A third reported attack on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz has deepened a standoff between the United States and Iran, as a ceasefire nears expiration and the two sides offer diverging accounts of events in the region.

The commander of U.S. Central Command visited the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln this week as families of the crew and members of Congress raised questions about the deployment's length and the welfare of sailors aboard.

An American missionary held captive in Niger for nine months has been released, according to his organization, which confirmed his freedom but offered few details about the abduction or how it ended.

Nigel Farage has won the by-election in Clacton, returning to a Commons seat, as a standards watchdog opens a renewed inquiry connected to his conduct.

Five years after the Taliban returned to power as U.S. forces withdrew, the anniversary finds Afghanistan facing continued challenges at home and uncertainty for the Afghans who left.