GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations is racing to extend a deal that has allowed shipments of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea to parts of the world struggling with hunger, helping ease a global food crisis exacerbated by the war Russia launched more than a year ago.

The breakthrough accord that the U.N. and Turkey brokered with the warring sides last summer came with a separate agreement to ease shipments of Russian food and fertilizer that Moscow insists hasn’t been applied.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A truck driver was charged Wednesday after seven children were hospitalized with serious injuries when he rear-ended a school bus on the outskirts of Melbourne in southeastern Australia, officials said.

The dump truck that Jamie Gleeson was driving hit the back of a school bus carrying 45 students and caused it to overturn Tuesday afternoon at an intersection in Eynesbury, a semi-rural community west of Melbourne, police said. Head injuries, arm amputations and suspected spinal injuries were reported by a hospital official.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un examined a finished military spy satellite, which his country is expected to launch soon, during a visit to an aerospace facility where he described space-based reconnaissance as crucial for countering the U.S. and South Korea.

Kim during Tuesday’s visit approved an unspecified “future action plan” in preparations for launching the satellite, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday. North Korea hasn’t disclosed a target date for the launch, which some analysts say may be in the next few weeks.

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — The symbolism will be palpable when leaders of the world’s rich democracies sit down in Hiroshima, a city whose name evokes the tragedy of war, to tackle a host of challenges including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising tensions in Asia.

LOS ANGELES, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Black population in the United States experienced more than 1.63 million excess deaths and more than 80 million excess years of life lost, when compared with the White population over the last two decades, according to a new study published on Tuesday.

After a period of progress in reducing disparities, improvements stalled, and differences between the Black population and the White population worsened in 2020, according to the study published in the medical journal JAMA.

MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/: Reckless NATO expansion and the bloc’s absorption of neutral countries will undermine any prospect for dialogue on European security, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference following Moscow talks with his Belarusian counterpart Sergey Aleinik on Wednesday.

KOH KONG, Cambodia, May 17 (NNN-AKP) – Cambodia, yesterday, called for collective action from stakeholders, ranging from relevant organisations, local authorities, private sector and local communities, to protect wildlife and other natural resources.

ROME (AP) — Officials in northern Italy warned residents to get to higher ground Wednesday amid fears that rain-swollen rivers would again burst their banks, after flooding killed at least three people, forced the evacuation of some 5,000 and suspended some train services.

Days of heavy rain stretched across a broad swath of northern Italy and the Balkans, where “apocalyptic” floods, landslides and evacuations were also reported in Croatia and Bosnia.

MOSCOW, May 17 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday oversaw, via video-link, the signing of a deal to finance and build an Iranian railway line as part of an embryonic international North–South Transport Corridor.

The Rasht-Astara railway is seen as an important link in the corridor, intended to connect India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan and other countries via railways and sea - a route that Russia says can rival the Suez Canal as a major global trade route.

BEIJING (AP) — Reports Wednesday said 39 people are missing more than 24 hours after a Chinese fishing boat operating in the Indian Ocean capsized.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the accident happened around 3 a.m. Tuesday. The report said the crew includes 17 from China, 17 from Indonesia and five from the Philippines.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang have ordered Chinese diplomats abroad, as well as the agriculture and transportation ministries, to assist in the search for survivors.

KYIV, May 17 (Reuters) - Ukraine denied on Wednesday that a Russian hypersonic missile had destroyed a U.S.-made Patriot missile defence system during an air strike on Kyiv.

Russia's defence ministry made the assertion on Tuesday after an overnight air attack on the Ukrainian capital. Two U.S. officials later said a Patriot system had probably suffered damage but that it did not appear to have been destroyed.

"I want to say: do not worry about the fate of the Patriot," Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television.

MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/: The conclusion of the agreement between Russia and Iran on the joint construction of the Rasht-Astara railway section is a landmark moment for the entire global transport infrastructure, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the signing ceremony of the relevant agreement on Wednesday. The ceremony was held via a video link.

The Russian leader thanked Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for his personal involvement in the project. "This is indeed a great event for the region, for the entire world transport infrastructure, for our countries," Putin stressed.