Fire safety inspections had not been carried out for several years at the Swiss mountain bar where a New Year’s party blaze killed 40 people and injured at least 116 others, local authorities confirmed Wednesday, as investigators widened a criminal probe into the tragedy.

The United States on Wednesday signaled to Russia and other powers that it intends to assert control over Venezuela and its oil sector by seizing two sanctioned tankers and unveiling a plan to channel Venezuelan crude sales through U.S.-approved mechanisms.

Russia and the United States edged closer to confrontation after U.S. forces seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic, prompting sharp protests from Moscow and assertive statements from senior U.S. officials.

Russia and the United States edged closer to confrontation after U.S. forces seized a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic, prompting sharp protests from Moscow and assertive statements from senior U.S. officials.

Iranian security forces confronted large demonstrations at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar on Tuesday with tear gas and a heavy police presence, as nationwide protests entered a second week and the country’s currency plunged to a historic low.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers during a closed briefing Monday that recent White House rhetoric about Greenland does not signal an imminent U.S. invasion, emphasizing instead that the administration’s preferred goal is to purchase the island from Denmark, according to people familiar with the discussion.

Britain and France, both members of the NATO military alliance, have agreed to prepare for the deployment of troops to Ukraine if the war-torn country reaches a peace deal with neighboring Russia.

Venezuela’s remaining power structure has launched a sweeping security crackdown following the dramatic U.S. operation that captured former leader Nicolás Maduro, arresting journalists, restricting media coverage, and deploying armed paramilitary groups to suppress any public reaction to his removal.

A Dutch court has sentenced the father and two brothers of 18-year-old Ryan Al Najjar to decades-long prison terms for killing the young woman because she allegedly “dishonored” their strict Islamic family.

Recovery crews began stabilizing the remains of Amsterdam’s historic Vondelkerk after a massive blaze tore through the neo-Gothic landmark shortly after the New Year began, forcing evacuations but causing no reported injuries, authorities said.

Argentinian President Javier Milei announced Wednesday that his country will officially relocate its embassy in Israel from the Tel Aviv area to Jerusalem in 2026, marking a significant diplomatic shift and further solidifying his pro-Israel stance. The declaration was made during a special plenary session of the Knesset held in his honor, where Milei was met with enthusiastic praise from Israel’s top leadership.

In a sharp departure from past U.S. administrations, the U.S. Embassy in Israel will boycott this year’s Tel Aviv Pride parade and will not participate in any Pride Month activities, citing the “priorities of the Trump administration,” according to a report by Haaretz.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has accused Hamas of launching a deadly attack on one of its buses late Wednesday, killing at least five local staffers, wounding others, and possibly taking some as hostages. The incident marks a violent escalation in tensions surrounding the distribution of foreign aid in Gaza.

A bill to dissolve the Knesset was narrowly defeated in a preliminary reading early Thursday morning, following a breakthrough agreement with ultra-Orthodox parties over military draft legislation. The motion was voted down 61–53, preserving the fragile governing coalition for now.

In a dramatic showdown that could end Benjamin Netanyahu’s historic tenure as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, the Knesset is set to vote Wednesday on a preliminary bill to dissolve itself and trigger early elections amid escalating tensions over ultra-Orthodox military exemptions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the Trump administration to mediate talks with Syria’s newly installed government, in a move that could signal a dramatic shift in the Middle East, Axios reported Wednesday.

The group backing self-declared climate justice warrior Greta Thunberg and other activists in their attempt to reach Gaza by sea has been co-founded by a Hamas operative, British and Israeli sources say.

A federal judge on Thursday night ordered the Trump administration to halt expansion of its controversial immigrant detention center in the Florida Everglades, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” citing violations of environmental law and tribal access rights.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Friday signaled that long-awaited interest rate cuts could be on the horizon, telling central bankers that current conditions “may warrant” an adjustment to the Fed’s restrictive policy stance.

FBI agents executed a search warrant Friday morning at the Maryland home of John Bolton, former national security adviser under President Donald Trump, as part of an investigation into his handling of classified documents, according to multiple media outlets.

The Trump administration announced it is reviewing the eligibility of all 55 million foreign nationals holding U.S. visas as part of an intensified vetting program, raising the stakes in its broader immigration crackdown.

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a significant victory to the Trump administration on Thursday, ruling 5-4 to uphold the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) decision to cancel nearly $783 million in taxpayer-funded research grants tied to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and other controversial programs.

A New York appellate court on Thursday struck down a $515 million civil fraud judgment against President Donald Trump, ruling that the massive penalty violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on excessive fines.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Texas law that would have mandated the display of the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom across the state, ruling that the measure likely violates constitutional protections of religious freedom.

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.

A beacon of light and hope in a country devastated by war, dozens of newly Christian believers were to be baptized at a special Christmas Day service in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Christian Today (CT) reports.