Saudi Arabia is hosting talks on the Ukraine war as it tries to increase its diplomatic footprint, although expectations are mild for what the gathering might achieve. Yet Ukraine’s president views gathering dozens of nations as crucial to reaching peace in his country and elsewhere.

In a move expected to be condemned by the West, Russia’s jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny was given a 19-year prison term.

Authorities in the Netherlands have towed a burning cargo ship carrying thousands of cars, including electric vehicles, to a temporary location to avoid a major ecological disaster.

China and Russia conducted a joint naval operation near U.S. territory earlier this week, triggering a large response from the U.S. Navy, Fox News Digital has learned.

The Islamic State group announced on Thursday the death in Syria of its little-known leader, Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurayshi, who headed the extremist organization since November, and named his successor.

Ukraine said Friday it had attacked a Russian Black Sea fleet ship and put it out of action after Kyiv warned it would bring the ongoing war on Ukrainian territory to Russia.

North Korea has confirmed custody of Travis King in its first response to requests for information on the U.S. soldier’s whereabouts, the United Nations Command has said.

Two Israeli researchers reported on Wednesday that Iran appears to be helping Syria to build an arsenal of chemical and advanced weapons for use not only by Tehran but also by Russia and, especially, by Hezbollah, its Lebanese proxy and arch enemy of Israel, i24NEWS reports.

A US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has reported that Iran’s Islamic extremist regime is “dramatically” increasing the number of politically motivated executions it carries out, Radio Free Europe (Rferl) reports. Iran executes more people than any other country in the world, Amnesty International has reported separately.

The United States acknowledged Thursday that it ordered the evacuation of staff and families from its embassy in Niger following last week’s coup, which added to uncertainty within the Christian minority in the West African nation.

Authorities said Wednesday that a Russian drone strike hit Ukrainian port facilities at Izmail on the River Danube, near Romania, a member of the NATO military alliance.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Navy has unveiled new vessels equipped with 600-km range missiles at a time of rising tensions with the United States in the Gulf, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Simmering tensions between Hungary and the United States further rose Wednesday after Washington limited the Hungarian participation in a visa waiver program.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched a surprise military drill Wednesday on disputed islands in the Persian Gulf, just as the U.S. military increase its presence in the region over recent ship seizures by Tehran.

Thousands of Marines backed by advanced U.S. fighter jets and warships are slowly building up a presence in the Persian Gulf. It’s a sign that while America’s wars in the region may be finished, its conflict with Iran over its advancing nuclear program continues to worsen, with no solutions in sight.

Ukraine warned Russia on Tuesday to expect further drone strikes after the mayor of Moscow said a skyscraper had been attacked for the second time in two days.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has told the UN Security Council that, in the first half of this year alone, West Africa suffered more than 1,800 terror attacks which killed 4,593 people, the Associated Press reports.

Kyiv has confirmed that Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organized peace summit to find a way to end the war with Russia in Ukraine. Officials said the gathering will be in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah early next month.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Sunday that war is returning to Russia after a drone attack on Moscow.

Officials say a powerful bomb ripped through a rally by supporters of a hard-line cleric and political leader in Pakistan’s northwestern Bajur district that borders Afghanistan on Sunday, killing dozens of people.