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Envoy says UN to push for nationwide cease-fire in Syria

The United Nations will push for a nationwide cease-fire in Syria even after bursts of fighting in the last rebel-held region have punctured a two-year truce there, killing hundreds, a U.N. envoy said Monday.

Geir Pedersen, the U.N. special envoy for Syria, spoke to reporters after meeting the foreign minister in Damascus. Syria's economic situation is "extremely difficult as close to 15 million people are in need for humanitarian assistance," he said.

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Saudi defends oil policy in face of US charges

Saudi Arabia has rejected US accusations of aligning itself with Russia amid the Ukraine war by making oil production cuts to drive up crude prices, insisting it was purely a business decision.

"We are astonished by the accusations that the kingdom is standing with Russia in its war with Ukraine," the Saudi defense minister, Prince Khaled bin Salman, tweeted late Sunday.

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World Cup host Qatar wins rights for 2023 Asian Cup

With the World Cup in Qatar just weeks away, the country was selected Monday as host of the 2023 Asian Cup by the Asian Football Confederation.

Qatar beat bids from South Korea and Indonesia in a short-notice contest to replace China and host a tournament that could yet be played in 2024.

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Waves of suicide drones strike Ukraine's capital, 3 killed

Waves of explosive-laden suicide drones struck Ukraine's capital Monday, setting buildings ablaze and tearing a hole in one while sending people scurrying for shelter or attempting to shoot down the kamikazes.

The concentrated use of drones was the second barrage in as many weeks — after months where air attacks had become become a rarity in central Kyiv. The assault sowed terror and frayed nerves as blasts echoed across the city. Energy facilities were struck, and one drone slammed into a residential building, killing three people, authorities said.

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Iran prison fire death toll rises to 8 as protests continue

Iran's judiciary raised the death toll Monday in a blaze at Tehran's notorious Evin prison, saying that at least eight prisoners were killed as protests continue nationwide.

Details still remain scarce over the fire at Evin prison, which broke out on Saturday night as nationwide anti-government protests triggered by the death of a young woman in police custody entered a fifth week.

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Russia military range shooting leaves 11 dead, 15 wounded

Two men fired at soldiers on a Russian military firing range near Ukraine on Saturday, killing 11 and wounding 15 before being slain themselves, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The ministry said in a statement that the shooting took place in the Belgorod region in southwestern Russia that borders Ukraine. It said two men from an unnamed former Soviet republic fired on volunteer soldiers during target practice and were killed by return fire.

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Iran's celebrities face reprisals for supporting protests

Singers, actors, sports stars — the list goes on. Iranian celebrities have been startlingly public in their support for the massive anti-government protests shaking their country. And the ruling establishment is lashing back.

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Iran officials say Tehran prison blaze has been extinguished

A towering blaze at a notorious prison housing political prisoners and anti-government activists in Iran's capital injured at least nine people but was extinguished after several hours and no detainees escaped, state media said Sunday.

Flames and smoke rising from Tehran's Evin Prison had been widely visible Saturday evening, as nationwide anti-government protests triggered by the death of a young woman in police custody entered a fifth week. In online videos, gunshots and explosions could be heard in the area of the prison.

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Ralph Lauren draws A-list Hollywood crowd for sumptuous show

Bronx-born Ralph Lauren, a quintessential New Yorker, had never staged a runway show on the West Coast before. So clearly, with his first show in sunny California, he was going to go big — or, well, stay home.

Big he went, staging a sumptuous display of his well-honed ethos of casual luxury, with strong Western accents like cowboy hats and boots, against a setting sun at the grand Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California, near Los Angeles.

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Russia to evacuate Kherson residents as Ukraine advances

Russia has promised free accommodation to residents of Ukraine's partially occupied Kherson region who want to evacuate to Russia, a sign that Ukrainian military gains along the war's southern front are worrying the Kremlin.

The Moscow-installed leader of Kherson, one of four regions illegally annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, asked the Kremlin to organize an evacuation from four cities, citing incessant shelling by Ukrainian forces.

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