International News from Thursday, June 4th, 2026

The Iran-backed Hezbollah militia rejected a new ceasefire in Lebanon on Thursday and Israel said it would not withdraw troops from the country, undermining US President Donald Trump's efforts to halt fighting there to forge peace with Tehran.

A dozen people have died in a fire at a home for elderly people in Sri Lanka, while another eight have been hospitalised.

Several staff members were injured when the nose gear of a Boeing jetliner unexpectedly collapsed at a gate at Frankfurt airport on Thursday, its operator Lufthansa said.

Israeli strikes killed at least nine Palestinians, including five members of the same family, in separate attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, health officials said.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's ruling Democratic Party swept most major local races in elections held on Wednesday, but suffered a symbolic setback as the opposition conservative incumbent Oh Se-hoon won another term as Seoul mayor.

The government in the Indian capital city of Delhi will launch a crackdown on properties violating fire safety norms after a hotel fire killed 21 people on Wednesday, including 12 foreign nationals, the chief minister's office said.

All members of the European Union agreed to open talks with Ukraine and Moldova on the first cluster of issues in their accession talks, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said early on Thursday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for an "exponential" expansion of the country's atomic arsenal during a visit to a newly operational nuclear material production factory, state media agency KCNA said on Thursday.

Israel will continue to strike Lebanon for the time being and won't be withdrawing from the south, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday, after Lebanon and Israel agreed to a ceasefire contingent on Hezbollah halting attacks.