European leaders gathered for an emergency summit in Paris on Monday after Kyiv warned of an imminent Russian invasion of NATO military alliance member states, although U.S. President Donald J. Trump reportedly seeks a ceasefire in war-torn Ukraine by Easter.

An emotional outgoing chairman of Germany’s Munich Security Conference (MSC) suggested Sunday that the transatlantic relationship is under threat amid mounting U.S.-Europe tensions.

Germany’s annual Munich Security Conference (MSC) plunged into mourning Sunday as news emerged that two people were killed in a car-ramming attack on a labor union protest in nearby Munich, which also injured nearly 40 people.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday he was “distressed by the stampede” at a train station in India’s capital of New Delhi that killed at least 18 people, including 14 women.

Hungary’s powerful prime minister has warned that the European Union will collapse by 2029 unless it reinvents itself and said he expects a “permanent” peace solution for wartorn Ukraine within six months “or even earlier.”

Ukraine’s president calls for the creation of an “army of Europe” amid fears the United States and Russia will decide on his nation’s future at a meeting between the U.S. and Russian leaders in Saudi Arabia.

This week, it was “Alice in Orbánland” as the leader of Germany’s far-right AfD party, Alice Weidel, visited Hungary, led by Viktor Orbán, the prime minister who critics say turned his nation into a thiefdom.

Investigators say an Afghan migrant who pushed his car into a workers protest in the German city of Munich, injuring nearly 40 people, was a bodybuilding “Islamic extremist” shouting “Allahu Akbar” or “Allah is the Greatest.”

Pope Francis has condemned U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s attempt to deport illegal migrants, saying the “family of Nazareth in exile, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, emigrants in Egypt and refugees there” are “the example” why the policy fails.

Pakistani Christians say they are not surprised that social media platform Facebook-parent Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that he was “almost sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a large-scale counterterrorism operation in Jenin, named “Iron Wall.” The operation, announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF, involves numerous forces from special units, Shin Bet, and Border Police, and will continue for several days.

In exchange for the phased release of 33 living hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, Israel on January 19 agreed to the phased release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 110 who are serving life sentences for some of the most egregious murders of Israelis during terror attacks prior to Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

A former CIA analyst has pleaded guilty and faces 10 years imprisonment for unlawfully retaining and then posting Top Secret United States National Defense information about Israeli plans to attack Iran on social media in October 2024.

Israelis across Israel celebrated Sunday the release of three women by Hamas, the first of nearly 100 hostages due to return home, dead or alive, following their abduction on October 7, 2023.

Hamas named the three hostages it planned to release Sunday, more than two hours after the ceasefire in Gaza was supposed to have begun. Israel had earlier made clear it would keep fighting until it received the names.

Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a hostage deal on Friday, where 33 Hamas captives will be released in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including hundreds serving life sentences.

Responding to Wednesday’s announcement that the Israeli government has reached a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, the Iran-aligned Yemeni Houthi and Iraqi Nujaba Islamic jihadist movements announced they would suspend their attacks against Israel, Newsweek reports.

TikTok went dark in the United States on Sunday as the company’s application, or app, was removed from prominent app stores, including those operated by tech giants Apple and Google, while its website told users that the short-form video platform was no longer available.

Border-focused Republicans are eagerly awaiting the next Trump administration, and with it, the return of Remain in Mexico, an immigration policy that makes migrants who illegally cross the border to claim asylum wait in Mexico for their court date, rather than being released into the U.S. under parole.

Republican lawmakers are set to introduce legislation requiring doctors to provide the same medical assistance to babies born alive following an abortion as they would to a baby of the same gestational age in other circumstances.

Congressional Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation allowing people with state-issued concealed carry licenses or permits to carry a concealed handgun in any other state in the US, The Center Square (TCS) reports.

Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Meta Platforms (which owns Facebook and Instagram) has publicly criticized the US Biden administration for demanding that Facebook restrict content deemed misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, Axios reports. Indeed, Meta announced on January 7 that it will cease working with third-party fact-checking organizations.

The US Supreme Court agreed on Friday to consider reinstating certain preventative care coverage requirements under the Affordable Care Act that were struck down by the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

At least 16 people have been killed as massive wind-fed fires swept through 37,000 acres in the greater Los Angeles area, impacting entire communities ranging from the rich and famous to the poor.

A national evangelical association in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka has raised concerns that a new government proposal may restrict freedom of religion or belief for minority faith groups in the country if enacted, Christian Daily International (CDI) reports.

A 50-year-old Christian woman in Punjab Province, Pakistan has been jailed after being charged with committing blasphemy by allegedly burning books containing Islamic scripture, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

A 17-year-old Christian youth who is incarcerated in Punjab Province, Pakistan has been granted bail in one of three cases against him of blasphemy – although he will remain in prison over Christmas because of the remaining two cases, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

Christians gathered in Indonesia on Thursday to pray for survivors and families of victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami 20 years ago that killed some 230,000 people and left deep scarves in the lives of those who were there.

The US-based Eastern European Mission (EEM) Bible distribution ministry recently reported that, amid the continuing devastating war against Russia’s invasion, Ukrainians have requested an increasing number of Bibles to be sent to be delivered in their language, The Christian Post (CP) reports.

Since their power struggle launched Sudan’s current civil war in April 2023, the Sudanese National Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have destroyed the tentative steps that were taken toward securing religious freedom after the ousting of dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019, Open Doors reports.

Christian churches in Germany are mourning with the loved ones of those who lost their lives or suffered injuries during the terrorist attack on a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday, Christian Daily International (CDI) reports.