks with Tehran are under way or planned and insisted the blockade of Iran’s ports remains in force.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signed into law a measure that would introduce a conditional pardon for thousands of Kurdish militants as part of a government peace effort with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

The measure was published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday. It will only come into force after Turkey's National Security Council confirms that the group has fully dissolved itself and disarmed.

Ukrainian forces staged one of their biggest drone attacks on Russia since Moscow's invasion more than four years ago, firing almost 800 drones just two days after launching a similar salvo, officials said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a Russian missile strike on a village in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region killed at least 10 people and wounded eight others as the barrage demolished homes, officials said Tuesday.

A hand grenade attack near a school in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday afternoon wounded multiple children, authorities said.

Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said late Monday that "a number of children" had been wounded, and said an investigation was underway. He did not provide further details.

South Korea's president said Tuesday a solid alliance with the U.S. strengthens the foundation of national security, as many South Koreans were baffled and concerned about U.S. President Donald Trump's abrupt order to "substantially reduce" joint military exercises.

Trump made the surprise announcement in a social media post just before U.S. and South Korean soldiers began Monday's annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, which are largely designed to sharpen readiness against North Korean threats.

Japan's defense minister said Tuesday that cooperation between his country, the United States and South Korea was "critical", after U.S. President Donald Trump scaled back military drills with Seoul.

"As Japan faces the most severe and complicated security environment in the post-war era, the cooperation among Japan, the United States and South Korea is critical to the peace and stability of the region," Shinjiro Koizumi said in Australia after talks with his counterpart Richard Marles.