International from Monday, May 25th, 2026

Israel will escalate strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday, as a US official said the militia had ignored warnings to halt firing at Israel in a conflict that could threaten US-Iran negotiations.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued an order to reopen international internet access, Iranian state media reported on Monday, citing an official after a near-90-day blackout in the wake of the war against US and Israel.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has started preventive radiation treatment after being diagnosed with early-stage skin cancer, doctors treating the 80-year-old leftist leader and his office said on Monday.

Pope Leo on Monday issued the clearest apology yet from a pontiff for the Catholic Church's role in slavery, acknowledging both its delay in condemning the practice and its historic involvement in legitimising it.

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday that the fast-moving Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda was outpacing response efforts, giving the latest number of suspected deaths as 220.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday it should be mandatory for countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey to join the Abraham Accords en masse as part of an effort to reach a deal with Iran.

Iran and the US played down hopes for an imminent breakthrough in efforts to end their three-month-old war on Monday, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying Washington will either get a good agreement or deal with the country in "another way".

Australian activists detained by Israel while on a flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza have returned home, with organisers alleging abuse, assault, and beatings that left some detainees in hospital.

Philippine rescuers were racing against time on Monday in a search for possible signs of life more than 24 hours after the collapse of a building under construction in the city of Angeles, with crews carefully removing rocks and surrounding debris by hand.

A court in Bahrain has sentenced nine people to life and two others to three years in jail for collaborating with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to carry out "hostile and terrorist acts" against Bahrain.