Frances Martel

The Foreign Ministry of Iran did not contradict reports on Monday claiming that talks between the country and the United States in Switzerland were productive this weekend – going as far as to credit mediators Qatar and Pakistan with “major progress.”

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) of the United Kingdom announced on Friday that it had decided to temporarily suspend Karim Khan, formerly the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), as the ICC addresses allegations that Khan engaged in “non-consensual” sexual activity with a colleague.

The Cuban Communist Party debuted a set of economic reforms on Thursday allegedly intended to facilitate attracting foreign investment.

Large crowds in Seoul accusing the leftist-run government of South Korea of election fraud marked two weeks on Thursday of protests in front of an Olympic sports complex used to tally ballots in the June 3 election.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi cheered the signing of a memorandum of understanding between America and Iran.

Officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) confirmed on Tuesday that unknown knife-wielding attackers abducted two people, a woman and her six-year-old child, from an Ebola treatment center. Both victims are believed to have tested positive for the disease.

Pope Leo XIV issued statements on Tuesday and Wednesday expressing hope that the announced memorandum of understanding to end the war between Iran and the United States would lead to long-lasting peace and the deterrence of nuclear weapons development.

Multiple environmental organizations, activists, and climate scientists have warned that the 2026 FIFA World Cup could potentially be the most polluting sporting event in the history of humanity — a concern that attracted more attention on Tuesday as FIFA confirmed its president, Gianni Infantino, would be flying often to attend as many soccer games as possible.

The president of the international soccer federation FIFA, Gianni Infantino, made a surprise appearance in the locker room of the Iranian national team on Monday night to offer words of support and comfort following a 2-2 tie against New Zealand in the World Cup.

President Donald Trump said at the G7 summit that Syria could “do a better job” eliminating Hezbollah than Israel.

Afghan media revealed this weekend that the Taliban terrorist organization has received an invitation from the European Union (EU) to visit.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it “welcomed” the announcement the day prior that Iran and America had come to an agreement to end active hostilities with a memorandum of understanding expected to be signed in Switzerland on Friday.

Iranian military leaders celebrated the news on Monday that the country had agreed to the terms of a memorandum of understanding with the United States to end the current conflict, suggesting that the agreement represented “defeat and surrender” for America.

A district court in Seoul, South Korea, sentenced impeached former President Yoon Suk-yeol to 30 years in prison on Friday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution commanding Iran to “suspend all enrichment” activities.

The United States emerged as India’s top supplier of liquified natural gas (LNG) in May, CNBC reported on Thursday, fulfilling a prediction by President Donald Trump last year that America would become a “leading supplier” to the country in the near future.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth traveled to the American military base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Wednesday.

The head of the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, waded into the ongoing controversy surrounding Somali soccer referee Omar Artan on Wednesday, celebrating the sporting official after the U.S. government denied him entry due to alleged ties to terrorist organizations.

The United Nations confirmed on Wednesday that at least one person, a boy, was killed the day before when the Taliban jihadist terror gang opened fire into a crowd of peaceful protesters objecting to the mass arrest of women for insufficiently covering their faces.

Multiple reports indicate that the State Department is encouraging European countries to impose Ebola travel restrictions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned in a message on Tuesday that American forces should leave the Middle East “if you want to be safe,” threatening a response after the Pentagon confirmed pervasive airstrikes against Iranian military sites that day.

The Chinese government news agency Xinhua detailed in its coverage of dictator Xi Jinping’s visit to North Korea this week that the Communist Party chief urged counterpart Kim Jong-un to consider deepening cooperation with his country on “military affairs,” among other issues.

A dog slaughterhouse in Yulin, China, shut its doors for good this week, the first beneficiary of a program led by the animal rights groups Vshine Animal Protection Association and Humane World for Animals to help often impoverished dog butchers find new jobs and escape their gruesome livelihoods.

The interim “president” of Venezuela, former Nicolás Maduro henchwoman Delcy Rodríguez, held an in-person meeting with Islamist Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Monday, seeking expanded investments in the impoverished socialist country.

Genocidal Chinese dictator Xi Jinping arrived in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Monday, received by the customary throngs of cheering children and demanding his host, Kim Jong-un, pursue a new era of “political mutual trust.”

The latest World Health Organization (W.H.O.) update on the Ebola outbreak centered in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this weekend confirmed 534 cases of the disease in the area, including 93 confirmed deaths.

The Iranian armed forces claimed in comments published on Monday that the missile assault on Israel they launched the day before had concluded — but reportedly threatened continued bombings, including against American oil facilities, if the terror regime considered it necessary.

The U.S. State Department announced a new round of sanctions Thursday on the crème de la crème of Cuba’s communist Castro family dynasty.

A report drafted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the status of Iran’s nuclear program reportedly asserts that the U.N. agency has no way of verifying the status or location of the country’s illicit enriched uranium stockpile, multiple news outlets reported on Thursday.

The owner of a Border Collie named “Chutou” who had built up a formidable fanbase on China’s Tiktok equivalent Douyin denounced this week that thieves stole his dog and sold it to a restaurant for $27, where it was butchered and eaten.

Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Vice President Han Zheng on Wednesday, touring the country amid her campaign to become the next U.N. Secretary General.

The international hotel chain Meliá, based in Spain, announced it would stop operating 15 of the 34 hotels it currently administers in Cuba.

World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus demanded on Wednesday that countries imposing travel restrictions on visitors to stop the spread of the Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lift them, claiming they were harming containment efforts.

The international vaccine development and distribution organization Gavi announced this week that it had committed $50 million to responding to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), $40 million of which would go to building up supply chains in preparation of mass production of an Ebola Bundibugyo vaccine.