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Blinken underscores 'ironclad' support for Philippines in disputed China sea

Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored Washington's "ironclad commitment" Tuesday to help defend the Philippines in case of an armed attack against its forces after clashes between Chinese and Filipino coast guards in the disputed South China Sea recently turned more hostile.

Blinken, the latest high-level official to visit the United States treaty ally, met his Philippine counterpart Enrique Manalo on Tuesday before separately meeting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila.

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US defense chief vows continued aid to Ukraine

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed Tuesday that the U.S. will continue to support Ukraine's war effort against Russia, even as the U.S. Congress remains stalled over funding to send additional weapons to the front.

"The United States will not let Ukraine fail," said Austin, addressing more than 50 defense leaders from Europe and around the world who are meeting at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. "This coalition will not let Ukraine fail. And the free world will not let Ukraine fail."

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Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion

Former President Donald Trump has charged that Jews who vote for Democrats "hate Israel" and hate "their religion," igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.

Trump, in an interview, had been asked about Democrats' growing criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his handling of the war in Gaza as the civilian death toll continues to mount.

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Ukrainian strike kills two in Russian border region

Ukrainian shelling killed two people and wounded four in a village near the Russian border city of Belgorod on Monday, the region's governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

"In the Belgorod district, after air defences repelled an air attack by the Ukrainian army, two people were killed and four injured in the village of Nikolskoye," Gladkov said.

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In Germany, the far right is on the rise again. How did it happen?

When Sabine Thonke joined a recent demonstration in Berlin against Germany's far-right party, it was the first time in years she felt hopeful that the growing power of the extremists in her country could be stopped.

Thonke, 59, had been following the rise of the Alternative for Germany, or AfD, with unease. But when she heard about a plan to deport millions of people, she felt called to action.

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North Korea resumes missile tests, after South Korean-U.S. military drills' end

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters Monday morning, its neighbors said, days after the end of the South Korean-U.S. military drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal.

The launches — North Korea's first known missile testing activities in about a month — came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Seoul for a conference. Outside experts earlier predicted North Korea would extend its run of missile tests and intensify its warlike rhetoric ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November to boost its leverage in future diplomacy.

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How Russia's grab of Crimea led to war with Ukraine, rising tensions with West

A decade ago, President Vladimir Putin seized Crimea from Ukraine, a bold land grab that set the stage for Russia to invade its neighbor in 2022.

The quick and bloodless seizure of the diamond-shaped peninsula, home to Russia's Black Sea fleet and a popular vacation site, touched off a wave of patriotism and sent Putin's popularity soaring. "Crimea is ours!" became a popular slogan in Russia.

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Putin hails electoral victory as western leaders dismiss 'illegal' poll

President Vladimir Putin basked in a victory early Monday that was never in doubt, as partial election results underlined the Russian leader's total control of the country's political system.

After facing only token challengers and harshly suppressing opposition voices, Putin was set to extend his nearly quarter-century rule for six more years. Even with little margin for protest, Russians crowded outside polling stations at noon on Sunday, the last day of the election, apparently heeding an opposition call to express their displeasure with the president.

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8 killed in Pakistan air strikes on eastern Afghanistan

Pakistani airstrikes targeted multiple suspected hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban inside neighboring Afghanistan early on Monday, killing at least eight people, two days after insurgents killed seven soldiers in a suicide bombing and coordinated attacks in a northwestern region, officials said.

The Afghan Taliban government denounced the strikes, which are likely to further increase tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.

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Trump warns of 'bloodbath' if he is not elected

Donald Trump told a rally in Ohio on Saturday that November's presidential election will be the "most important date" in U.S. history, painting his campaign for the White House as a turning point for the country.

Days after securing his position as the presumptive Republican nominee, the former president also warned of a "bloodbath" if he is not elected -- though it was not clear what he was referring to, with the remark coming in the middle of comments about threats to the U.S. auto industry.

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