Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled persecution in Myanmar face new challenges in Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country that does not legally recognize refugees. Some face discrimination at local mosques, while others avoid them for fear of immigration detention. Many also struggle with limited access to education, healthcare and employment, as well as family separation and loss. Refugee advocates seek better protections while families work to preserve their faith and pass religious traditions on to younger generations.

A tanker has been struck by projectiles off Qatar's coast in the Persian Gulf, according to the British military. The attack occurred Wednesday, but the crew's status remains unconfirmed. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center reports the attack took place 50 nautical miles north of Madinat ash Shamal. Meanwhile, Iranian state television claims two tankers and a towboat struck naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz. The report also claimed the Revolutionary Guard seized two U.S. drones.

Pope Leo XIV is embarking on the longest and farthest trip of his pontificate three weeks after lung cancer surgery. The U.S.-born Leo is returning home to Peru, where the former Robert Prevost lived for two decades as a missionary priest and learned to be the pastor he is today. Leo is also going to Argentina, the home of his predecessor, Pope Francis. It will be a homecoming of sorts there, too, since Francis never returned to Argentina after his 2013 election, leaving a complicated legacy that Leo will now have to navigate. Leo starts his journey Friday in Uruguay, the least Catholic, most secular country in all of Latin America.

A veteran Arab lawmaker in Israel says his bloc is willing to break with decades of precedent and join forces with Jewish-led parties in a shared bid to end Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long rule. But any such partnership could be politically fraught for both sides. For the Joint List, it would mean backing a government unlikely to end Israel’s wars or curb settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. For Netanyahu’s opponents, it would mean aligning with parties that not only criticize Israeli policies, but reject its identity as a Jewish state.

Farmers and community elders in coastal Kenya fear a proposed mining project could threaten their livelihoods and a sacred forest where their ancestors are buried. The government is seeking a developer for deposits containing rare earth minerals used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and defense technologies. Residents say they lack information about where mining would take place, whether they would have to move and how their land and traditions would be protected. Kenya hopes mining will create jobs and boost its economy, but questions about consultation, compensation and environmental safeguards remain unanswered.

Iran’s leaders say President Donald Trump shouldn’t ignore the stinging setback in the U.S. election. Iranians celebrated after U.S. voters gave Democrats control of Congress in Tuesday’s vote in a rebuke of Trump. Iran’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker said that Americans clearly said no to war. World leaders and those in the Middle East are now waiting to see whether Washington will end the war with Iran or resume full-scale military operations against Iran. Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthis claimed they fired strikes on an airport in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh and other targets around the country.