The Brief

The Strait of Hormuz crisis intensified as a strike on an Iranian vessel and continued fighting disrupted shipping, while Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline — a key alternative route carrying up to 5% of global oil supply — was hit in strikes and will be mostly out of service for several weeks, further squeezing options for moving Gulf oil to market.

Oil prices remained above $100 a barrel as Iran and Oman again delayed a planned meeting on reopening the strait, with the fresh delay coming as fighting between Iran's Houthi allies and Saudi Arabia escalates and further clouds the outlook for global energy markets.

Fighting intensified in Yemen as Iran-backed Houthi forces claimed new attacks on Saudi Arabia, while Yemeni government forces said they advanced against a Houthi offensive in the western city of Taiz.

The Houthis have continued expanding their control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a shipping route seen as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, after seizing the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish in the southern Red Sea and extending their reach along Yemen's west coast. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Monday the Trump administration is "very much on top of" the Houthi advance.

A Russian drone struck a train near the Ukraine-Poland border shortly after senior officials, including former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Sweden's former prime minister, had passed through the station. Johnson said he didn't know "what warped logic" drove Russia to strike the stationary Ukrainian locomotive so close to the Polish border.

No casualties were reported, but the strike raised alarm among European officials about the war edging closer to NATO territory. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte pledged increased support for Ukraine, saying Western allies would not be intimidated by Russian attacks meant to "scare" them off.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that Ukraine would pause strikes on Russian territory if the Kremlin agreed to spare Ukraine's critical infrastructure, following President Trump's claim that Russia and Ukraine had agreed not to target each other's energy infrastructure.

Indonesian rescuers intensified their search Monday for 129 people still missing after a ferry carrying more than 240 passengers and crew capsized in bad weather in the Java Sea. At least six people have died.

More than 600 rescuers, along with ships and helicopters, are battling stormy seas to reach survivors.

At least one person died and 25 remained missing after a boat carrying migrants sank near the Greek island of Gavdos, off Crete, authorities said.

Rescuers pulled 51 people from the water as the search operation continued Monday.

Sweden's left-wing opposition bloc held a narrow lead over Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's center-right coalition as the country's election proved too close to call, with the far-right Sweden Democrats losing ground compared to previous elections.

With about 95% of ballots counted, the bloc led by former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson's Social Democrats was ahead by a slim margin, though final results were not yet certain.