Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels captured more strategic islands in the southern Red Sea, government and Houthi officials said Monday, strengthening their control of a major maritime shipping route.

The capture of the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish is the latest in the rebels' swift advance around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key passage for Saudi oil shipments that has only become more crucial during the Iran war since it serves as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.

European leaders were meeting Monday to discuss growing competition in the Arctic, where global warming is opening new shipping routes, governments are vying for vast natural resources and a Russian military buildup is heightening security concerns.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen were among leaders expected for the European Arctic Summit in Rovaniemi, Finland, a city perhaps best known for its Santa Claus village.

Iran said Monday it had summoned Austria's charge d'affaires after the European country refused to allow Iran's nuclear chief to take part in a meeting of the U.N. nuclear agency in Vienna.

"The Austrian government's refusal to issue visas to the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a completely unjustified decision," foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said at a press conference in Tehran attended by AFP.

"Practical Magic 2" conjured a box-office victory this weekend, opening atop the North American charts nearly three decades after its predecessor grew from a modest theatrical performer into a cult favorite.

The Warner Bros. sequel starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman earned an estimated $30 million from 4,146 theaters, according to estimates Sunday from Rentrak. The film knocked "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" out of the top spot after the superhero blockbuster led the domestic box office for six consecutive weekends.

Voters in an autonomous southern Philippine region will cast their ballots Monday in the region's first parliamentary elections, seen as a crucial step in the quest for self-determination and lasting peace after decades of insurgency and violence.

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, or BARMM, covers five provinces, three cities and 63 villages across eight special geographic area clusters. It has nearly 2.4 million voters, with election officials aiming for an 80% turnout after polling was postponed for several years.

Brazil is having a moment. Celebrities and record numbers of tourists donning green, yellow and blue are flooding into the country. Brazilian culture — from its Oscar-nominated films to funk music — is taking the world by storm. Global fashion brands and influencers are leaning into the hype.

For decades, Brazilians have lamented that the country and its cultural makeup and output have long gone under-appreciated in what has become known as the "mongrel complex."

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will look into requests from families of Sept. 11 victims to release records that could shed light on Saudi Arabia's alleged role in the attacks 25 years ago.

Several families have long alleged that a group of extremist religious leaders in Saudi Arabia gained influence in the Saudi government and aided the hijackers. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudis, but the Saudi government has long denied any involvement in the attacks.

She hit the high F, held it, then blew out a breath and turned to look back at the band — a quick, disbelieving glance toward her musical director. Some 30,000 people read it before they had finished screaming: Celine Dion did it.

It was "All By Myself," the song the Quebec superstar's voice has been measured against since 1996, saved for the encore of her first full concert in more than six years — her first since stiff person syndrome, a rare, progressive neurological disease, attacked her muscles, including those of the throat.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, saying the attacks are causing a global shortage. He spoke after diesel prices in the U.S. hit a record on Friday, soaring past $6 a gallon on average.

Ukraine has for months been targeting Russia's oil and gas industry with long-range strikes, prompting fuel rationing across the country and causing Moscow to ban diesel exports in July, removing supplies from the already tight global market.

The conflict in Yemen intensified on Sunday, as government forces launched attacks against Iran-backed Houthi rebels along the Red Sea and Houthis fired into neighboring Saudi Arabia, which supports Yemen's government.

The Yemeni government vowed to send more forces to the Red Sea coast and one official conceded a "painful" defeat last week when Houthis captured the port city of Mokha and an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.