WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - Canada, the UK and other countries condemned the killings of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon in the conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah and called for an end to hostilities.

“Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Sierra Leone, Switzerland and the United Kingdom remain deeply concerned by the worsening humanitarian situation and displacement crisis in Lebanon," the countries said in a joint statement issued on Tuesday.

By Andrea Shalal and David Lawder

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - The World Bank could mobilize $80 billion to $100 billion in funding over the next 15 months for countries hit hard by the war in the Middle East, eclipsing the $70 billion it provided during the COVID pandemic, the bank's president, Ajay Banga, said on Tuesday.

April 15 (Reuters) - Iranian student Mahdieh Esfandiari arrived in Iran after being released in France, Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday, after two French nationals facing security charges were allowed to leave Iran following three-and-a-half years in detention.

Esfandiari, who was convicted at the end of February for glorifying terrorism in anti-Israel social media posts, was released after serving almost a year in prison.

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday there was a lot of mistrust between Washington and Tehran that cannot be resolved overnight but he added that Iranian negotiators wanted to make a deal and that he felt "very good about where we are."

Talks to end the Iran war could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, after the collapse of weekend negotiations ​prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports.

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate will vote as soon as Wednesday on the latest Democratic-led effort to rein in President Donald Trump's war powers, and party leaders promised on Tuesday to keep bringing up such resolutions as long as the Iran war continues.

"Forty-five days into this war, Congress has been sidelined because our Republican colleagues refuse to take a strong stand against this war and duck it completely because they're afraid of Trump," Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a Senate speech on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - The Lebanese government made it clear during U.S.-brokered talks with Israel that they no longer want to be "occupied" by Hezbollah and that there were conversations about long-term vision for clearly delineated border, Israel's ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter told reporters on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk and Ryan Patrick Jones, Editing by Bhargav Acharya)

By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS, April 14 (Reuters) - The European Union plans to reduce electricity taxes and expand clean technologies faster to cut consumers' exposure to soaring oil and gas prices, as part of its plan to offsetthe Iran war's energy impact, a draft document showed.

Europe's ​heavy reliance on oil and gas imports has left it exposed to spiralling prices ⁠since the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil and gas shipping route, was effectively closed and Tehran ​started attacking energy infrastructure in the Middle East.

April 14 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday the indication the United Nations had was that it was highly probable talks to end the Iran war will restart.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Iran talks could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, according to an interview with the New York Post.

Asked what the United Nations knew about such prospects, Guterres told reporters at the U.N., "The indication we have is that it is highly probable that these talks will restart."

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni received a sharp rebuke from US President Donald Trump and suspended a defence agreement with Israel on Tuesday, signalling a shift in her foreign relations.

The far-right prime minister was the only European leader to attend Trump's inauguration in 2025 and has sought to position herself as a bridge between Europe and his administration.

While ties with Israel were already becoming strained over the Gaza war, the relationship with Washington has been increasingly tense since US-Israeli strikes on Iran set off the Middle East war.

By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS, April 14 (Reuters) - Fertiliser shortages due to the Iran war are a pressing concern for developing countries and gains from rising oil and gas prices for developing world producers are likely to be short-lived, the head of the United Nations trade agency said on Tuesday.