This extensive international news summary reports on critical diplomatic and military developments, focusing on the continued US efforts to broker a revised peace deal for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, even as Russia launched a massive missile barrage on Kyiv. Geopolitical tensions remain high, highlighted by the sharp escalation in China-Japan confrontation over Taiwan and the aggressive US military positioning and designation of the Venezuelan regime as a narco-terrorist organization. European leaders debated the sensitive issue of utilizing frozen Russian Central Bank assets to fund Ukraine's defense, while US domestic news included a politically charged Pentagon investigation into Democratic Senator Mark Kelly. The report also covers significant shifts in the Vatican—with Pope Leo XIV preparing for travel and issuing a new doctrinal note—and documents major global crises, including the latest escalations in the Sudan Civil War and tragic mass school kidnappings in Nigeria.