Venezuelan authorities have released Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of opposition leader Edmundo González, after more than a year in detention, his wife confirmed Thursday, but concerns remained about other political prisoners held under the current rulers, advocacy groups said.

Fresh questions were raised Thursday about the safety of Spain’s railway network after a fourth train-related incident in nearly as many days left several people injured, adding to growing public concern following a deadly high-speed crash earlier this week.

A Japanese court has sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami to life imprisonment for the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, bringing to a close a high-profile trial that has deeply affected Japan’s political and social landscape.

President Donald Trump called off tariffs on U.S. allies opposed to his plans to annex Greenland after announcing a tentative deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for a future deal on Greenland.

President Donald Trump said the United States is pursuing negotiations to acquire Greenland while ruling out the use of military force, framing the controversial proposal as a necessary security measure rather than an economic or mineral-driven ambition.

Gold prices surged to a record high on Wednesday as investors sought safety the deepest crisis in the transatlantic alliance in decades with U.S. President Donald J. Trump saying Europe “is not heading in the right direction.”

Thousands in Ukraine’s capital braced for a bitter winter night late Tuesday after Russian forces unleashed another deadly barrage of missiles and drones that severely damaged critical infrastructure and worsened a deepening humanitarian crisis. The winter offensive has knocked out power, water, and heating across much of Kyiv, officials said.

Dutch firebrand politician Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV), faced his most severe political crisis Tuesday after seven members of parliament resigned from the party’s parliamentary group, dramatically weakening its influence in the House of Representatives of the Netherlands.

President Donald Trump is continuing to press senior advisers for what he calls “decisive” military options against Iran, even after pulling back from strikes last week, as Tehran intensifies a violent crackdown on protesters that has killed thousands, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Guards from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew Tuesday from the sprawling al-Hol detention camp in northeast Syria, triggering accusations from Damascus that the move allowed Islamic State-linked detainees to escape, as fighting between the two sides pushed the country closer to renewed instability.

More than 20 people were injured in Israel early Sunday as Iran pounded the Jewish nation with missiles after the United States destroyed three Iranian nuclear sites.

Israel’s defense minister says the military killed two overseas commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including Saeed Izadi, who helped “finance and arm Hamas” for the October 7, 2023, massacre.

Israel is pouring unprecedented sums into its simultaneous wars in Gaza and against Iran, spending billions of dollars at a pace that is shaking the foundations of its economy. The twin conflicts have driven military and civilian expenditures to levels not seen in decades, placing extraordinary strain on public finances and raising alarms about the country’s financial future.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Thursday that Iran has, for the first time during the ongoing conflict, launched a ballistic missile equipped with a cluster bomb warhead toward Israeli territory. The unprecedented attack caused significant injuries and damage across several cities, including Beersheba, Ramat Gan, Holon, and Azor.

President Donald Trump said that the coming days will be critical as he considers whether to order U.S. military involvement in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

The Israeli Air Force launched a sweeping overnight air campaign across Iran, striking key nuclear and military sites in an effort to cripple what Israel says is Tehran’s advancing nuclear weapons program.

Israel’s Health Ministry says at least 240 people have been wounded in Thursday’s Iranian missile barrage hitting Israel, including four individuals with serious injuries.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump said Friday the suspected shooter who assassinated born-again Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk is “with a high degree of certainty” in custody, while also warning Russian President Vladimir Putin that his patience is “sort of running out and running out fast.”

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk will be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, as federal and state investigators intensify their search for the assassin responsible for his death.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump said late Wednesday he is “filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk” after the conservative born-again Christian influencer was gunned down during a campus event in the western U.S. state of Utah.

Friends and political foes alike were plunged into mourning Wednesday after born-again Christian and conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31, was fatally shot during a campus event at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, a city in the U.S. state of Utah.

Charlie Kirk, the outspoken conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated, sending shockwaves across the nation and devastating the conservative movement he helped build.

A federal appeals court has ruled that Vermont must allow a Christian school to compete again in state-sponsored athletic events, overturning a ban imposed after the school declined to play a basketball game against a team with a male athlete competing on a girls’ roster.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday the start of Operation Midway Blitz, an immigration enforcement campaign targeting criminal noncitizen migrants in Chicago, drawing sharp pushback from Illinois leaders.

A new Islamic terror group that is considered even more dangerous than Boko Haram, ISWAP and the radicalized Fulani militants has begun murdering Christians in northern Nigeria, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports. Islamic terror groups intent on imposing their extreme version of Sharia law and governance have murdered tens of thousands of Christians in northern Nigeria since jihadism took hold in the region in 2009.

Christians in Sudan say believers displaced by war have been prevented from celebrating Christmas in a park where they had taken refuge.

At least 380 million Christians — one in seven worldwide — faced high levels of persecution and discrimination in 2024, an increase of 15 million from the year before, investigators said Wednesday.

Africa remains the deadliest region for Christians, with Nigeria ranking as the country where a Christian is most likely to be killed for his or her faith, according to a new report by the Global Christian Relief (GCR) charity and advocacy group.

The hugely popular YouVersion Bible App was installed nearly 800,000 times on January 5 this year alone, the Christian Post reports. Launched in 2008 by the US-based Life.Church ministry, YouVersion is available in 2,100 languages and has been installed on 850 million devices worldwide.

Two protestant Christian church leaders and three Christian family members were recently assassinated in two premeditated incidents in Colombia, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports.

While Christians in northern Nigeria remain extremely vulnerable to killings and kidnapping by Islamic terrorists, especially Fulani militant herdsmen, two abducted pastors were released from captivity on January 5, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.