Iran says it is in the final stage of drafting an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz waterway with Oman.

The Word of Life Center, a church in Salisbury, Maryland, is facing difficult times.

Iran and Oman have moved closer to an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not withdraw from its current lines in Gaza until Hamas has completely disarmed.

The Board of Peace official overseeing Gaza’s postwar transition has met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

President Donald Trump says he has decided to hold off on ordering new strikes against Iran after discussions with Gulf allies.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he'll order American forces to hold off on strikes he had threatened against Iran, claiming Mideast allies have reached the parameters of a deal to end the war.

President Donald Trump's announcement that Hamas agreed to disarm offers a glimmer of hope for Palestinians in Gaza.

A main development in the Middle East is that the White House is signaling that President Donald Trump is weighing carrying out new strikes on Iran.

Rock legend Patti Smith has met with Pope Leo XIV.

Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed says his Muslim faith shapes his progressive views.

Israelis across political and religious lines are worried about the weakening connection with younger Jewish Americans.

Right-wing Israeli activists are ramping up their fringe campaign to establish Jewish settlements inside Syria by staging frequent incursions across the border.

The U.S. military says it has completed what it describes as “a heavy wave of strikes against Iran” conducted in response to an earlier Iranian missile attack on a U.S. base in Jordan.

The U.S. military says it successfully intercepted an Iranian missile barrage and worked with Saudi Arabia’s forces to strike sites in Iraq that Tehran-backed militias have used to launch attacks in recent days.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission.

The United States has not attacked Iran for a second day, and Tehran says it has also halted attacks.

Israel's military says it has detained over 70 suspects across the occupied West Bank following violence that left two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinian villagers dead there.

A suspect in two stabbings on New York City streets has been arrested on attempted murder and other charges, including hate crime charges pertaining to one of the victims, a Jewish man.

The U.S. military says it has fired on a merchant vessel attempting to breach its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran targeted American strongholds around the Persian Gulf.

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers is retiring from Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, which he led through the aftermath of the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.

A replica of the House of the Virgin Mary in the Philippines welcomes devotees in Asia’s largest Catholic nation.

The U.S. military has announced it conducted a 13th night of strikes against Iran as clashes escalate over shipping routes.

The U.S. military has announced that it is conducting a 12th night of strikes against Iran as both sides increasingly target civilian infrastructure.

Lebanon's prime minister has visited a southern village as a U.S.-brokered agreement with Israel begins implementation.

The U.S. military says it completed the 11th night of strikes on Iran as attacks across the Middle East overshadowed diplomatic efforts to salvage an interim ceasefire deal that has collapsed.

The Israeli military is rapidly constructing a large earthen barrier in the Gaza Strip, further entrenching the division of the tiny Palestinian enclave.

Iran has attacked a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing its crew to abandon the ship.

France has commemorated the Vel d’Hiv roundup, a mass arrest of Jews by French police in 1942.

In Japan, the Gion Matsuri festival brings towering floats to the streets in Shinto religious processions that are rooted in rituals dating back more than 1,000 years and that were intended to ward off epidemics.

The United States has announced another death of a service member as it launches more airstrikes at Iran.

Israeli strikes in Gaza City have killed at least nine Palestinians, including three children, according to hospital officials.

The Associated Press has surveyed more than 1,000 Jewish adults in the U.S. to better understand their views on Israel’s military actions in Gaza, their opinions of the political parties and their experiences with prejudice.

Indie artist Alex Cameron has sparked curiosity with a song about Jesus, blending humor and sincerity.

The U.S. military says it has carried out new airstrikes against Iran to “swiftly punish” the country’s Revolutionary Guard for an attack in Jordan that killed two American service members, left one more missing and four requiring hospitalization.

Mount Olympus, the mythological home of ancient Greece’s 12 Olympian gods, may soon join UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Earlier this year, the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, a Buddhist monk from Texas, led a Walk for Peace with an international group of monks and his rescue dog, Aloka.

The United States and Iran have exchanged strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets as their battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensifies.

Israeli airstrikes have killed at least a dozen people in Gaza over the past two days, according to local health officials.

The United States has intensified its strikes targeting Iran, hitting targets further north.

Hundreds of people gather in Beijing’s parks every morning to practice tai chi and other traditional exercises.

Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, challenges Catholics — and the world — to think carefully about how artificial intelligence is reshaping human life. Catholic leaders across the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond say the message is clear: technology must always serve people, not the other way around.

The U.S. military has reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports in response to Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.K. government says a proxy group backed by Iran is responsible for recent arson and vandalism attacks on Jewish sites in Britain.

A new AP-NORC poll finds that support for Israel is a key component of the religious identity of many Jewish adults ages 45 and older in the United States, but younger Jewish adults are more likely to prioritize other forms of connection, like celebrating Jewish holidays.

The U.S. has launched more strikes on Iran after President Donald Trump said Washington is “reinstating” a blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

French President Emmanuel Macron is decrying the resurgence of antisemitism in France.

Israeli fire in Gaza has killed at least six Palestinians, including a 9-year-old girl.

The U.S. is demanding that Iran make a public statement saying the Strait of Hormuz is open and that ships crossing the vital corridor won’t be attacked anymore.

A new AP-NORC poll finds that many Jewish Americans feel unsafe in the United States, with a majority saying they feel less safe than they did before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Sikh organizations and local activists are organizing community screenings in India’s northern Punjab state of a movie set during its bloody insurgency.

