BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces and Russian troops continue to battle back and forth in a key eastern city. At the same time, fears of a global food crisis have escalated because million of tons of grain have piled up in the besieged country’s silos. Russian forces were closing in Wednesday on control of the entire Luhansk region. It is one of two provinces that make up the industrial heartland known as the Donbas.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Russia and Turkey have backed a maritme corridor to export Ukrainian grain to global markets amid an escalating world food crisis. Turkey's foreign minister hosted his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Ankara on Wednesday for talks on a U.N. proposal to free Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and allow 22 million tons of grain to be shipped. Ukraine was not invited to the talks.

WASHINGTON (AP) — WNBA star Brittney Griner is easily the most prominent American locked up by a foreign country. But the Phoenix Mercury player’s case is tangled up with that of another prisoner few Americans have heard of. Paul Whelan also has been held in Russia since his December 2018 arrest on espionage charges he and the U.S. government say are false.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A passenger train has derailed in eastern Iran, killing at least 21 people and injuring 47 others. That's according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency. The train operated by the state-run Islamic Republic Railway carried some 350 people as it traveled from Tabas, some 550 kilometers from Tehran, to the city of Yazd.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has turned off two surveillance devices used by U.N. nuclear inspectors to monitor the Islamic Republic’s uranium enrichment. Wednesday's decision further escalates the crisis over Iran's atomic program as the country's nuclear deal with world powers remains in tatters.

BERLIN (AP) — Authorities say a teacher was killed and nine people were seriously injured after a man drove a car into a German school group standing in a popular Berlin shopping district. Police said the man drove into people on a street corner at around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday before getting the car back on the road and then crashing into a shop window around a block further on.

BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces battling Russian troops in a key eastern city appeared on the cusp of retreat. But the regional governor insisted Wednesday they are still fighting “for every centimeter” of the city. The urban battle for Sievierodonetsk testified to the painstaking, inch-by-inch advance by Russian forces as they close in on control of the entire Luhansk region.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Owliyo Hassan Salaad has watched four of her children die this year. A drought in the Horn of Africa has taken them, one by one. A drought in the Horn of Africa has taken them, one by one. Previously unreported data shared with The Associated Press show nearly 450 deaths this year at malnutrition treatment centers in Somalia alone.

El ROCÍO, Spain (AP) — After a two-year hiatus forced by the pandemic, tens of thousands of pilgrims — many of them outfitted in tiered flamenco dresses, crisp riding suits and wide-brimmed Cordoba hats — descended on the tiny Spanish village of El Rocío to take part in riotously colorful and ancient festival, la Romería del Rocío, or the Rocío virgin pilgrimage.

MILAN (AP) — Italian agents have confiscated 4.3 tons of cocaine with a street value of nearly a quarter-billion euros (dollars) in the northeastern port city of Trieste, dealing a blow to Colombia's feared Gulf Clan in one of the largest drug busts ever in Europe. Arrest warrants were being executed for 38 people on suspicion of international drug trafficking in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Colombia.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and its Asian allies have flown dozens of fighter jets over waters surrounding the Korean Peninsula in a show of force as their diplomats discussed a coordinated response to a possibly imminent North Korean nuclear test. The flights came as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman traveled to Seoul for discussions with South Korea and Japanese officials over the gathering North Korean threat and warned of a “swift and forceful” counterresponse if the North proceeds with a nuclear test explosion.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia claims it has occupied large swaths of eastern Ukraine after a relentless, weeks-long barrage and the recent deployment of more troops. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that Moscow’s forces have control of 97% of the Luhansk region.

OWO, Nigeria (AP) — Authorities in southwestern Nigeria say the gunmen who killed 50 people at a church opened fire both inside and outside the building in a coordinated attack before escaping. No one has claimed responsibility.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has survived a no-confidence vote, securing enough support in his party to remain in office despite a rebellion that will likely weaken him as a leader and casts a shadow over his future. Known for his ability to shrug off scandals, the charismatic leader has struggled to turn the page on revelations that he and his staff repeatedly held boozy parties that flouted the COVID-19 restrictions they imposed on others.

BEIJING (AP) — Diners are returning to restaurants in most of Beijing for the first time in more than a month as authorities further eased pandemic-related restrictions. The moves Monday came after a small COVID-19 outbreak in the capital was largely eradicated under China’s strict “zero-COVID” approach.

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — Several dozen World War II veterans are expected to attend D-Day commemoration ceremonies Monday in France. For two years, D-Day ceremonies were reduced to a minimum amid COVID-19 restrictions. This year, crowds of French and international visitors are back in Normandy for the 78th anniversary.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The British government says the multiple-launch rocket systems it's offering to Ukraine will bring “a significant boost in capability” for the country’s efforts to resist Russia’s invasion. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement Monday that “if the international community continues its support, I believe Ukraine can win” its war against Russia.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The gunmen who attacked a church during Sunday Mass in southwestern Nigeria opened fire inside and outside, killing at least 50 people. No one has claimed responsibility for the massacre, and local authorities said the gunmen had evaded capture.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. and South Korea have launched eight ballistic missiles into the sea in a show of force matching a North Korean display a day earlier that extended a provocative streak in weapons demonstrations. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday's drill was aimed at demonstrating an ability to respond swiftly and accurately to North Korean attacks.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Lawmakers in southwestern Nigeria say more than 50 people are feared dead after gunmen opened fire and detonated explosives at a church. Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole with the Ondo State House of Assembly said the gunmen targeted the St Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state on Sunday morning just as the worshippers gathered for the weekly Mass.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials say a volcano southeast of Manila has spewed ash and steam about half a mile into the sky, scattering ash on nearby villages. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level at Mount Bulusan following the 17-minute blast Sunday but added there are no sign of an impending major eruption.

The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is headed toward Bermuda after dumping rain on Florida, flooding some roads. Alex reached tropical storm force after strengthening off Florida’s east coast early Sunday. National Hurricane Center forecasters say Alex had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and was centered about 550 miles west-southwest of Bermuda on Sunday.

RANVILLE, France (AP) — More than 20 British World War II veterans have gathered near Pegasus Bridge for D-Day commemorations in Normandy. The bridge is one of the first sites liberated by Allied forces from Nazi Germany. A series of commemorations are honoring the nearly 160,000 troops from Britain, the United States, Canada and elsewhere who landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia took aim at Western military supplies for Ukraine by launching airstrikes on Kyiv that it claimed destroyed tanks donated from abroad. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin warned Sunday that any Western deliveries of long-range rocket systems would prompt Moscow to hit “objects that we haven’t yet struck.”

LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II has appeared at the balcony of Buckingham Palace, delighting fans who had hoped to catch a glimpse of her during the final day of festivities marking the monarch’s 70 years on the throne. The 96-year-old monarch has curtailed her schedule in recent months due to problems moving around.