(BBC News) China's military is rehearsing the encirclement of Taiwan during three days of military drills.
Beijing, which views Taiwan as a breakaway province of China, called the operation a "stern warning" to the island's government.
The exercises began hours after President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a trip to the United States.
The Taiwanese Defence Ministry said 71 Chinese military planes and nine ships crossed the Taiwan Strait median line.
The line is an unofficial dividing line between...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have announced a strike on Gaza on Thursday evening, shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a video statement vowing that his country’s enemies would “pay a price for any aggression.”
The Israeli military operation has led to reports of explosions across Gaza, as warplanes fly overhead. No casualties or injuries have been reported so far, but at least five sites have been targetted in the...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) North Korea has accused the United States and South Korea of escalating tensions “to the brink of nuclear war” through their joint military drills, and promised to respond with “offensive action,” according to state media KCNA.
A commentary published by KCNA on Thursday criticized the continuing exercises as “a trigger for driving the situation on the Korean peninsula to the point of explosion.”
Attributed to Choe Ju Hyon, an international security analyst,...
(BBC News) China has launched military drills in response to a much-anticipated meeting between Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
They met in California on Wednesday, a week after Tsai was feted in New York with a leadership award.
Tsai hailed their "strong and unique partnership," and McCarthy said that arms sales to Taiwan must continue.
Beijing, in turn, has vowed a "resolute response" and sent warships into the waters around the self-governed...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) NASA has unveiled the four-member crew for its upcoming mission around the moon, a team that includes the first woman, the first person of colour, and the first Canadian assigned to a lunar mission.
At a ceremony on Monday in Houston, Texas, NASA announced that Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Hammock Koch, and Jeremy Hansen would crew the Artemis II mission for a 10-day flight, marking the agency’s first moon voyage containing humans in...
(BBC News) The Chinese balloon that flew over the U.S. earlier this year managed to gather intelligence from military bases for days before it was shot down, U.S. media report.
The balloon was able to transmit data to Beijing in real time, NBC News reported, citing U.S. officials.
The craft picked up electronic signals rather than taking pictures, according to one official quoted by the network.
The White House did not confirm the report.
But U.S. officials say they...
(BBC News) An explosion in a St. Petersburg cafe has killed prominent Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, Russia's Interior Ministry has confirmed.
At least 19 people were injured in the bomb blast at Street Food Bar No 1.
Videos posted on social media show an explosion and injured people on the street. It is not clear who was responsible for the blast.
Tatarsky (real name Maxim Fomin) was a vocal supporter of Russia's war in Ukraine.
He was...
(Al Jazeera Media Network) Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers have announced voluntary cuts to their production amounting to about 1.15 million barrels per day (bpd), calling it a “precautionary measure” aimed at market stability.
The 23-nation group had been largely expected to stick to its already agreed 2 million bpd cuts when its ministerial panel, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, meets virtually on Monday.
In October, OPEC+, which comprises the Organization of the...
(BBC News) Three British nationals are being held in custody by the Taliban in Afghanistan, a humanitarian organization has told the BBC.
Scott Richards from the Presidium Network named one of the men as Kevin Cornwell, 53, from Middlesbrough.
Richards said he and a man who has not been named were arrested on January 11. He confirmed a third British man was taken into custody on a different date.
The Foreign Office said it was working hard to...
(BBC News) Former U.S. President Donald Trump will be charged over hush money payments made to a porn star just before the 2016 presidential election.
The details of the case against him have not yet been released.
A grand jury has voted to indict him after investigating a $130,000 payout to Stormy Daniels, reportedly in an attempt to buy her silence over an alleged affair.
Trump, 76, denies wrongdoing. He is the first serving or former U.S....
