Philippines vows not to back down as China warns against “trouble” at disputed shoal

The Philippines vowed Tuesday not to back down in the face of a Chinese effort to block its fishermen from a fiercely contested shoal in the South China Sea, while Beijing warned the Southeast Asia...

US adds three Chinese companies to forced labor entity list involving Uyghurs

The United States has added three Chinese companies to the forced labor entity list involving Uyghurs, according to a government posting Tuesday — as part of an effort to eliminate forced labor pra...

Kremlin declines to comment on beating of prisoner by Kadyrov's son

President Vladimir Putin's spokesman declined to comment Tuesday on the beating of a prisoner by the teenaged son of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, an incident that drew condemnation — even from so...

US, Poland sign $2B defense loan agreement amid force modernization

The United States has signed a $2 billion direct loan agreement to support Poland's defense modernization program, the State Department said Monday. Tap for the full brief.

US House to press forward with spending cuts despite shutdown risk

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is due to try to advance steep spending cuts this week that stand no chance of becoming law and could force a partial shutdown of the U.S. governm...

Striking Hollywood writers reach tentative deal with studios

Hollywood's writers union reached a preliminary labor agreement with studios Sunday, a deal expected to end one of two strikes that have halted most film and television production. Tap for the full...

Karabakh's Armenians start leaving en masse for Armenia

Ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh began a mass exodus by car Sunday toward Armenia — after Azerbaijan defeated the breakaway region's fighters in a conflict dating from the Soviet era. Tap for t...

France to pull troops out of Niger following coup

France will pull its soldiers out of Niger following a July coup in the West African country, President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday — dealing a blow to French influence and counter-insurgency opera...

Serb gunmen battle police in Kosovo monastery siege, four dead

Ethnic Serb gunmen in armored vehicles stormed a village in north Kosovo on Sunday — battling police and barricading themselves in a monastery in a resurgence of violence in the restive north that ...

Somalia asks UN to delay peacekeeper drawdown after “significant setbacks” in fighting Islamists

Somalia has asked the United Nations to pause a planned drawdown of 3,000 African Union peacekeepers for three months — to allow its security forces time to regroup after a militant attack forced t...

Taliban weighs using US mass surveillance plan, met with China's Huawei

The Taliban are creating a camera surveillance network for Afghan cities that could involve repurposing a plan crafted by the Americans before their 2021 pullout, an interior ministry spokesman tol...

Taiwan expects to deploy two new submarines by 2027, security advisor says

Taiwan hopes to deploy at least two new, domestically developed submarines by 2027 and possibly equip later models with missiles, the head of the program said. Tap for the full brief.

Ukraine says Russian Black Sea Fleet Commander killed, no comment by Moscow

Ukraine's Special Forces said on Monday that Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, had been killed in a Ukrainian attack last week on the fleet headquarters in the Crim...

Rupert Murdoch steps down as chairman of Fox, News Corp

Rupert Murdoch has stepped down as the chairman of Fox Corp and News Corp, ending a more than seven-decade career during which he created a media empire spanning from Australia to the United States...

US Senator Menendez charged with bribery, prosecutors say

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez and his wife have been charged with bribery offenses — in connection with their relationship with three New Jersey businessmen, federal prosecutors said Friday. Tap for...