Author: European Correspondent

By Babak Kamiar The draft memorandum includes unrestricted Hormuz shipping, Iran removing mines within 30 days and US sanctions waivers on Iranian oil, with nuclear talks to follow. US Vice President JD Vance said talks between Washington and Tehran were making “good progress” as negotiators from both sides reached agreement on a 60-day deal to extend the ceasefire — but the deal still awaits final approval from both President Donald Trump and Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, according to sources. If signed, the memorandum of understanding would be the most significant diplomatic step since the war began on 28 February. According to US…

By Yolaine De Kerchove Dexaerde. US President Donald Trump is calling for more Muslim-majority countries to join the Abraham Accords, the diplomatic agreements normalising ties between Israel and parts of the Arab world. The Abraham Accords are a set of diplomatic agreements brokered by the United States in 2020 to normalise relations between Israel and several Arab countries. Signed during the first presidency of Donald Trump, the accords led the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco to establish formal ties with Israel, while Sudan later agreed to join. Trump is now pushing to expand the agreements as part of wider efforts…

OPINION: Daniel R. Suhr The United States and Great Britain have long enjoyed a special relationship in world affairs, strengthened from our shared sacrifices twice in defense of freedom during two world wars. Winston Churchill’s vision for the Atlantic Alliance, tying together America and Europe for the long haul, was matched by his desire for an alliance of the English-speaking peoples—the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. To this day, the most important avenue for sharing intelligence (spy stuff) is the Five Eyes network of those nations. Because Britain and America have this special bond, the United States has a…

By Peter Barabas & Aleksandar Brezar/Euronews The US president announced on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that a deal with Tehran to end the Iran war was “largely negotiated” subject to approval, ending speculation over the possible resumption of strikes against Iran and broader conflict in the region. US President Donald Trump announced Saturday that a draft framework for an agreement with Iran, which would include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, has been “largely negotiated” and is “subject to finalisation”. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that the final aspects and details of the deal are being discussed…

By Julian Mann. Lord Toby Young’s powerful speech in London in support of British Jews sets an example for the Church of England. The leaders of the established Church need to be much more vocal in speaking out against the rising tide of hatred against Britain’s 270,000 Jews. The Free Speech Union founder was speaking at the Campaign Against Antisemitism protest opposite Downing Street on April 30. This was the day after the stabbings of two Jewish men in Golders Green, north London. He said: “I want you to imagine what Britain would look like without British Jews. What kind of country would we…

By Thomas Fretwell/UK Correspondant.  In the early hours of a May morning, fame engulfed the gates of a former synagogue in east London. This is the latest in a string of antisemitic incidents in the UK under investigation by counter-terrorism forces. For many British Jews, this was another attack in a rapidly growing list of attacks against them in the country. The list is growing at an alarming pace. In March, four ambulances belonging to a Jewish voluntary agency were set on fire outside a synagogue in Golders Green, London. Weeks later, petrol bombs were thrown at a synagogue in…

By Tony Davenport. A new study forecasts Islam will be on the brink of overtaking Christianity in 50 years. Christianity will continue to grow, but mostly in Africa, while steadily declining in its traditional hubs. This is according to the latest Status of Global Christianity report. It predicts that on current growth patterns of around 1% per year, the number of Christians on the planet will rise from 2.673 billion in 2026 to 3.675 billion in 2075, with more than one billion new Christians in Africa. With a much faster annual growth rate of 1.57%, the study forecasts the Muslim population will…

By Malek Fouda/Euronews. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have both expressed a need for China to leverage its tight relations with Tehran to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz for “their own interests”. White House officials are urging China to use its influence with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, just days before US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in a highly-anticipated summit in Beijing. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Chinese officials to use Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to China to urge…

