The United States is preparing to significantly expand its maritime pressure campaign against Iran, with plans underway to board and seize Iran-linked oil tankers and commercial vessels in international waters, U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal.

Military planning for a potential U.S. intervention in Cuba is quietly accelerating, according to a USA TODAY exclusive, as the Pentagon prepares contingency options should President Donald Trump authorize action against the communist-led island.

At least six people were killed after a gunman opened fire in a district of Kyiv before barricading himself inside a supermarket, where he later died in a confrontation with police, officials said.

The administration of U.S. President Donald J. Trump has renewed a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil at sea for about a month, despite critics fearing it could help Moscow finance its war against Ukraine.

Bulgarians were heading for elections that a pro-Russia former president was expected to win.

Iran has announced the reopening of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz following a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, prompting a strong response from global markets and cautious optimism from world leaders.

The United States and Iran are considering a two-week extension of their ceasefire to allow more time for negotiations on a broader peace deal, easing immediate fears of renewed fighting despite an intensifying standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, officials said, prompting a global stock rally.

Turkey plunged into mourning Thursday as funerals were held for nine people killed when a 14-year-old opened fire at a school, one of the deadliest such shootings in the nation’s recent history.

Hungary’s election winner Péter Magyar pushed for a rapid transfer of power after his landslide victory, urging President Tamás Sulyok to step down following talks at the presidential palace.

Syria announced it has taken full control of all former U.S. military bases following the complete withdrawal of United States Central Command forces, marking a significant shift in the region’s strategic landscape.

Iran’s government has sentenced four additional protesters—including a woman—to death following mass demonstrations earlier this year, signaling a continued and intensifying crackdown on dissent in the Islamic Republic.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a historic battlefield milestone this week, declaring that Ukrainian forces successfully captured a Russian position using only unmanned robotic systems—marking what he described as a first in modern warfare.

Iran secretly deployed a Chinese-built surveillance satellite to monitor U.S. military bases across the Middle East during the recent conflict, significantly enhancing its targeting capabilities, according to a new investigation by the Financial Times.

U.S. President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that the United States will not agree to any peace deal with Iran unless Tehran fully abandons its nuclear ambitions, reinforcing a hardline stance as diplomatic efforts continue amid rising regional tensions.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded its global growth outlook, warning that the ongoing Iran conflict could push the world economy toward recession if energy disruptions intensify and inflation pressures worsen.