Russia says it will help Taliban fight Islamic State group in Afghanistan

Russia will help the Taliban fight against the Afghan branch of the Islamic State group, Moscow's special representative for the country was quoted as saying Friday. Tap for the full brief.

Israel strikes near Syrian presidential palace in “message” to Sharaa

Israel bombed an area near the presidential palace in Damascus early on Friday in its clearest signal yet of hostility toward the Islamist-led Syrian authorities and a preparedness to ramp up milit...

Pentagon to seek “Right to Repair” provisions in Army contracts

The U.S. Department of Defense wants new and existing defense contracts to give the Army the right to repair its own weapons, in a bid to save money and time by ending requirements to use original ...

New German finance minister to oversee defense spending boost

A group of 42 Democratic lawmakers has called for a review of Elon Musk's role in the bidding process for the "Golden Dome" missile defense shield, a project championed by President Donald Trump. T...

Ukraine's parliament will vote on ratifying US minerals deal on May 8, lawmaker says

Ukraine's parliament will hold a vote on May 8 to ratify a minerals deal signed with the United States earlier this week, a lawmaker said on Friday, while two other documents pertaining to the agre...

German spy agency brands AfD party as “extremist”, opens way for closer surveillance

Germany's spy agency on Friday classified the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as "extremist", enabling it to step up monitoring of the country's biggest opposition party, which decried the ...

Russia says it is creating “security strip” in Ukraine's Sumy region

Russia said on Friday its forces were continuing to create a "security strip" in border areas of Ukraine's Sumy region after driving Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk region, just across the border...

New CIA videos aim to lure Chinese officials

The CIA on Thursday rolled out two Chinese-language videos aimed at enticing officials in China to leak secrets to the U.S., the latest public effort by the intelligence agency to ramp up human int...

Lawmakers request briefing from State Dept on Chinese mercenaries in Ukraine

U.S. lawmakers have asked the State Department to brief them about Russia's use of Chinese fighters in its war in Ukraine, saying in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday that Mos...

POTUS ousts White House national security adviser Waltz, replaces him with Rubio for interim

U.S. President Donald Trump ousted his national security adviser Mike Waltz on Thursday — and named Secretary of State Marco Rubio as his interim replacement in the first shakeup of Trump's inner c...

Body of journalist who died in Russian captivity shows signs of torture, Ukraine says

Ukraine said Thursday it identified the body of journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who had died in Russian captivity — and a forensic medical examination revealed signs of torture and ill-treatment. Ta...

Ukraine, US sign minerals deal

Ukraine and the U.S. on Wednesday signed a deal that will give the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals — and fund investment in Ukraine's reconstruction. Tap for the f...

India closes airspace to Pakistan airlines as tensions rise

India shut its airspace to Pakistani airlines on Wednesday, the government said, days after its nuclear-armed neighbour banned Indian airlines from flying over its territory following the killing o...

Israel strikes Syria, saying it hit group that attacked Druze

Israel said it carried out a strike in Syria against "an extremist group" that attacked members of the Druze community, following through on a promise to defend the minority group as deadly sectari...

US secures release from Belarus of Minsk-born American, US official says

The United States has secured the release from Belarus of an American who was arrested in Moscow and held on coup plot allegations, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on Wednesday. Tap for the ful...