More than a dozen Western leaders attended events in Ukraine on Monday marking the third anniversary of the country's war with Russia, many pledging more military aid in a conspicuous show of support for Kyiv as uncertainty deepened over the commitment of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to helping it fend off Russia's invasion.

The fourth year of fighting could be pivotal, as Trump uses his return to office last month to press for a peace deal. But Ukrainian and European officials have been rattled by his cordial approach to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his tough words for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Friedrich Merz, on course to become post-World War II Germany's 10th chancellor after the country's election, has vowed to prioritize European unity and the continent's security as it grapples with the new Trump administration and Russia's war on Ukraine.

Pulling a divided Europe together won't be easy when many leaders are too preoccupied by domestic issues to devote much energy to answers to the continent's most pressing problems. But expectations will be high for Merz to help fill a leadership vacuum and craft a united response to recent U.S. policy shifts that have strained the transatlantic alliance.

Pope Francis woke up and was continuing his therapies Monday after a quiet night, on the 10th day of his hospitalization for a complex lung infection that has provoked the early stages of kidney insufficiency, the Vatican said.

"The night passed well, the pope slept and is resting," it said. The 88-year-old pope is continuing to feed himself and is not receiving artificial or liquid nutrition, the Vatican said, adding that he was in good spirits.

The European Union on Monday began easing energy and transport sanctions and banking restrictions against Syria, aiming to help breathe life into the conflict-torn country's economy if its new leaders work toward a peaceful future.

The EU started to impose asset freezes and travel bans on Syrian officials, banks, agencies and other organizations in 2011, in response to then-President Bashar Assad's crackdown on protesters, which festered into a civil war.

The low-cost carrier FlyDubai announced Monday it earned a record-breaking profit of $611 million in 2024, buoyed by higher passenger numbers and lower fuel costs.

FlyDubai had revenues of $3.5 billion through the year, as compared to $3 billion in 2023. Profits were $572 million in 2023.

President Donald Trump welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to the White House for talks on Monday at a moment of deep uncertainty about the future of transatlantic relations, with Trump transforming American foreign policy and effectively tuning out European leadership as he looks to quickly end Russia's war in Ukraine.

The two leaders were starting their day by taking part in a virtual meeting with fellow leaders of the Group of Seven economies to discuss the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not allow Syria's new army or the insurgent group that led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad to "enter the area south of Damascus" as his government made clear Israeli forces would stay in parts of southern Syria for an indefinite period.

Netanyahu's comments Sunday at a military graduation led to new concerns over the Israeli presence, and sway, in a swath of southern Syria as Damascus' new leaders attempt to consolidate control after years of civil war.

Hundreds of thousands of people packed into a stadium in Beirut and nearby streets on Sunday for the funeral of Hezbollah's former leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Nasrallah died after Israel's air force dropped more than 80 bombs on the militant group's main operations room in a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, dealing a major blow to the Iran-backed group and political party that he had transformed into a potent force in the Middle East.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Beirut early Sunday to attend the funeral of Hezbollah's former leader, nearly five months after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital.

In the run-up to the funeral, giant portraits of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and his slain successor Sayyed Hashem Safieddine have been plastered on walls and bridges across south Beirut.

U.S. Republican Representative Joe Wilson has criticized Lebanese politicians who are planning to attend the funeral of slain Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday.

"Any Lebanese politician who attends the funeral of the murderous terrorist Hasan Nasrallah is standing with the Iranian Regime," Wilson said on X.