By Andrea Williams In Colchester, one of Britain’s oldest recorded settlements, an entire church community is facing the possibility of being criminalised for their street ministry. The church, Bread of Life Community Church in Clacton-on-Sea, has been issued a Community Protection Notice that risks criminalising the entire church, regardless of their personal involvement, for preaching the gospel in nearby Colchester town centre. Over the last decade, we have defended hundreds of church ministries and street preachers who have been censored for their outreach ministries. And the frequency of these cases is only increasing. The message is clear: authorities, both in…

By Sasha Vakulina/Euronews President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Tuesday that Ukraine is set to open its arms exports via so-called drone deals, but not all countries will have access to Kyiv’s battlefield tested expertise. In a much anticipated step, Ukraine is opening up its arms exports to global markets, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Tuesday evening. “The export of Ukrainian weapons will become a reality, we have approved all the details at the level of our state institutions,” Zelenskyy said in a statement. “Currently, our security expertise and weapons, which have been tested in modern warfare, are of interest to all…

By Erin Hale New Zealand’s military said a surveillance aircraft observed what it suspected was North Korea breaking international sanctions in a “possible ship-to-ship transfer of illicit goods”, while conducting monitoring over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea. New Zealand’s Defence Force said on Tuesday that the exchange of goods at sea between vessels was captured by one of its long-range P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft in international waters near North Korea. The exchange was observed among 35 “vessels of interest” in the area while its surveillance aircraft was patrolling for possible North Korean violations of United Nations sanctions at sea,…

By Mikale Olson, Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda and one of his most loyal disciples, died by suicide on May 1, 1945 — just one day after the Führer took his own life in the bowels of the Berlin bunker. But before Goebbels followed his master into death, he and his wife Magda carried out one final, unspeakable act of devotion to the crumbling Nazi regime: the deliberate murder of their six children, all under the age of 13.They drugged them with morphine, placed cyanide capsules in their mouths as they slept, and watched as their young lives were extinguished.…

By Elliot Neaman. Germany’s Military Service Modernization Act marks a crucial shift toward rebuilding its defense capabilities amid growing geopolitical threats and waning reliance on allies. The law restores military registration and prepares for conscription while balancing civil liberties through transparency and oversight. This reform reflects a necessary, responsible commitment to national security rooted in democratic values and historical awareness. Germany is finally waking up to a harsh reality: In a world of revisionist powers and wavering alliances, a rich democracy at the heart of Europe cannot afford to be militarily weak. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, too many…

By Ailin Vilches Arguello Antisemitism in the Netherlands remained at alarmingly high levels last year, according to newly published figures, as Jews and Israelis across Europe continued to face a persistently hostile environment marked by harassment, vandalism, and targeted attacks. On Wednesday, Dutch authorities released a new annual antisemitism report showing 867 registered cases in 2025, a figure that remains at deeply troubling levels and virtually unchanged from the 880 antisemitic incidents recorded the previous year. Even though Jews make up less than 0.3 percent of the Dutch population, anti-Jewish hate crimes account for 26 percent of all discrimination cases. Eddo Verdoner,…

By Kelley Valencia/Europe Corrrespondent. A pastor has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter after a man died during a paddling pool baptism in Birmingham. Robert Smith, 61, from Brixton, was pronounced dead at the scene after emergency services were called to the ceremony in October 2023. The Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed pastor Cheryl Bartley, of Life Changing Ministries, faces one count of manslaughter in connection with the incident. Malcolm McHaffie, head of the CPS’s special crime division, said they had worked closely with West Midlands Police as it carried out an investigation. “Our prosecutors have worked to establish that…

By Diana Resnick/Euronews. Men aged 17 to 45 may now need approval from the Bundeswehr for trips abroad lasting more than three months. What is behind the new military service law? Men aged between 17 and 45 now need approval from the Bundeswehr for longer stays abroad. Under the new Military Service Act, this applies to trips abroad lasting more than three months, the Defence Ministry has announced. The daily Frankfurter Rundschau was the first to report on the change. The rule is part of what is known as the Military Service Modernisation Act, which came into force on 1 January 2026.…

