RUSSIA

Belarusians are experiencing a new wave of Russification as Moscow expands its economic, political and cultural dominance to overtake the identity of its neighbor.

A Pride march in Serbia’s capital of Belgrade has pressed for the demand that the government improve rights for the LGBTQ+ community who often face harassment and discrimination in the highly conservative Balkan country.

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner has reached the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time by getting past 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.

A top Kremlin official says Turkey has formally applied for a membership in the BRICS bloc of developing economies as Russia and China seek to counter the West's global influence.

Aryna Sabalenka finally got rolling after a bad beginning to the latest-starting match in U.S. Open history and beat No. 29 Ekaterina Alexandrova 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 to reach the fourth round.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has announced 92 additions to its list of Americans banned from entering the country.

President Joe Biden is dispatching his national security adviser Jake Sullivan to China next week.

Nagasaki has marked the 79th anniversary of its atomic bombing at the end of World War II at a ceremony eclipsed by the absence of the American ambassador and other Western envoys in response to the Japanese city’s refusal to invite Israel.

A new report from Microsoft finds that Iran is accelerating online activity that appears intended to influence the U.S. election.

NASA is delaying its next astronaut launch to buy more time at the International Space Station for Boeing's troubled new crew capsule.

Bloomberg News is apologizing for a premature story written last week about the prisoner exchange involving the United States and Russia and says it has disciplined the journalists involved.

President Joe Biden made an address to the nation regarding the release of Americans held in Russia as part of a prisoner exchange.

A new Pentagon strategy says the U.S. must invest more to upgrade sensors, communications and space-based technologies in the Arctic to keep pace with China and Russia who are increasingly operating there, including in joint military exercises.

Former NATO leader George Robertson will lead a review of Britain’s military strategy.

Four Indo-Pacific countries attending the NATO summit have issued a joint statement to “strongly condemn the illicit military cooperation” between Russia and North Korea.

In their most serious rebuke against Beijing, NATO allies have called China a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war against Ukraine and expressed concerns over China’s nuclear arsenal and its capabilities in space.

NATO countries are moving to shore up their weapons production capabilities as a hedge against the November presidential vote, signing a nearly $700 million contract for more Stinger missiles and making pledges to boost their own defense production.

NASA has awarded SpaceX an $843 million contract to build the vehicle that will bring the International Space Station out of its longtime orbit of Earth when its operating lifespan ends in a few more years.

Russian authorities say that the death toll in the attack by Islamic militants in Russia’s southern region of Dagestan has risen to 21 after a wounded police officer died in a hospital.

A network of people and firms that support the sanctioned president of Bosnia’s Serb-run part, Milorad Dodik, has been hit with new sanctions.

A Stockholm-based watchdog says the world's nine nuclear-armed states continue to modernize their nuclear weapons as the countries deepened their reliance on nuclear deterrence in 2023.

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner will compete in both singles and doubles at the Paris Olympics.

U.S. officials who track disinformation campaigns say they're issuing more warnings to political candidates, government officials and others targeted by foreign groups as America’s adversaries seek to influence the 2024 election.

An American veteran and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared an emotional moment at a ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion to liberate France in World War II.

As young soldiers they waded ashore in Normandy through gunfire to fight the Nazis.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek swept into the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in just 40 minutes with a 6-0, 6-0 win against Anastasia Potapova.

A crowd of tens of thousands has gathered in Hungary’s capital in a show of strength behind Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

China says it will be “‘hard to meet” calls for discussions on the Russia-Ukraine war because of problems with arrangements.

Sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev has lost to Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets in the French Open third round and berated himself for his behavior.

There’s no making up for what Olympic hurdler Lashinda Demus lost on the day she finished.

A French player at the French Open has been allowed to continue his first-round match without being penalized after hitting a ball angrily and accidentally striking a spectator in the stands at one of the event’s smaller courts.

The big news in Naomi Osaka’s life has nothing to do with the French Open or clay-court tennis: Her 10-month-old daughter, Shai, is taking her first steps.

Inflation in the U.K. fell sharply to its lowest level in nearly three years in April on the back of big declines in domestic bills.

