The United States has ordered the evacuation of non-essential diplomatic personnel from Iraq, Bahrain, and Kuwait amid rising fears of a regional military escalation over Iran’s advancing nuclear program and threats against U.S. forces.

President Donald Trump voiced deepening skepticism this week over the likelihood of securing a revised nuclear agreement with Iran, even as his administration pushes ahead with diplomatic talks aimed at halting Tehran’s uranium enrichment program.

The United States is prepared to strike Iran’s nuclear infrastructure if necessary, according to Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, who confirmed Tuesday that President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have been presented with a full range of military options.

The United States and China have reached a tentative agreement to ease tensions over critical minerals and export controls, following two days of high-level trade talks in London. The handshake deal, announced June 11, now awaits final approval from President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had reasons to celebrate Wednesday as most Italians followed her call to stay away from a referendum on easing citizenship laws for migrants.

Hungary’s government made clear Wednesday it won’t back down for a “resistance movement” announced at a rally attended by more than 20,000 people filling the square in front of Hungary’s Parliament in Budapest.

A French middle school employee was stabbed to death by a 14-year-old student in northeastern France on the same day that, elsewhere in Europe, in Austria, at least 11 people died after a school shooting, officials confirmed.

Austria has declared three days of mourning after its worst shooting since World War II left at least 11 people dead Tuesday at a secondary school in Graz, the nation’s second largest city.

A leading Washington, D.C.-based think tank has revealed that Iran conducted and subsequently concealed a series of nuclear implosion tests in 2003, a critical step in developing a nuclear weapon. The findings, published by the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), are based on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) confidential report dated May 31, 2025.

Iran has announced a major expansion of its civilian nuclear program through a new agreement with Russia to build eight nuclear power plants, including four in the southern coastal province of Bushehr, home to the country’s only operational reactor.

At least 10 people, including seven students and adults, have been killed in a school shooting in Graz, Austria’s second largest city, its Mayor Elke Kahr confirmed.

The Indian Coast Guard was frantically searching for missing crew members after an explosion and subsequent fire were reported onboard a Singapore-flagged container ship off the coast of Kerala in southern India.

An explosion at a storage site for unexploded ordnance at a U.S. military base on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa injured four Japanese soldiers, in the first such accident in decades, the military said.

Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel has reignited theological and political debate after warning that modern technology–particularly artificial intelligence and global data systems–could provide the infrastructure for what the Bible calls the Antichrist.

Colombian Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, a leading opposition voice and declared candidate for the 2026 presidential election, is in critical condition after being shot three times–twice in the head–during a campaign event Saturday in Bogotá.