By Solomon Ekanem/ Business Insider Africa. A coalition led by the United Kingdom and France, alongside nearly 30 countries, is intensifying efforts to secure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in a move that could bring much-needed relief to African economies battling rising fuel costs. Editor’s note: The story was updated to clarify that the Strait of Hormuz is not physically closed but is currently affected by security and geopolitical tensions linked to the ongoing war involving Iran, the United States and Israel, which have severely disrupted navigation and maritime traffic The latest push builds on a March 19…

By Brad Reed It’s been less than a month, and President Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran has unleashed a cascade of consequences for countless human lives and the global economy that are far from resolved—but he is reportedly getting tired of the illegal war he started. MS NOW reported on Friday that White House sources believe that Trump is “getting a little bored” with the Iran war and “wants to move on” to other initiatives. MS NOW’s report on Trump’s feelings about the war was echoed by The Wall Street Journal, which on Thursday reported that the president has told associates that he wants to wrap up the war…

Dame Sarah Mullally has been formally installed today as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury and the first woman to hold the role in the Church of England’s 1,400-year history. The installation ceremony took place at Canterbury Cathedral on the Feast of the Annunciation and marks the official beginning of her public ministry as the head of the Church of England and spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, which includes around 85 million members worldwide. The congregation of around 2,000 guests included the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and Christian leaders from…

By Aleks Phillips/BBC Australia. Public transport in two Australian states will be made free to incentivise people not to drive as fuel prices soar due to the war in the Middle East. Victoria, home to Melbourne, has said it will have free travel throughout April, while Tasmania has said commuters will not need to pay from Monday until the end of June. However, other state governments have so far declined to follow suit, with New South Wales (in which Sydney is located) indicating it was reserving funds to meet increased demand for public transport. Australia is among a host of…

By Fortunato Pinto/Rome The Pontiff celebrated Palm Sunday Mass at St. Peter’s in the presence of tens of thousands of faithful. During the Angelus he returned to call for a stop to the war in the Middle East and addressed a thought to the migrants who died at sea off Crete Pope Leo XIV opened Holy Week celebrations on Sunday morning with a prayer in St Peter’s Square. Tens of thousands of worshippers packed the Vatican colonnades to attend the Holy Father’s Mass. Many brought olive branches and palm fronds to be blessed during the celebration. ‘Let us look to Jesus, who…

By Bill Russell/ UK Correspondent As Western forces launched strikes against Iran, most expected tensions to rise in the Middle East. Few expected a different kind of shockwave–one rippling through the streets, communities, and polling data of Britain itself. Yet that is exactly what has emerged: not just disagreement, but a deep and widening divide over who the enemy is–and who deserves support. New polling conducted between March 2nd and 13th–during the opening phase of the American-Israeli military operation against Iran–reveals something far more serious than policy disagreement. It suggests that a significant portion of Britain’s Muslim population did not…

By Ian Boyd. Iran fired two ballistic missiles on March 20, 2026, at the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, which hosts a strategically important joint U.S.-U.K. military base, according to U.S., U.K. and Israeli officials. One missile broke apart during flight, and the other appears to have been destroyed by U.S. missile defenses. Iran has denied responsibility for the launches. Diego Garcia is about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from Iran, which is about twice as far as the top range Iran has declared that its ballistic missiles have. Parts of Western Europe, Asia and Africa lie within a 2,500-mile (4,000-km) radius of Iran, raising…

By Elizabeth Dias/NY Times People are joining the Roman Catholic church in surprising numbers. This Easter the Archdiocese of Detroit will receive 1,428 new Catholics into the church, its highest number in 21 years. The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston will have its most in 15 years. In the Diocese of Des Moines, the count is jumping 51 percent from last year, from 265 people to 400. The first year after the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff from the United States, many Catholic churches across America are welcoming their highest numbers of new Catholics in recent years. The newcomers are…

