International from Saturday, March 21st, 2026

Ukrainian and US negotiators trying to move towards a settlement of the four-year war pitting Kyiv against Moscow opened their latest round of talks in Florida on Saturday, with more discussions planned through the weekend.

Robert Mueller, the no-nonsense former FBI chief who documented Russia's interference in the 2016 US election and its contacts with Donald Trump's campaign but opted not to bring criminal charges against a sitting president, has died at age 81.

Ukrainian forces shelled a public building in Russia's border region of Belgorod on Saturday, killing four people, the regional governor said.

Russian attacks on Ukraine killed two people in Zaporizhzhia and left most of the northern region of Chernihiv without power on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said.

Donald Trump's Board of Peace has presented Hamas with a written proposal on how it could lay down its weapons, two sources said, a step the group has thus far refused to take as the US president pushes on with his plan for Gaza's future.

Fourteen people died and 25 were seriously injured in a fire at a car parts factory in the South Korean city of Daejeon, fire authorities said on Saturday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Iranian leaders on Nowruz and said Moscow remained a loyal friend and reliable partner to Tehran, the Kremlin said on Saturday.

Iran is ready to let Japanese-related vessels pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global oil supplies, Kyodo news has reported, citing Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

The Trump administration said on Friday it has lent 45.2 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to oil companies, in an attempt to control prices that have spiked to four-year highs due to the war on Iran.

The Israeli military said early on Saturday it was striking Hezbollah targets in Beirut, after issuing an evacuation warning for seven neighbourhoods in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.