MPs hold their first vote Monday on a bill to end Britain's membership of the EU, which ministers say will avoid a "chaotic" Brexit but has been condemned as a unprecedented power-grab.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad appears to be winning the war against those who sought his overthrow, but he will preside over a ruined country with an economy in tatters.

Pope Francis left Colombia on Sunday with calls for reconciliation after its half-century civil war and a peaceful end to the deadly crisis in neighboring Venezuela.

As Australia prepares for a contentious postal vote on legalising gay marriage, fierce divisions have emerged within the church, with many Christians disregarding traditional religious views as outdated.

The controversial trial of staff from Turkey's main opposition daily resumes on Monday in a case seen as a test for press freedom under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The combined economic cost of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma could reach $290 billion, equivalent to 1.5 percent of the US gross domestic product, US forecaster AccuWeather said in a report Sunday.

The United States released a revised draft for new sanctions against North Korea on Sunday, diplomats said, making concessions to Russia and China as it seeks to convince the UN Security Council to punish Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test.

China, the world's biggest auto market, is considering a ban on fossil fuel cars in a major boost to the production of electric vehicles as it seeks to ease pollution.

New Zealand's opposition leader Jacinda Ardern said Monday she was taking nothing for granted despite her meteoric rise in the polls, as early voting opened for this month's general election.

French-Lebanese director Ziad Doueiri, whose most recent film just won a prize at the Venice Film Festival, was briefly detained after arriving at Beirut airport and must appear at a military tribunal Monday, he told AFP.

Russians shunned the polls Sunday for local elections which are the last vote before the presidential elections in March next year, with very low turnout rates as the opposition cried foul.

Norwegians cast their votes on Monday in an election nail-biter that will decide whether "the world's happiest country" will be run by the outgoing rightwing coalition or the leftwing opposition for the next four years.

Hundreds of thousands of Catalans were expected to rally on Monday to demand their region break away from Spain, in a show of strength three weeks ahead of a secession referendum banned by Madrid.

North Korea warned on Monday it would inflict "the greatest pain and suffering" on the United States if Washington persists in pushing for harsher UN sanctions following Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test.

While southwest Florida bore the deadly brunt of Irma's wrath Sunday, the coastlines of Miami and the neighboring island of Miami Beach were heavily inundated by storm surges as hurricane winds sent two giant construction cranes crashing down.

The NFL is back and the first Sunday of the season is now in the books.

Colombian media reported Sunday that 25 drug traffickers wanted by US authorities had tried to slip through the hands of the courts under a peace accord with FARC rebels.

Oscar nominees Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon electrified audiences at the Toronto film festival Sunday with their portrayals of Thomas Edison and his rival in the race for marketable electricity, George Westinghouse.

A UN report has slammed the UK for failing to tackle the "plague" of air pollution, while also warning of Brexit risks, ahead of the body's Human Rights Council opening Monday.

Residents of Cuba's historic capital Havana were waist-deep in floodwaters Sunday after Hurricane Irma swept by, cutting off power and forcing the evacuation of more than a million people.