The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lowered interest rates for the first time in nine months, citing signs of a cooling labor market and persistent uncertainty in the U.S. economy.

Several nations have threatened to boycott the world’s largest televised song competition if Israel participates.

Suspected Islamist gunmen on motorbikes have killed at least 22 people in Niger, including about 15 at a baptism ceremony and seven more nearby, officials and witnesses said. In neighboring Nigeria, a Christian farmer in the Abuja area separately told Worthy News he miraculously escaped armed men raiding his land.

At least nine people have died in Pakistan’s Punjab province when a rescue boat capsized during flood relief efforts, authorities confirmed over the weekend amid massive death and destruction that also impacted the Islamic nation’s tiny Christian minority.

The U.S. Department of State on Wednesday announced the designation of four Iran-backed militias as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), escalating pressure on Tehran and its network of proxies across the Middle East.

Israel on Wednesday announced that its long-awaited laser air defense system, known as the “Iron Beam,” is now fully operational following a series of advanced tests. The Defense Ministry and developer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said the first batteries will be delivered to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) by the end of the year, marking a historic first for military technology worldwide.

Iran erupted in protests overnight as thousands took to the streets to mark the third anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, the young Kurdish woman killed in custody by the regime’s morality police after refusing to wear a hijab.

The European Commission on Wednesday formally unveiled a proposal to sanction far-right Israeli ministers and partially suspend the European Union’s association agreement with Israel, marking a dramatic escalation of Europe’s response to the war in Gaza.

The United States and the United Kingdom have signed a sweeping technology pact that will bring $42 billion in American tech investment into Britain, cementing closer transatlantic ties in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and nuclear energy.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday night accused the Biden administration of targeting slain conservative leader Charlie Kirk and his organization, Turning Point USA, as part of a sweeping FBI investigation that he said was designed to silence political opponents.