The election is six months away and intelligence officials are preparing for increased interference.

Top U.S. security officials say America’s foreign adversaries will again seek to influence the upcoming U.S. elections.

Thousands of protesters angered by the government’s decision to hand over control of some border villages to Azerbaijan have demonstrated in the center of the Armenian capital for a second day to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

A senior FBI official says the agency is concerned that foreign adversaries could deploy artificial intelligence as a way to interfere in American elections and spread disinformation.

Two WNBA players were among a dozen Americans who opted to play in Russia this past offseason following Brittney Griner’s incarceration in 2022.

Andrey Rublev has rallied to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets and win the Madrid Open for the first time.

Third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz has announced that he is withdrawing from the Italian Open because of the right forearm injury that already prompted him to pull out of tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

A study by the nonprofit Brookings Institution says Russian state-affiliated accounts have boosted their use of TikTok and are getting more engagement on the short-form video platform ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

The White House says Russia is shipping refined petroleum to North Korea at levels that exceed U.N. Security Council limits.

A Moscow court has imposed a 50,000-ruble ($560) fine on a TV presenter and actress who gained notoriety for hosting an “almost naked” party, saying her social media posts calling for peace discredited the military.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has begun a critical trip to China armed with a strengthened diplomatic hand following Senate approval of a foreign aid package that will provide billions of dollars in assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan as well as force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform -– all areas of contention between Washington and Beijing.

Inflation in the U.K. fell to its lowest level in two and a half years in March after a further easing in food prices.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says America and its allies are discussing options “both inside and outside the U.

Floods caused by rising water levels in the Ural River broke a dam in a city near Russia’s border with Kazakhstan, forcing some 2,000 people to evacuate, local authorities said.

Pope Francis has led thousands of people in a moment of silence to pray for the aid workers killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza.

Several central and Eastern European countries have begun marking the 20th anniversary of the largest expansion of the NATO military alliance when formerly socialist countries became members of the bloc.

Russia has vetoed a U.N. resolution in a move that effectively abolishes the monitoring by United Nations experts of U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program, though the sanctions themselves remain in place.

Recapping the most essential highlights from Olympic 3x3 basketball, including a list of every medalist so far and the current records for 3x3 basketball ahead of the 2024 Games in Paris.

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff have been knocked out of the Miami Open.

The U.N. Security Council is set to vote on a resolution demanding a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but the United States warned the measure could hurt negotiations to halt Israeli-Hamas hostilities.

The European Commission wants to prevent Russia from using agriculture products as a tool to wreak havoc on the EU market and will impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus.

Price rises in the U.K. eased by more than anticipated in February, raising expectations that the Bank of England may start cutting interest rates in the next few months.

Four astronauts from four countries are back on Earth after catching a ride from the International Space Station with SpaceX.

Ukraine awoke to another day of war with Russia but also a bit of good news.

Large NATO drills in the frigid fjords of northern Norway may be just war games meant to hone the skills of the newly expanded 32-nation military alliance in the event of conflict.

The U.N. Security Council is urging Sudan’s warring parties to halt hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and allow desperately needed aid to reach 25 million people.

Some members of oil cartel OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, and allied producers like Russia are again deepening their voluntary crude supply cuts.

The group, Ukrainians of the Roanoke Valley and Surrounding Areas will host a rally to show support for the country this Saturday.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said his country needs long-range missiles and other ammunition to end Russia’s invasion, and said he expects a U.S. aid package that’s stalled in Congress to come through, at a new conference in Tokyo a day after a conference on rebuilding Ukraine.

The State Department says the top U.S. and Chinese diplomats held a “candid and constructive” discussion on issues including Taiwan, Russia's war against Ukraine and synthetic opioids.

What would it mean if Russia used nuclear warheads to destroy U.S. satellites.

Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas was not, in fact, impeached, by the House.

Europe’s economy failed to expand at the end of 2023.

Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb has won the first round of Finland’s presidential election and will face runner-up ex-Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in a runoff next month.

In the aftermath of World War II and the murder by Nazi Germany of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust, the world united around the pledge: Never again.

