Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s statement following the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the United States is being viewed by analysts not as an embrace of peace, but as a carefully crafted declaration that preserves Tehran’s revolutionary posture while allowing the regime to regroup.

Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on Moscow since the war began, hitting a key oil refinery and other targets around the Russian capital, leaving at least one person dead and numerous others injured, Russian officials said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Southeast Asian leaders in Kazan this week as Moscow moved to deepen ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and promote its vision of a “multipolar world order” aimed at countering U.S. global dominance.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told NATO leaders Thursday that the Pentagon is launching a six-month review of U.S. force posture and basing in Europe, signaling a major push by the Trump administration to ensure European allies assume primary responsibility for defending the continent.

Hundreds of employees have reportedly been dismissed from media outlets aligned with former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, highlighting growing turmoil within the country’s right-wing media landscape following his election defeat and the subsequent loss of political influence.

Journalists jailed, attacked, or otherwise targeted across several countries marked fresh setbacks for press freedom this month, with media advocates highlighting cases ranging from Azerbaijan and Iran to Russia and Armenia.

A new Canadian parliamentary committee report recommends that people with mental illness should be “indefinitely excluded” from eligibility for assisted dying, a recommendation that could set a precedent for other liberal countries dealing with this issue.

President Donald Trump has signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war with Iran, U.S. officials said, launching a 60-day diplomatic test that could determine whether the Middle East moves toward a fragile ceasefire or back toward confrontation.

Poland was investigating Thursday the killing of a Russian artist and outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the murder bore the hallmarks of a political assassination.

Brazil’s Supreme Court has sentenced Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, to four years and two months in prison after finding him guilty of seeking U.S. intervention in legal proceedings involving his father.

President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that a preliminary memorandum of understanding with Iran is “not final,” making clear that U.S. military pressure remains on the table if Tehran fails to comply with the emerging agreement.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the emerging agreement between Washington and Tehran has been “successful” and is now moving into a “second stage,” while warning that Iran will never be permitted to obtain nuclear weapons.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned senior U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, that American intelligence had gathered evidence raising serious doubts about Iran’s willingness to make meaningful concessions on its nuclear program, according to an Axios report citing three sources familiar with the matter.

Vice President JD Vance on Monday denied that American taxpayers would finance a reported $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran, saying any such assistance would come from Gulf nations and only if Tehran fulfills strict commitments to end its nuclear weapons ambitions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Monday of committing “one of the biggest Russian crimes against Christian culture today” after a massive missile and drone attack damaged an ancient cathedral in Kyiv and left nearly a dozen people dead across Ukraine.