By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate backed legislation on Tuesday directing President Donald Trump to halt U.S. military action against Iran, the latest rebuke of the Republican president from an increasingly restive Congress.

The Senate voted 50-48 in favor of the war powers resolution, which passed the House of Representatives early this month, reflecting growing concern even among some of Trump's Republicans about the unpopular conflict that began on February 28.

Airbus has announced it will inspect 16 of its A380 superjumbos, five of them immediately, after cracks were found in a key wing component on some of the jets used by the Emirates and Qantas airlines.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ordered urgent inspections requiring airlines to examine the wing-spar structure on the affected jets after inspectors found cracks during routine maintenance checks, the plane maker said late Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) - The Republican-majority U.S. Senate backed legislation on Tuesday to halt U.S. military action against Iran, but it was not immediately clear how it would affect the conflict as President Donald Trump's administration negotiates a peace agreement with the Islamic republic.

The Senate voted 50-48 in favor of the concurrent resolution, which passed the House of Representatives early this month, reflecting growing concern even among some of Trump's Republicans about the unpopular conflict that began on February 28.

ROME, June 23 (Reuters) - Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday two Italian pro-Palestinian campaigners detained in Libya had been released after spending about a month in custody.

• Israeli forces last month arrested hundreds of people on board dozens of ships in international waters, to halt Global Sumud Flotilla volunteers trying to bring aid supplies to the Gaza Strip.

By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) - Just one in four Americans believes President Donald Trump's war with Iran was worth its costs and a majority worry that a truce with Tehran is unlikely to last, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The five-day poll, which closed on Monday, also showed the war weighing heavily on Trump's popularity, with his approval rating dropping to 34%, a return to the lowest level of the Republican's second term that was last touched in an April survey.

By Crispian Balmer and Marco Roberti

ROME, June 23 (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors on Tuesday sought a life sentence for one Egyptian security officer and long jail terms for three others accused over the kidnapping, torture and murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni in Cairo in 2016.

Regeni, a postgraduate student at Britain's Cambridge University, disappeared in the Egyptian capital on January25, 2016. His body was found almost a week later, with a post-mortem showing he had been extensively tortured before death.

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - An evacuation plan to enable hundreds of ships with some 11,000 seafarers stranded in the Gulf to sail through the Strait of Hormuz is underway after Iran and the U.S. reached a ceasefire deal, the United Nations' shipping agency said on Tuesday.

"We have now started contacting the ships to start the evacuation," a spokesperson with the U.N.'s International Maritime Organization (IMO) said, without providing a timeframe.

MOSCOW, June 23 (Reuters) - Russia is considering a diesel export ban, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday, while a newspaper reported on possible fuel imports to tackle shortages, especially in Crimea, which tightened restrictions on public services and activities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also made his first comments about Ukraine's recent strikes on civilian infrastructure, including on Moscow's oil refinery, saying they were a ploy to destabilise society.

By Amina Ismail and Inti Landauro

BRUSSELS, June 23 (Reuters) - A delegation from Afghanistan's Taliban met on Tuesday with EU officials in Brussels for the first time, an event rights groups denounced as legitimising the Islamists but the EU has defended as a step to make it easier to repatriate failed asylum seekers.

The EU and its member countries have not recognised the Taliban government since the militant group returned to power five years ago after 20 years of war against a government backed by a U.S.-led NATO force.

June 23 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution aimed at strengthening accountability for attacks on U.N. peacekeepers, amid concern over rising violence and low prosecution rates.

The move follows a series of deadly incidents targeting U.N. personnel, including the killing of seven peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon after a fresh round of fighting broke out between Israel and Hezbollah in early March.

The resolution, drafted by Denmark and Pakistan and co-sponsored by 152 countries, passed unanimously.