International News from Monday, May 18th, 2026

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he had paused a planned attack against Iran to allow for negotiations to take place on a deal to end the US-Israeli war, after Iran sent a new peace proposal to Washington.

Protests over fuel price hikes prompted by the Iran war erupted in several Kenyan towns on Monday, including a nationwide public transport strike that stranded commuters and forced many people to walk to work.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is under intense pressure to quit from within his Labour Party after a set of poor local election results, said on Monday he remained focused on doing his job.

Iran sent a new peace proposal to the United States with terms that appeared similar to offers Washington has previously rejected, although a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday that the US had softened positions on some issues.

The Philippine Senate, sitting as an impeachment court on Monday, opened the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, who if convicted faces a ban from holding public office that could derail her ambitions to become president in 2028.

Russia launched drones, airstrikes and shelling at Ukraine on Sunday night, targeting cities such as Odesa in the south and Dnipro in the southeast, killing one person and injuring more than 30, Ukrainian officials said on Monday.

At least nine people died after a pickup truck carrying 15 passengers fell into a flooded river in China's southwestern region of Guangxi amid heavy rain, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Monday.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez accused the US on Sunday of fabricating a "fraudulent case" to justify economic sanctions and potential military intervention.

A luxury liner at the centre of an outbreak of hantavirus reached the Dutch port of Rotterdam on Monday, marine tracking sites said, where authorities prepared quarantine arrangements for the 23 crew and two medical staff remaining on board.