A new AP-NORC poll finds that most Jewish adults in the U.S. don’t feel well represented by political leaders at a troubling moment for many in their community.

The United States has launched new airstrikes against Iran, and Tehran responded by targeting Gulf countries.

A new AP-NORC poll highlights divisions among American Jews regarding Israel.

Funeral processions for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been held in Iraq's holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.

A nearly 10-year battle for gay rights in Trinidad and Tobago could end soon at a final appeals court in England.

The United States launched new airstrikes against Iran early Thursday, and Tehran responded by hitting Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar in crossfire that again threatened an interim deal intended to help end the war.

The U.S. military has attacked Iran after it said Tehran struck three ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Hamas says it has dissolved its government in Gaza and is preparing to transfer power to a U.N.-backed technical committee.

Mourners dressed in black have flooded into Iran’s capital for a procession as part of the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The 23-year-old man accused of killing Charlie Kirk will be in court this week for the case's most substantial hearing so far.

Iran’s top officials and brothers of the country’s new supreme leader have emerged into public view to attend the funeral prayers for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, signaling confidence in their safety as Iran pushes back on U.S. demands in negotiations to permanently end the war.

A pastor of a prominent underground church detained in China in October has been released, according to rights advocates.

Pope Leo XIV is spending the Fourth of July in the epicenter of Europe’s migration debate.

The traditionalist Catholics who defied Pope Leo XIV and caused a schism are defending their actions.

Iran is preparing for the dayslong funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Vatican has responded aggressively to a traditionalist society that consecrated bishops without the pope’s consent.

On June 6, 1989, millions of Iranians turned out in the streets to bury Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who had led the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The Vatican has responded aggressively to the ultratraditionalist Society of St. Pius X after it defied Pope Leo XIV and consecrated four bishops without his consent.

A breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics has directly defied Pope Leo XIV by consecrating four bishops without his consent.

Pope Leo XIV has issued a plea to a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics to call off its planned consecrations of new bishops without his consent.

From refugee camps to stitching circles, many in the Palestinian diaspora around the world are engaging with a traditional form of Palestinian embroidery as far more than a decorative aesthetic.

The San Francisco Catholic Archdiocese has agreed to pay $395 million to settle over 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by church officials.

Diocese officials in south Texas say a nun walking to church dressed in her habit was detained by ICE officers and later released after members of Congress intervened.

Israeli strikes in southern and central Gaza on Monday killed at least eight people, including two children, according to health officials.

Israel’s Cabinet has approved a proposal to designate the violence against Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide.

Nasser Hospital says an Israeli drone strike has killed two Palestinian siblings in southern Gaza.

A polygamous sect leader has been convicted on child abuse charges in Arizona while already serving a 50-year sentence in federal prison for orchestrating sex involving children.

A new report by a Trump administration commission suggests replacing the idea of separating church and state with the idea of building bridges between them.

A standout at the World Cup, Deniz Undav is playing for Germany while representing his Yazidi and Kurdish heritage.

Shiite Muslims have marked Ashoura, a significant day on their calendar, with large gatherings in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and other parts of the world.

Pope Leo XIV has received a special gift from former Chicago White Sox catcher A.

The new president of the Southern Baptist Convention says that the issue of sexual abuse in the denomination has been “weaponized” and politicized.

Shiite Muslims in the U.S. and worldwide have been observing a period of mourning leading to the day of Ashoura, which marks the seventh-century killing of Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad.

Shiite Muslims around the world are marking Ashoura, a holy day symbolizing sacrifice and martyrdom that holds special significance for many this year after months of war in Iran and Lebanon.

The 95-year-old leader of a secretive South Korean church has been arrested on suspicion of election influence.

A collection of early public writings by the future Pope Leo XIV will be published in English this fall.

One of the most intricately decorated parts of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, a passageway walked by popes and presidents and attributed to Renaissance master Raphael, is getting its first face-lift in 500 years.

Devotees covered in mud and banana leaves took part in the annual Taong Putik festival in the Philippine village of Bibiclat, honoring St. John the Baptist in a tradition that blends Catholic faith and local customs.

The Supreme Court has barred a former Louisiana inmate from suing prison officials who cut his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafari religious beliefs.

Pope Leo XIV says wars are being sustained more easily than people are fed.

The head of Latin America’s top development bank has made a case to Pope Leo XIV about the potential of rare earth mining.

U.S. and Iranian negotiators are on their way to a venue in Switzerland to discuss details of their interim agreement to halt the war.

Pope Leo XIV holding up America's first saint, Mother Frances Cabrini, as a model for Christians today because of her care for migrants in need.

Iman Dilbani weeps during a religious sermon in Tyre, Lebanon, wearing a yellow scarf to honor her son killed fighting for Hezbollah.

Dragon boat races, lion dances, and other festivities have been staged across mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to mark the Dragon Boat Festival.

Guy Gilboa-Dalal, an Israeli man who says he was sexually abused while held hostage in Gaza, is speaking out to highlight sexual abuse in conflict zones.

Police have charged a third suspect with an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue that was allegedly directed by Iran.

Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group agreed to halt the heavy fighting in southern Lebanon that had threatened to unravel an interim peace agreement between the United States and Iran.

Many Lebanese from the country's south hope the U.S.-Iran deal marks the start of better times.