KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – When landlocked Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan started fighting late last year and their border crossings closed, Afghans turned to their western neighbor, Iran, for an alternate to Pakistan’s major shipping hub of Karachi.

CAIRO (AP) – The United States and Iran appear to be closing in on a deal to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that negotiations are “proceeding nicely,” while reiterating his warning that fighting would resume if no deal is reached.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

Today is Monday, May 25, the 145th day of 2026. There are 220 days left in the year. Today in history: On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a Black man, was killed when a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and pleading he couldn’t breathe.

ANGELES, Philippines (AP) – Rescuers pulled out three people Monday from an immense pile of rubble that was all that remained of a nine-story hotel which collapsed while under construction in a northern Philippine city, bringing the death toll to four with 17 others still missing, officials said.

BEIJING (AP) – Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic deepened ties with China on Monday during a trip to Beijing as he faced pressure at home from anti-government protests in his Balkan country, including a major rally that prompted clashes over the weekend.

Memorial Day is a U.S. holiday that is officially about mourning the nation’s fallen service members, but it has come to signal the unofficial start of summer and a long weekend of travel and discounts on anything from mattresses to lawn mowers.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) – Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha was granted a royal pardon on Monday from a 27-year prison sentence for treason, a month after an appeals court affirmed his conviction and punishment.