Authorities investigate cause of Azerbaijan Airlines crash that killed 38

Azerbaijan Airlines says plane crash caused by ‘external’ interference

The plane, which crashed in Kazakhstan this week, went down “due to external physical and technical interference,” according to the investigation’s preliminary findings....

Finland seizes ship in probe of undersea cable damage

Damage to the power cable in the Baltic Sea is the latest in a spate of murky disruptions to undersea cables that have put European authorities on high alert....

As Ukraine marks Christmas, exhausted soldiers wonder if Trump can end the war

Asked for their thoughts about a potential ceasefire in 2025, Ukrainian soldiers said they’d welcome a reprieve but were skeptical one was coming soon...

For Syria’s Christians, Christmas is a time to grapple with hope and fear

Although members of the Christian community said they are happy to see the Assad regime go, many are wary of their new Islamist leaders....

Once a war zone, southern Philippines rebrands as tourist destination

New visitors are flocking to the Philippines’ Sulu Archipelago. But the specter of violence — both real and imagined — persists....

Russia sentences U.S. citizen to 15 years in prison for espionage

Eugene Spector, who was already serving a 3½-year sentence in Russia for bribery, received the additional sentence after being charged with espionage last year....

Faulty mortar rounds spark corruption allegations for Ukraine’s defense industry

Activists are calling for an investigation into Ukraine’s top defense institutions over accusations that tens of thousands of locally made mortar rounds are failing or misfiring....

Zelensky’s slow shift toward negotiating for Ukraine’s future

A new U.S. president and battlefield realities appear to be pushing Zelensky, who had long insisted on fighting for every inch of occupied land, to the table....

U.S. ship shoots down jet in friendly fire over Red Sea, military says

Two service members ejected above the Red Sea after a warship fired on their aircraft, according to U.S. Central Command. Both sustained minor injuries....

Five months on, Ukraine clings to Kursk amid doubts over operation

Outnumbered Ukrainian troops are clinging to a section of Russian territory in hopes of using it as a bargaining chip in any future negotiations....

Russia launches missile strike on Kyiv following Putin’s ‘duel’ threat

The Russian leader had mockingly challenged Ukraine’s Western allies to a missile “duel,” testing their air defenses, during his annual year-end news conference....

Trump-Putin relations enter a new chapter, and the world is at stake

Vladimir Putin wants a sit-down with Donald Trump as equals in which they divide the world into spheres of influence....

European allies consider deploying troops to Ukraine after the war

The deployment of European troops could provide security guarantees to Ukraine and play to Trump’s insistence that Europe carry more weight on defense....

Putin denies weakness after Assad ouster in Syria, is open to Trump meeting

The Russian president also promised he would ask the ousted Syrian leader — whom he has given asylum in Moscow — for the whereabouts of U.S. journalist Austin Tice....

Putin promises to ask Assad for whereabouts of U.S. journalist Austin Tice

Pentagon warns of China’s rapid military buildup despite corruption

A Pentagon report noted China’s modernization of nuclear weapons, air power and space assets, even with a corruption crackdown on senior military officials....

Club raids, influencers: How Putin’s playbook is pushing young Russians toward ultranationalism

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants young Russians to become ultranationalist patriots. Today, we meet the online influencer at the center of this push and hear how a society can drastically change in a short period....

Kyiv behind killing of Russian general in Moscow, Ukrainian official says

An explosion killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, chief of Russia’s nuclear defense forces, and his assistant in Moscow, Russia’s Investigative Committee said....

Denmark frees anti-whaling activist, rejecting Japan’s extradition request

U.S.-Canadian environmentalist Paul Watson, 74, was detained based on a decade-old Interpol warrant that accused him of interfering with a Japanese whaling ship....

CNN says it was misled by man freed in Syria report with Clarissa Ward

Who is Igor Kirillov, the Russian nuclear defense chief killed in Moscow?

Kirillov ran Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical defense forces. Kyiv previously accused him of ordering the use of chemical weapons against Ukraine....

Assad defends escape from Syria, blames ‘terrorist onslaught’ in first statement

The statement on Bashar al-Assad’s Telegram account said he left Syria for Russia from Hmeimim air base on Dec. 8. In Gaza, the death toll passed 45,000, the Health Ministry said....

Ukrainian troops say inexperienced North Koreans are making easy targets

At least 30 North Koreans were “killed or wounded” over the weekend while fighting for Russia in the Kursk region, Ukrainian military intelligence said....

The unique destructiveness of Israel’s war on Gaza

Airwars, which charts civilian casualties of 21st century conflict, calls Israel’s campaign in Gaza “by far the most intense, destructive, and fatal conflict” it has tracked....

Foreign powers jockey for control in Syria, risking new conflict

In the days since the collapse of the Assad regime, multiple countries have bombed targets in Syria, as the power vacuum unleashes a battle for the heart of the Middle East....

Drones swarm Kyiv every night. These volunteers shoot them down.

A searchlight, a World War II-era machine gun and lots of coffee and tea help a band of volunteers protect the night skies over Ukraine’s capital from drones....

Unexploded mines endanger Syrian returnees, nonprofit warns

Live ordnance is littered across vast swaths of Syria, the nonprofit HALO Trust warned....

Russia packs up military assets in Syria; future of bases unclear

Live Briefing: Russia packing up military equipment in Syria, satellite imagery shows

Images released by Maxar on Friday show cargo planes at a Russian airfield in Syria with their nose cones opened to receive heavy equipment....

Macron names François Bayrou as French prime minister after government collapse

The new prime minister, a Macron ally, must try to assemble a government, regain control of France’s deficit and satisfy warring political factions....