Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to bring Britain closer to the European Union as he faces calls to step down after poor local election results for his Labour Party. Starmer said Monday he would prove his doubters wrong, tackle big challenges and restore hope. His position is fragile and lawmakers have urged him to announce a departure date. Former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has criticized his leadership but stopped short of calling for his resignation. Labour's losses reflect political fragmentation in the UK. Starmer hopes to regain momentum with legislative plans being set out Wednesday at the State Opening of Parliament.

Iran and the United States have reached an impasse again over how to end their war while their ceasefire grew increasingly shaky, with the two sides exchanging fire in recent days, ships and Gulf states being targeted, and fighting flaring between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran’s response to his latest proposal was “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” Trump will travel to Beijing this week for a rescheduled summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. But Beijing’s deep economic ties to Iran, as well as trade tensions over tariff threats stretching back to Trump’s first term, could crimp the meeting.

A French woman and an American have tested positive for the hantavirus as nations around the world repatriated passengers from a cruise ship hit by an outbreak and quarantine or isolate them. French Health Minister Stephanie Rist said Monday that the woman was among five French passengers repatriated Sunday to Paris from the MV Hondius. U.S. health officials said Monday that one of the 18 passengers flown from the ship to the United States also tested positive for the hantavirus but is not showing any symptoms, while another had mild symptoms. The World Health Organization recommended close monitoring of the former passengers, and many countries quarantined them.

Police report that six people were found dead inside a cargo train boxcar at a Union Pacific rail yard in Laredo, Texas. Police in Laredo say workers discovered the bodies on Sunday while inspecting the car. The deceased include five men and one woman. Autopsies are planned, but the cargo car's travel history is unknown. Laredo is a busy trade port on the U.S.-Mexico border. Last year, two men were sentenced to life in prison in connection with a deadly human smuggling attempt in 2022 during which a cargo car traveled from Mexico to Laredo and went on to San Antonio. A total of 53 migrants died.

Despite a cruise ship outbreak of a rare rodent-borne illness, global health officials say the risk to the general public remains low because hantavirus germs do not easily spread between people. The virus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings. Hantaviruses have been around for centuries and are thought to exist around the world. The World Health Organization has said detailed investigations of the cruise ship outbreak are ongoing, including further laboratory testing and other work aimed at determining the source of exposure.