International from Monday, August 24th, 2026

The US removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism on Monday, lifting what Damascus says was the last major impediment to investing in the country as Washington deepens ties to the new Syrian government.

US President Donald Trump's administration has announced an expansion of secondary sanctions it can impose on entities and countries that maintain business ties with Iran around the world as Washington significantly ratchets up economic pressure on Tehran with the war nearing its six-month mark.

British police investigating a car crash in northeast England over the weekend that killed seven people, including two police officers, said on Monday they had arrested 12 people in a probe into organised criminal activity linked to the incident.

Ukraine wants peace but will not just give in to Russia at any price, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday in a defiant speech marking Independence Day celebrations.

A coach carrying high-school students from Germany crashed in the east of the Netherlands early on Monday, injuring eight people, who were taken to hospital, Dutch police said.

New Zealand's coalition government will introduce a bill in parliament on Monday that seeks to ban children under 16 from using social media, and proposes fines of up to 10 per cent of a platform's global revenue for non-compliance.

Four people are missing after torrential rain lashed southern and eastern Taiwan on Monday, closing offices and schools, with authorities bracing for a typhoon to hit the island later in the week.

Three teenagers were killed and another eight people, including seven children, were wounded after drone debris hit a private childcare centre in southern Russia's Krasnodar region overnight, Russian officials said.