Story by James Lewis/Europe A public service broadcaster in Belgium has been forced to apologise, after radio presenters smashed statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary on air. Presenters on VRT’s Studio Brussel took hammers to the icons in a “rage room” during a ‘Blue Monday’ segment, for what is often claimed as the saddest day of the year in January. Questioned about the sketch this week, the hosts and producer said they would not do the same for a symbol of Islam or Judaism. Get the latest Christian World News stories via email Sign Me UpSee our privacy notice But during the course of…

By Jonathon Van Maren/LifeSite News The abortion industry’s ugliest secret is that babies are regularly born alive after attempted abortions and left to die by the medical professionals who had just tried to kill them. There are frequent and documented examples of this in just the past several years in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and in Ireland, where abortion has only been legal since 2019. Now government data has confirmed that in New Zealand, babies are being born alive after attempted abortions at least once a month and, as is standard practice, are dying without being provided medical care. Abortion is…

by Libby Brooks, Severin Carrell and Peter Walker Reform party leader criticised for making comments after event held in London’s Trafalgar Square this week. Muslim leaders have condemned Nigel Farage’s call to ban public prayer by Muslims in the UK as bigoted and warned of a “growing tide of hate” after the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, questioned whether the events fitted “within the norms of British culture”. Farage was speaking at the launch of Reform UK’s manifesto for the forthcoming Scottish parliament elections when he made the remarks. He described as “a wake up call and a warning to everybody” an event in…

President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced that France’s next nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will be called “France Libre” (Free France), as the country looks to reinforce its status as a major maritime power. Once completed, the warship, which is set to replace the country’s sole aircraft carrier — the Charles de Gaulle — and due to enter service in 2038, will be the largest warship ever built in Europe. Macron said the vessel was being named after the French Resistance movement that General de Gaulle led against the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. “I wanted our future aircraft…

Story by David Bowen/Harbing’s Daily Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming the modern world. From business and education to finance and communication, AI systems are becoming deeply embedded in everyday life. What once seemed like science fiction is now reality. Governments, corporations, and technology leaders are investing billions of dollars into AI development, believing it will shape the future of civilization. 001 But this rapid transformation raises an important spiritual question for believers: Is the world beginning to follow artificial intelligence more than the Word of God? For Christians who take biblical prophecy seriously, the rise of technologies capable of influencing…

Simon Atkinson,Australia /Gabriela Pomeroy BBC News Two members of Iran’s national women’s football team who sought asylum in Australia have been pictured training at the grounds of the A-league football team Brisbane Roar. “Everything will be fine,” one of them, Fatemeh Pasandideh, posted on Instagram. She and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh were among seven Iranian footballers who originally said they were seeking asylum on their trip to the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia but the other five changed their minds. The footballers were given humanitarian visas to stay in Australia after concerns the team would face repercussions for declining to sing the…

Story by SA McCarthy/The Washington Stand Family-friendly films may be making a comeback in Hollywood as younger parents get involved in the filmmaking process and as woke films fail at the box office. One example is the latest film from Pixar, “Hoppers,” which grossed $87 million at the worldwide box office as of March 8, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing film of the year so far. Last year’s Pixar offering, “Elio,” was a box office failure, suffering the lowest opening weekend earnings of any Pixar in the famed animation studio’s 40-year history. Originally, “Elio” was slated to include a prominent LGBT storyline,…

OPINION: Wanda Alger As charismatic churches face an ongoing reckoning over the abuse of prophetic ministry, there is an enormous need to restore Scriptural integrity to the prophetic voice of the Church. What does that look like? We’d do well to heed the Apostle Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians: “Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said” (1 Cor 14:29 ESV). First, there is a necessary distinction between testing one’s character and testing one’s prophetic revelation because even a person of good character can “miss” a prophetic word (Matthew 16:21-23), just as a compromised…

