U.S.-Iran peace negotiations faced new turbulence Thursday after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned commercial vessels against using routes outside Tehran’s approved passage through the Strait of Hormuz, while Iranian officials also rejected U.S. claims that unfrozen funds would be used to buy American agricultural products.

U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that American forces killed a senior ISIS leader in a precision airstrike in northwest Syria, as the terror group seeks to exploit the country’s unstable security environment following years of war and political upheaval.

A series of major earthquakes shook different parts of the world within less than 24 hours, killing nearly 200 people, injuring many more, and briefly raising fears of a wider global seismic crisis.

Rescuers raced to find survivors Thursday after two powerful earthquakes struck the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, seconds apart, killing nearly 200 people and injuring many more.

Canadian police have warned of possible copycat attacks after a deadly shooting in Montreal left three people dead, including a police officer, and a manifesto linked to the gunman was circulated online.

A deadly heatwave tightened its grip on Europe Wednesday, sending temperatures soaring to record levels, straining power grids, disrupting transport, and raising fears of additional casualties across the continent.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared Wednesday that the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding amounted to “a declaration of America’s defeat,” even as President Donald Trump said Tehran had been pressured into making major concessions after months of conflict.

The Trump administration is keeping major U.S. military forces positioned near Iran even after lifting its naval blockade and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, signaling that Washington intends to maintain military leverage while negotiations with Tehran continue.

A proposed $300 billion investment fund for Iran included in the U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding may face serious legal obstacles under existing U.S. sanctions law, raising questions about whether one of the agreement’s central economic promises can realistically be carried out.

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten has apologized for what he called the “heartless and dishonorable” treatment of thousands of Moluccan soldiers and their families who were brought to the Netherlands after Indonesia gained independence, seeking to heal a decades-old wound that strained relations between the Dutch government and the Moluccan community.

Israel and Lebanon signed a U.S.-backed framework agreement Friday in Washington, a move officials described as a first step toward ending months of conflict along Israel’s northern border and opening the door to a broader peace settlement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel will not withdraw from its security zone in southern Lebanon, insisting the Israel Defense Forces will remain in key positions for as long as necessary to protect Israeli citizens from Hezbollah and other jihadist threats.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Wednesday that Israel and Lebanon are discussing a possible scale-back of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon as part of U.S.-mediated negotiations in Washington.

The fifth round of U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and Lebanon opened Tuesday in Washington, with negotiators focused on a proposed pilot program that would see Israeli forces withdraw from selected areas of southern Lebanon so the Lebanese army can prove it is able to dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure there.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reached an agreement with Israel’s ultra-Orthodox parties to advance key Haredi-backed legislation before the Knesset dissolves, clearing the way for a likely national election on October 20.

Israeli and Lebanese delegations are set to meet in Washington on Tuesday for three days of talks focused on the disarmament of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the possibility of future normalization between the two neighboring countries.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday night that the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran has created the conditions for the Islamic Republic’s eventual collapse, declaring that Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure, military leadership, missile program, navy, and terror network have been severely degraded.

Asbury Theological Seminary says it has been removed from The United Methodist Church’s list of approved schools for ordination candidates, ending an 80-year relationship after the evangelical institution declined to align with the denomination’s unbiblical positions on marriage and human sexuality.

Florida has permanently closed its temporary illegal immigrant holding center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” after all federal detainees were transferred to other facilities, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced June 25.

A federal judge in Boston on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing major portions of President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at tightening rules for mail-in voting, delivering another legal setback to the White House as the administration presses its election integrity agenda ahead of November’s federal elections.

The U.S. Senate late Wednesday rejected a Democratic-led effort to restrict President Donald Trump’s military authority against Iran, handing the White House a significant victory as the administration continues negotiations with Tehran.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the first milestone test of Golden Dome for America was a “full mission success,” calling it a major step toward President Donald Trump’s goal of building a next-generation shield to defend the American homeland.

President Donald Trump is expected to meet Thursday at the White House with senior executives from major U.S. defense companies as his administration seeks to accelerate weapons production following the war with Iran and other conflicts that have strained Pentagon stockpiles.

President Donald Trump abruptly canceled a scheduled signing ceremony Wednesday for a major bipartisan housing bill, saying Congress must first pass election integrity legislation requiring proof of U.S. citizenship for federal voter registration.

Fulani herdsmen attacked a Christian village in Plateau state, Nigeria, early Monday, killing 28 Christians, including a pastor, after reportedly being guided toward the homes of church leaders, according to Christian Daily International-Morning Star News.

An incident at a beauty salon in Pakistan’s largest city has sparked renewed debate about discrimination against Christians after a customer reportedly refused to be served by a Christian employee because of her faith.

A Christian brick kiln worker and father of four has been stabbed to death in Pakistan’s city of Pattoki amid concerns over the vulnerability of Christians in the Islamic nation, sources told Worthy News Tuesday.

Six Naga Christian men taken hostage in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, including two pastors, were found dead on June 10, with their remains reportedly mutilated, deepening fears that the region’s long-running ethnic conflict is spiraling into another deadly cycle of revenge.

A Brazilian court has sentenced a mother and father to 50 days in prison for homeschooling their two daughters, a landmark ruling that has intensified concerns over parental rights, religious freedom, and the growing power of the state over family life.

In a “significant judgment welcomed by Pakistan’s Christian community and human rights advocates,” a court in Pakistan acquitted a blind Christian man who potentially faced the death penalty for blasphemy against Islam, a Christian advocate told Worthy News.

Fulani herdsmen killed five Christians at a mining site in central Nigeria’s Plateau state, highlighting continuing attacks on Christian communities in Africa’s most populous nation, Christians say.