International from Wednesday, April 15th, 2026

US press secretary Karoline Leavitt has stated that reports that the White House has requested a ceasefire in the Iran war are wrong in a brief on Wednesday, but added that discussions about a second round of talks with the Iranians were ongoing and productive.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said on Wednesday the Israeli military continued to strike at Hezbollah and was about to overcome what he described as the militia's stronghold of Bint Jbeil, as pressure mounted for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

Days of torrential rainfall over northwest Haiti and neighboring Dominican Republic have killed some 16 people, according to civil protection and local media reports on Wednesday.

Israel's security cabinet will convene on Wednesday to discuss a possible Lebanon ceasefire, a senior Israeli official said, more than five weeks into a war with Hezbollah.

The United States and Iran made progress in talks on Tuesday and are moving closer to a framework agreement to end the war, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing two US officials.

A 14-year-old student has shot at least nine people dead, including eight of his fellow pupils, and wounded 13 others at a middle school in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday, officials said, in the country's second school shooting in two days.

At least 17 people died and 36 others were injured following a suspected boiler explosion at a power plant operated by India's Vedanta Ltd in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, a government official said on Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran was close to over, telling the world to brace for an "amazing two days", as the army chief of mediator Pakistan arrived in Tehran in a bid to prevent a renewed conflict.

The EU's age verification app for online platforms is ready and will soon be available to use, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday, as member states push ahead with plans to limit children's access to social media.

Russia attacked Ukraine overnight with hundreds of drones and three ballistic missiles, targeting port infrastructure in the south and wounding at least seven people, Ukrainian officials said.

Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan and six other countries condemned the killings of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon on Tuesday while calling "for an urgent end to hostilities" in the country where Israeli attacks have killed over 2,000 people since March.

The US military said on Tuesday it carried out a strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing four men involved a suspected drug smuggling operation.