OPINION by Omar Suleiman In a small town in southern Iran on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli attacks (Feb. 28), more children were killed in a single strike on a girls school than all the American kids who died in the past two years in school shootings.  If we cannot feel the death of an Iranian child with the same moral clarity as the death of a child in the United States, then something in us has been deformed. In the United States, we don’t just remember school shootings, we ritualize them. We remember the ages, the classrooms, the faces, names. We build…

CNN Four days after his appointment as Iran’s new supreme leader, the world finally got a glimpse of Mojtaba Khamenei’s worldview. But Khamenei – now elevated to the rank of Ayatollah and dubbed the “exalted leader” of the Islamic Revolution by his acolytes – didn’t appear on video or release an audio statement. Instead, he purportedly issued a lengthy written message which was then read out on state television, outlining his views on the trajectory of the war, praising Iran’s armed forces and demanding reparations from those who have attacked his country. The message was quickly disseminated through a new Telegram channel created by…

 By Lydia Davies The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), an atheist advocacy group, has formally requested that University of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders cease leading team prayers and religious activities with players. According to a news outlet, the group contends that Coach Sanders has blended his role as coach with religious practices, which they argue infringe on players’ rights under the First Amendment. Their letter sent to university officials referenced a post-game prayer led by Pastor E Dewey Smith following the team’s win against Baylor University last month. Before the prayer, Sanders reportedly encouraged the players, saying, “If you don’t believe in the…

Story by Gary Lane/US correspondent Late last month, U.S. authorities discovered a Chinese-linked biolab in a quiet American neighborhood. They seized over 1,000 suspicious biological agents from a home in Las Vegas. Experts are warning: covert labs like this could lead to biological warfare, right in our own backyards.    On January 31, SWAT teams and hazmat crews swarmed a Las Vegas home. What they found was shocking: a secret biological lab hidden in a garage, right in the middle of a neighborhood. The lab was tied to the same Chinese national who was arrested back in 2023 for operating an…

Story by Rachel Hall/The Guardian Princess Eugenie has stepped down as patron of the UK charity Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest human rights organisation. The decision follows the release by the US Department of Justice of millions of documents and emails relating to Jeffrey Epstein’s role in sexual abuse and trafficking women around the world, which have disgraced her father, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Eugenie’s profile has been removed from Anti-Slavery International’s website, which previously hailed her work “across the board with leaders in the fight against modern slavery”. The charity said in a statement shared with the Observer: “After seven years,…

Story by Onize Oduah/World News Ahead of U.S.-Israeli military strikes, Iranian Christians hoped for a regime change to end a deadly crackdown on demonstrators At a recent funeral for an Iranian protester killed in anti-government protests, his mother made an unusual request: She asked attendees to applaud. The woman’s pastor calls her “courageous.” He explained the request was a sign of defiance of the regime and in honor of demonstrators killed by government forces. “She [also] used the funeral ceremony as an opportunity to share the gospel of Christ with everyone present,” the pastor, using the pseudonym Arash Ariya, told…

Story by Reverend Josh Reavis The Bible is not shy about showing us the worst of humanity. There are stories of murders that shock us, sexual assaults that nauseate us, and betrayals that leave us unsettled long after the page is turned. Scripture does not sanitize the darkness of the human heart, but it also does not invite us to linger there. These stories are not written to intrigue us but to repulse us. They are meant to sober us, warn us, and remind us why redemption is necessary. That distinction matters, because we live in a cultural moment when…

Story by Chris Osuh/The Guardian “Sometimes you’re seeing God as a genie, where if I give him all this money, He will bring me what I want,” Sarah says. The 27-year-old spent years in the grip of “prosperity gospel”, whose followers believe cash donations to evangelical churches unlock divine blessings of health and wealth. So did Jennifer*, 29, who says she handed over her life savings. Both women are professionals from London and former members of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), an international evangelical movement and UK-registered charity whose cases have recently been investigated by the…