The death toll from a huge explosion that rocked one of Iran's main ports rose Monday to 46 people killed, authorities said.

Iranian state television offered the toll from the blast at Shahid Rajaei port near Bandar Abbas, citing local officials.

Catholic cardinals on Monday set May 7 as the start date for the conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor, delaying the secret voting for two days to help them get to know one another better and find consensus on a candidate before they are sequestered in the Sistine Chapel.

The cardinals set the date after arriving for the first day of informal meetings following Pope Francis' funeral Saturday. In a chaotic scene, journalists shouted questions to the cardinals about the mood inside and whether there was unity. A reporter for a satirical Italian television program repeatedly asked whether an Italian cardinal who has been convicted by the Vatican criminal court on finance-related charges would be allowed to vote.

Canadians will decide Monday whether to extend the Liberal Party's decade in power or instead hand control to the Conservatives. They'll pick either Prime Minister Mark Carney or opposition leader Pierre Poilievre to lead the way forward, but the election is also a referendum of sorts on someone who isn't even Canadian: Donald Trump.

Until the American president won a second term and began threatening Canada's economy and sovereignty, even suggesting the country should become the 51st state, the Liberals looked headed for defeat.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire in Ukraine on May 8-10 to mark the World War II Victory Day, as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration decides whether a deal to end the more than three-year war is within reach.

The Kremlin said that the truce will start at 0000 on May 8 (2100 GMT May 7) and last through the end of May 10. The Kremlin said that Putin ordered the full cessation of hostilities on "humanitarian grounds" to mark the May 9 holiday celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Electricity was cut off across Spain and Portugal and part of southern France on Monday in a massive blackout that impacted millions of people, grid operators said.

The cause for the outage was not immediately identified.

Worldwide military expenditure saw its steepest rise in 2024 since the end of the Cold War, reaching $2.7 trillion as wars and rising tensions drove up spending, researchers said Monday.

In real terms, spending rose by 9.4 percent globally compared to 2023, with 2024 marking the 10th year of consecutive spending increases, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Iran accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday of trying to dictate U.S. policy in negotiations, after he called for the complete dismantling of Tehran's nuclear program and for the inclusion of its ballistic missile capabilities in any deal.

"What is striking... is how brazenly Netanyahu is now dictating what President Trump can and cannot do in his diplomacy with Iran," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X.

Russia said Monday that its claims over five Ukrainian regions including Crimea were "imperative" to talks aimed at resolving the conflict.

"International recognition of Russia's ownership of Crimea, Sevastopol, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Lugansk People's Republic, the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is imperative," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Brazilian newspaper O Globo, using the Kremlin's names for the Ukrainian regions.

The United States and Iran reported progress in their latest round of nuclear talks on Saturday and agreed to meet again next week as they pursue a deal that could help ease soaring Middle East tensions.

Fires were still blazing on Sunday after a massive explosion tore through Iran's largest commercial port the day before, killing at least 25 people and leaving 1,000 others injured, according to state media.