World News
Pakistani Christians on Friday condemned a suicide bombing during weekly prayers at a Shiite mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad that killed at least 31 people and injured 169 others in what officials described as the deadliest attack on Pakistan’s capital in more than a decade.
Europe reeled Sunday after newly released U.S. Justice Department files detailing the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s global contacts shook royal houses and governments, triggering resignations, investigations and political fallout across several European countries.
The Trump administration announced it will no longer abide by the expired New START nuclear arms agreement, arguing the treaty fails to restrain Russia’s expanding arsenal and excludes China’s rapidly growing nuclear forces, according to a senior State Department official.
Hungary’s main opposition leader is demanding answers over 650 billion forints ($2 billion) in disputed funds linked to foundation structures created by the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), branding the case “the world’s biggest bank robbery.”
Iran’s leadership has flatly refused to abandon uranium enrichment or scale back its ballistic missile program, even as President Donald Trump intensifies a dual-track strategy of diplomacy and military pressure aimed at forcing a broader agreement with Tehran.
Far over budget but still less costly than some recent Games, Italy’s Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics opened over the weekend, with athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus competing only under a “neutral” designation amid continuing fallout from Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Portuguese voters headed to the polls Sunday in a high-stakes presidential runoff despite deadly storms that have battered parts of the country, with left-leaning former Socialist leader António José Seguro projected to defeat nationalist challenger André Ventura, according to exit polls.
U.S. forces carried out five sets of precision strikes against Islamic State targets across Syria between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2, the U.S. military’s U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday.
U.S. forces carried out five sets of precision strikes against Islamic State targets across Syria between Jan. 27 and Feb. 2, the U.S. military’s U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff announced on Feb. 5 that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange 314 prisoners, marking the first such swap in five months and the most tangible outcome yet from U.S.-brokered talks held in Abu Dhabi. The exchange followed multiple days of trilateral negotiations involving delegations from Washington, Kyiv, and Moscow.
Israel News
U.S. President Donald Trump formally launched his long-anticipated Board of Peace on Thursday during a signing ceremony held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, unveiling an international body he said could eventually rival the United Nations.
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner on Thursday unveiled a streamlined master plan to rebuild and economically transform the Gaza Strip, presenting the proposal during the signing of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace charter at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Eight prominent Muslim-majority countries announced their decision this week to join U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed Board of Peace, a move framed by its supporters as a step toward stability — but viewed in Israel with deep skepticism given past regional failures in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to join the newly proposed Board of Peace, his office confirmed Wednesday, as a growing number of European governments signaled they will not participate in the initiative.
The United States and Israel signed a landmark joint statement on Friday launching a strategic partnership in artificial intelligence, research, and critical technologies under the U.S.-led Pax Silica initiative, underscoring a shared vision that economic cooperation can outweigh ideological divides.
Israeli authorities on Tuesday began demolishing the former headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem, marking a decisive enforcement of legislation passed by the Knesset banning UNRWA activity inside Israeli territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Monday that no Turkish or Qatari soldiers will be allowed to operate in the Gaza Strip, acknowledging a “certain dispute” with the United States over the composition of a U.S.-backed body intended to oversee Gaza’s postwar governance.
U.S. News
The first month of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration has been marked by a troubling surge in antisemitic hate crimes across New York City, even as overall gun violence fell to historic lows, according to newly released data from the New York City Police Department.
Washington, D.C., has recorded its lowest homicide levels in a decade following President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to the nation’s capital, according to local and federal officials.
The Trump administration announced Monday that all federal immigration and homeland security officers operating in Minneapolis will now be equipped with body-worn cameras, a move officials say will increase transparency and protect law enforcement amid rising tensions and political scrutiny.
President Donald Trump demanded Monday that House lawmakers swiftly approve the bipartisan spending package passed by the Senate, urging both parties to set aside additional policy demands to bring a partial government shutdown to a rapid end.
President Donald Trump announced Feb. 2 the creation of a new strategic private-sector critical minerals stockpile, a move the White House says will shield U.S. industry from supply shocks and reduce reliance on Beijing’s dominance of rare earths and key metals.
A network of left-wing activist groups working to obstruct federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota has received millions of dollars from a nonprofit tied to the Soros family, according to an investigation by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The U.S. Senate sent a $1.2 trillion government funding package back to the House for approval Friday night, ensuring a partial government shutdown over the weekend.
Christian News
There was mounting concern Monday over the fate of an Egyptian Christian who hosts a channel on the video-sharing platform YouTube, after authorities sentenced him to five years of hard labor for content that rights groups say defended Christianity online.
The wife and daughter of a late Anglican priest who died in captivity have regained their freedom after nearly three months in the hands of kidnappers, as concern mounted Monday over the abductions of more than 150 worshippers in coordinated attacks on churches in northern Nigeria, officials and sources said.
Iran’s Islamic rulers have jailed more Christians amid a brutal crackdown on nationwide protests that a network of Iranian doctors says has killed up to 18,000 people.
A Protestant pastor held in incommunicado detention for almost six months in Nicaragua has been released, Christians confirmed Thursday.
Christian advocacy groups urged U.S. President Donald J. Trump not to close America’s doors to Christian refugees from Pakistan, citing cases of bonded labor, abduction, and alleged misuse of blasphemy laws targeting the country’s Christian minority.
Christian activists say religious freedom is under “unprecedented threat” in China and India, citing a sharp escalation in government actions and extremist violence targeting believers.
Christians across Colombia expressed deep shock and grief after church officials confirmed that a prominent evangelical pastor was shot and killed during New Year’s celebrations in the country’s Caribbean region.