Japan makes record defense spending request amid China tension

Japan's defense ministry made a record spending request Thursday of 7.7 trillion yen ($52.67 billion), for fiscal 2024 — the latest step of a plan to boost defense spending by 43 trillion yen over ...

Wagner’s Utkin, right-hand man to Prigozhin, buried outside Moscow

The co-founder and military commander of the Russian Wagner mercenary group was buried near Moscow on Thursday — after dying in a plane crash that also killed his boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. Tap for th...

US charges man with helping smuggle microelectronics with military uses to Russia

A Russian-German national has been criminally charged in Manhattan with violating U.S. export controls over an alleged scheme to provide Russia with U.S.-sourced microelectronics that can be used b...

Late Wagner boss Prigozhin spoke about his security in newly surfaced video

A video has surfaced online of Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin purporting to show him in Africa days before his death — addressing speculation about his wellbeing and possible threats to h...

US military in talks to develop port in Philippines facing Taiwan

The U.S. military is in talks to develop a civilian port in the northernmost islands of the Philippines, the local governor and two other officials told Reuters. Tap for the full brief.

US health officials look to move marijuana to lower-risk drug category

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recommended easing restrictions on marijuana, a department spokesperson said Wednesday — following a review request from the Biden Adminis...

Ukrainian drones strike six Russian regions, destroy planes at airfield

Ukrainian air defences shot down all 28 Russian missiles and 15 out of 16 drones launched overnight, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said on Wednesday. Tap ...

Hurricane Idalia grinds into Georgia after slamming Florida

Hurricane Idalia plowed into Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday with fierce winds, torrential rains and pounding surf before weakening but turning its fury on southeastern Georgia, where floodwaters...

Ex-British intelligence worker admits attempted murder of US NSA employee

A former British intelligence worker has pleaded guilty in a London court to the attempted murder of a U.S. National Security Agency employee, police and the Crown Prosecution Service said Wednesda...

Gabon army officers say they have seized power after election

A group of military officers in Gabon said they seized power Wednesday — minutes after the Central African state's election body announced that President Ali Bongo had won a third term. Tap for the...

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces battle tribal unrest in eastern Syria

U.S. backed Syrian Democratic Forces led by Kurdish forces poured reinforcements in Syria's eastern Deir al Zor province Wednesday — to quell unrest by rebellious Arab tribal clans who rose up in a...

3M agrees to pay $6B in US military earplug lawsuit settlement

3M has agreed to pay $6.01 billion to settle lawsuits by U.S. military veterans and service members who say they suffered hearing loss from using the company's earplugs, the company and lawyers for...

French soldier killed in Iraq firefight with Islamic State group

A French soldier was killed in a four-hour firefight in Iraq when French and Iraqi forces raided an Islamic State group hideout, Iraqi security sources said Tuesday. Tap for the full brief.

Al-Shabab counterattack inflicts losses on Somali troops

An attack over the weekend by al-Shabab militants against Somali army troops waging an offensive against them left dozens of soldiers wounded — and an unknown number killed, soldiers involved and h...

Ukraine says it retook strategic settlement

Ukraine said Monday its troops liberated the southeastern settlement of Robotyne — and were trying to push further south in their two-month-old counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces. Ta...