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.

Iran’s judiciary announced that more than 3,000 citizens have been arrested in recent months on suspicion of cooperating with Israel, marking one of the regime’s broadest internal crackdowns since anti-government protests erupted earlier this year.

Latin America’s political right appeared to score another major victory Sunday as conservative political newcomer Abelardo de la Espriella, backed by President Donald Trump, declared victory in Colombia’s cliffhanger presidential runoff — a result that could mark a sharp rebuke of outgoing leftist President Gustavo Petro and further signal the region’s growing turn toward law-and-order, market-oriented leadership.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran has agreed to “highest level” nuclear inspections far into the future, calling it a major concession in a developing 60-day roadmap agreement aimed at preventing Tehran from rebuilding its nuclear program and reducing the risk of renewed conflict in the Strait of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran will face “major weapons inspections” under a developing peace framework with the United States, even as Tehran publicly denied making any new nuclear commitments during high-level talks in Switzerland.

Iran’s clerical regime has sharply escalated executions of political prisoners, using the gallows to warn a restless population that dissent will not be tolerated, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.

Israel’s prime minister pledged on Easter Sunday that “even under fire,” Israel would continue to protect its Christian community, which he said is “prospering and growing” despite missiles being fired at the nation’s capital, Jerusalem.

Sirens echoed across central and northern Israel Wednesday evening as families gathered for Passover, when Iran unleashed a major ballistic missile barrage and Hezbollah fired rockets from Lebanon, forcing millions into bomb shelters during one of Judaism’s most sacred nights.

As Israel entered the sacred season of Passover, the Israel Defense Forces announced a sweeping continued campaign against Iran, citing significant progress in weakening the regime’s military infrastructure.

Israel announced Wednesday that it has completed a major phase of its military campaign against Iran, declaring that nearly all predesignated “vital and strategic” targets have been successfully struck under Operation Roaring Lion.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel, in close coordination with the United States, has significantly weakened Iran’s military capabilities as the regional conflict entered its fifth week.

Israel signaled a major strategic shift on its northern front Tuesday, as Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intends to establish a permanent security zone inside southern Lebanon extending to the Litani River.

The Knesset approved a controversial law Monday mandating the death penalty for certain terrorist acts, marking a historic shift in Israel’s judicial approach to terrorism.

U.S. federal prosecutors announced criminal charges Tuesday against the operator of the cargo ship that struck and destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024, killing six construction workers.

Inflation increased 0.6% in April, with an overall rate of 3.8% over the last 12 months, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Federal authorities have charged more than 25 members and associates of Tren de Aragua, the violent Venezuelan-born criminal network recently designated by the Trump administration as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, in a sweeping nationwide crackdown aimed at dismantling the gang’s expanding footprint inside the United States.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday extended for three more days an order allowing women to obtain abortion drugs through the mail without visiting an in-person doctor.

Republicans have received a major boost in the battle for House control after a series of court rulings dramatically shifted the redistricting landscape ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The United States endured its worst spring drought on record last month, with more than 60% of the lower 48 states experiencing moderate drought or worse conditions, according to federal monitoring agencies. The rapidly intensifying crisis is raising concerns over food prices, agricultural production, and an already severe wildfire season stretching across multiple regions of the country.

Senior Trump administration official Ambassador Monica Crowley declared this week that the American public will soon receive concrete evidence supporting President Donald Trump’s claim that he won the 2020 presidential election in a landslide — a statement that signals the administration is moving from assertion to action on one of the most contested issues in recent American political history.

Despite what advocates describe as decades of persecution, discrimination, and insecurity, Pakistan’s Christians remain steadfast in their faith and committed to peaceful coexistence, a leading Christian rights advocate said Friday.

Several Christian families in Pakistan’s Punjab province were recovering from injuries Sunday after what they described as “targeted attacks” by suspected Islamic extremists, reflecting broader pressure on Christians and other minorities in the Muslim-majority nation.

A Christian pastor in southern Mexico has been expelled from his village after refusing to participate in rituals linked to traditional religious practices, Christians told Worthy News on Thursday.

Several Christian families in Pakistan’s Punjab province were recovering from injuries Sunday after what they described as “targeted attacks” by suspected Islamic extremists, reflecting broader pressure on Christians and other minorities in the Muslim-majority nation.

A Christian pastor detained in Nicaragua since July 2025 has been released from prison but placed under house arrest along with five other Christian believers, Worthy News established on Thursday.

An injured Christian pastor in eastern India says recalling Bible verses gave him strength to survive hours of brutal abuse by a Hindu mob that accused him of converting Hindus to Christianity.

In one of its first closely watched cases, Pakistan’s newly established Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) ruled that an underage Christian girl should remain with her “Muslim husband” despite concerns about her age and religious rights, Christians confirmed to Worthy News on Wednesday.