The United States is watching growing cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic closely and some of their recent military collaboration in the region sends “concerning signals”, the U.S. Arctic ambassador said.   Russia and China have stepped up military cooperation in the Arctic while deepening overall ties in recent years that include China supplying …

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TOKYO — Japan and the European Union announced a sweeping new security and defense partnership in Tokyo on Friday. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell hailed it as a historic and “very timely” step. Borrell and his Japanese counterpart, Takeshi Iwaya, unveiled the pact to develop cooperation on joint military drills, the exchange of information related …

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Europe is bracing for former President Donald Trump’s potential return to power — even as his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, remains a mostly unknown quantity. Many Europeans believe much is at stake in the nail-biting U.S. elections: from NATO and the transatlantic alliance to Russia’s war on Ukraine, trade relations and the future …

Read more “Jitters in Europe ahead of US elections”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its defenses shot down 83 Ukrainian drones over six regions early on November 1. “36 drones were shot down over the Kursk region, 20 over the Bryansk region, 12 over Crimea, eight over the Voronezh region, four over the Oryol region, and three over the Belgorod region,” the ministry said in …

Read more “Moscow says it destroyed 83 Ukrainian drones”

moscow — North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui has arrived in Moscow and will hold strategic consultations with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the ministry, in a post on her official Telegram channel, published photographs of Lavrov meeting Choe at a Moscow train …

Read more “North Korean foreign minister arrives in Moscow for talks”

moscow — A Russian former employee of the U.S. Consulate in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok has been sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison for “secret collaboration with a foreign state,” Russian agencies said Friday. Robert Shonov worked for more than 25 years for the U.S. Consulate until 2021, when Moscow imposed …

Read more “Russia gives former US Consulate employee nearly 5-year jail term”

Washington — For regular audiences of Polish public broadcaster Polskie Radio, the headlines on its website appeared strange: “The unacceptable truth: The EU will manage without Poland” and “Ukraine will stay outside of the EU.” The pro-Russian, Euroskeptic narratives didn’t align with the broadcaster’s usual coverage. But at first glance, the website appeared legitimate. Those who …

Read more “Russian disinformation campaign creates ‘climate of chaos,’ say experts”

Chisinau, Moldova — Moldova’s pro-Brussels leader Maia Sandu is in a tough fight in Sunday’s presidential election with a challenger who wants closer ties with Moscow only two weeks after she won an EU membership referendum by a razor-thin margin. With Georgia reeling from a disputed election which returned its Moscow-friendly ruling party to power, all …

Read more “Moldova faces decisive vote under shadow of Russian interference”

Washington — As North Korean troops prepare to join Russian forces in the war on Ukraine, Kyiv is stepping up a psychological warfare campaign to target the North Korean soldiers, a high-ranking Ukraine official said. The effort is liable to get a boost from a team of South Korean military observers that Seoul’s defense minister, Kim …

Read more “Ukraine doubles down on psychological campaign against North Korean troops”

A shadowy Russian political operator with close ties to the notorious Wagner Group and its late founder Yevgeny Prigozhin is detained in Chad on unexplained charges, adding a fresh chapter to his long career of mystery and intrigue.   Russian officials and state-controlled media maintain that Maxim Shugaley, who was detained on September 19 along …

Read more “Mystery surrounds detention of Wagner Group operative in Chad  “

Germany will close three Iranian consulates in response to Iran’s announcement of the execution of Jamshid Sharmahd, a German Iranian national and a U.S. resident, earlier this week. “We have repeatedly and unequivocally made it clear to Tehran that the execution of a German citizen will have serious consequences,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said …

Read more “Germany closes 3 Iranian consulates following Iran’s execution of German Iranian national”

Turkey is seeing a boom in winemaking, with hundreds of new producers emerging over the last few years. The trend runs counter the Islamist, conservative policies of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that have included restrictions and taxes on alcohol. Dorian Jones reports from Manisa, Turkey. …

Russia has fined Google an amount larger than the entire world’s gross domestic product over restricting Russian propaganda channels on YouTube. Russian business newspaper RBC reported this week that legal claims brought by 17 Russian TV channels against Google in Russian courts, which have imposed compound fines on Google, had reached $20 decillion — an …

Read more “Russia fines Google $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000”

The navigation systems of thousands of passenger aircraft are being disrupted every day as they fly close to conflict zones, according to researchers, who warn that the blocking or spoofing technology could one day put lives at risk. There has been a big increase over the past two years in the use of electronic warfare …

Read more “Thousands of passenger flight signals jammed over war zones in Ukraine, Middle East”

The navigation systems of thousands of passenger aircraft are being disrupted every day as they fly close to conflict zones, according to researchers. They are warning that the blocking or “spoofing” technology behind it could put lives at risk. Henry Ridgwell has more from London. …

Tbilisi and Moscow have exchanged harsh rhetoric about the results of the October 26 parliamentary elections in Georgia that brought thousands to the streets protesting the victory of the ruling Georgian Dream party. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who is aligned with the pro-Western opposition, accused Russia of running a “special operation” to “falsify” the election …

Read more “Accused of interference in Georgia, Russia pumps up anti-US propaganda “

ISTANBUL — Hundreds gathered Thursday in Istanbul to protest the arrest and removal from office of a mayor from Turkey’s main opposition party for his alleged links to a banned Kurdish militant group. Ahmet Ozer, mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district and a member of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, was detained on Wednesday by anti-terrorist …

Read more “Hundreds in Turkey protest arrest, ouster of opposition mayor”

TBILISI, GEORGIA — Standing side by side with Georgia’s prime minister, Hungary’s Viktor Orban was among the first to congratulate the ruling Georgian Dream party on its recent electoral victory. This endorsement came as much of the Western world raised questions about the legitimacy of the election and tens of thousands of Georgians were in the …

Read more “Hungary’s Orban finds key ally in Georgia amid Western concerns”

RABAT, Morocco — A Moroccan economist known for his work defending human rights was detained after criticizing the government in remarks posted on social media during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the North African kingdom.  Prosecutors apprehended Fouad Abdelmoumni in Casablanca on Wednesday and announced he was under investigation on suspicion of disseminating …

Read more “Moroccan authorities detain human rights activist who accused government of ‘blackmailing’ France”

LONDON — The European Union is investigating Chinese online retailer Temu over suspicions it’s failing to prevent the sale of illegal products, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm said on Thursday. The European Commission opened its investigation five months after adding Temu to the list of “very large online platforms” needing the strictest level of scrutiny under …

Read more “Chinese online retailer Temu faces EU probe into rogue traders, illegal goods”