A science-oriented advocacy group has announced that their famous “Doomsday Clock” will remain at just 90 seconds before midnight for a second year as several existential threats endanger life on Earth.

“20 Days in Mariupol,” Mstyslav Chernov’s harrowing chronicle of the besieged Ukrainian city and the international journalists who remained there after Russia invaded, has been nominated for best documentary at the Academy Awards.

Thousands of artworks have been destroyed in a fire that swept through the main art gallery in Abkhazia in a severe blow to the cultural heritage of the separatist Georgian region.

An estimated 320 journalists around the world were imprisoned because of their work toward the end of 2023.

Germany’s economy shrank 0.3% last year as Europe’s former powerhouse struggled with more expensive energy, higher interest rates, a lack of skilled labor and a homegrown budget crisis.

The first ever 15-day Australian Open ended with Jannik Sinner winning his first Grand Slam title with a comeback from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev for the championship on the third Sunday of the tournament.

Some Eastern Orthodox churches will be observing Christmas on Sunday.

Christians around the world will mark Epiphany on Jan. 6 with a series of celebrations.

Residents of a Kyiv apartment building are salvaging what they can a day after a Russian missile attack set it ablaze, tore off parts of its facade, and gouged a crater next to it.

Ukraine’s parliament has voted to legalize medical marijuana after the war with Russia left thousands of people with post-traumatic stress disorder that many believe could be eased by the drug.

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on a Belgian involved in procuring electronics for the Russian military, his companies and a group of Belarusian firms and people tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russian security forces have raided gay clubs and bars across Moscow less than 48 hours after the country’s top court banned what it called the “global LGBTQ+ movement” as an extremist organization.

Rafael Nadal says he will return to playing at the Brisbane International in Australia in January.

Russia’s Supreme Court has effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism, in the most drastic step against advocates of gay, lesbian and transgender rights in the increasingly conservative country.

Tornadoes have been forecast for the Black Sea region after a storm left more than 2 million people without electricity in Crimea, Russia and Ukraine.

A powerful weekend storm in the Black Sea region toppled trees, tore down power lines and caused coastal flooding, and government officials and media reports said more than half a million people were without power in southern Russia and Ukraine.

Russia has placed a Ukrainian singer who won the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on its wanted list.

Inflation in the U.K. dropped sharply in October to its lowest level in two years largely because last year's steep rise in domestic energy bills dropped out of the annual comparison.

European Union nations have acknowledged they may fail to fulfill a promise for ammunition Ukraine needs to stave off Russia's invasion and win back occupied territory.

The British economy flatlined in the third quarter of the year.

Ukraine’s intelligence agency has claimed responsibility for a car bombing that killed a member of the Russia-backed authority in the illegally annexed Luhansk region.

Jannik Sinner has pulled out of the Paris Masters in a rare scheduling protest with the fatigued Italian criticizing organizers for failing to give him enough time to rest following an early-morning finish in his previous game.

Iga Swiatek says she and other women’s tennis players are more united than in the past as they seek changes on the WTA Tour, including improvements to prioritize the athletes’ well-being.

Oil prices are up and markets are tense after the outbreak of war in Gaza.

Ben Shelton won his maiden tour title, beating Aslan Karatsev 7-5, 6-1 at the Japan Open.

President Biden delivered an address to the nation from the White House regarding the Israel-Hamas War and Russia’s war against Ukraine.

A Pentagon report on China’s military power says Beijing is on track to significantly increase its nuclear weapons arsenal by 2030 and is “almost certainly” learning lessons from Russia’s war in Ukraine about what a conflict over Taiwan might look like.

WNBA players have one less option to play overseas with the conflict in Israel, adding to diminishing opportunities amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

Oil prices are up, and that affects people far and wide.

It’s Day 5 of the U.N. General Assembly high-level meeting that brings world leaders together at U.N. headquarters in New York.

Inflation in Britain fell unexpectedly in August to its lowest level since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington this week comes at a critical time as Republican leadership in the House and Senate diverge on the best way to get more military and humanitarian aid over the finish line.