There are a lot of things that could have gone wrong during this summer's World Cup — a complicated logistical undertaking that included three host nations, 16 stadiums, 48 teams, 104 games and endless opportunities for controversy on and off the soccer field.

But in retrospect, a lot of things went right.

Southeast Asia's top diplomats opened three days of talks in the Philippine capital Tuesday with an agenda topped by their most daunting security problems and a backdrop of unfolding crises led by the resurging war in Iran and a violent skirmish in the disputed South China Sea.

The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met behind closed doors before issuing a joint statement calling for an immediate halt to fighting in the Middle East and the full and safe reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Kuwait said Tuesday that Iran had again attacked power and desalination plants critical to the tiny desert nation.

The statement from Kuwait’s Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Ministry said that Tehran had struck the plants for a fourth day in a row on Monday night.

Spanish football has reached a level of its own.

Spain's World Cup victory on Sunday added to the nation's long list of recent triumphs across men's, women's and youth competitions, highlighting the dominance of a system that has stuck to a tactical identity and the development of collective talent.

President Donald Trump on Monday imposed 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products.

The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump's return to the White House. The administration official previewing the action said that Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated against Trump's previous tariffs and must be held accountable.

The Israeli military is quietly but quickly building a giant earthen barrier separating the over 50% of the Gaza Strip it controls from the rest of the territory, according to satellite imagery, further entrenching the division of the tiny Palestinian enclave.

More than 23 kilometers (14 miles) have been constructed in recent months, running through Palestinian communities demolished by the military. That is equivalent to more than half the length of the coastal strip, which is some 40 kilometers (25 miles) long and 11 kilometers (7 miles) wide, and home to over 2 million Palestinians.

President Joseph Aoun will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday to wrap up a four-day visit to Washington, in a bid to bring about long-term calm in the war-torn country after months of war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Aoun's landmark meeting with Trump comes as Lebanon and Israel continue to hold rare direct talks mediated by Washington. Lebanon hopes they will result in Israeli troops withdrawing from large swaths of southern Lebanon that they currently occupy, and for the Lebanese military to receive support to assert full control in areas where Hezbollah militants had held sway.

Spain's celebrations after beating Argentina in the World Cup final took an ugly turn as players briefly clashed on the field after the final whistle.

Video replays showed several players involved in a scuffle, including Argentina defender Leandro Paredes, who appeared to shove Spain's Eric Garcia by the throat. When Spain substitute Gavi jumped in to intervene, Paredes violently pushed him to the ground.

The European Commission on Monday fined Chinese online marketplace AliExpress 550 million euros ($629 million) for failing to adequately crack down on the sale of unsafe and counterfeit products on its site.

The fine, the biggest ever imposed for breaches of the 27-nation European Union's Digital Services Act, comes just months after another online retailer, Temu, was fined 200 million euros for similar breaches. Last year, Brussels issued a $120 million penalty for Elon Musk's social media site X.

Veteran Labour Party politician and popular former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is set to become Britain's next prime minister on Monday, formally taking over from Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation last month.

Burnham was the only candidate to secure enough support from his fellow Labour lawmakers to replace Starmer as leader of the governing party. Because Labour holds a majority in government, its leader also becomes the U.K. prime minister.