Israel observed Shabbat on Saturday amid fresh diplomatic tensions with the European Union and several Western nations over plans to expand settlements in the West Bank, known biblically as Judea and Samaria, and a separate dispute over a deadly Israeli strike on an aid convoy in Gaza.

NATO’s chief has sought to reassure Bulgaria of the military alliance’s support amid reports that Iran has weighed attacking American military targets in Europe if U.S. President Donald J. Trump orders renewed or expanded strikes against the Islamic Republic.

New evidence has emerged suggesting that this week’s massacre of Christians in Nigeria’s Plateau State was part of coordinated attacks on several predominantly Christian communities, as questions mounted over why security forces allegedly failed to intervene despite advance warnings.

Kevin Rideout, an American Christian missionary who spent more than nine months in captivity after being abducted by suspected Islamic militants in Niger, and his wife thanked believers for their prayers after they were reunited.

Egyptian archaeologists say new discoveries in northeastern Egypt may help identify a long-lost ancient city that stood along one of the most important military roads of the ancient world — a route many scholars have connected to the biblical account of the Exodus.

Israel’s High Court of Justice has unanimously overturned the government’s decision to close the influential Army Radio after 75 years, ruling that ministers acted at least partly on “improper and invalid” political considerations because they objected to the station’s broadcasts.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Jared Kushner that Israel remains firmly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state, making the position “very clear” during a meeting this week with the Trump adviser, according to a senior Israeli official cited by JNS.

Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf expressed his sorrow Friday after authorities confirmed that a teenager armed with a sword attacked students at a Swedish high school, killing one person and injuring three.

Ukraine is appealing for expanded access to Western satellite technology to help locate and destroy Russian missile launchers and other military targets as relentless Russian drone and missile attacks have killed dozens of civilians within two days, exposing growing shortages in Kyiv’s air defenses.

Millions of Ukrainian men are believed to be attempting to avoid mobilization for the frontline, but many are being hunted down and sometimes harshly detained by authorities as part of a massive drive to reinforce the country’s depleted armed forces.