NATO member Finland plans to quit a global convention banning anti-personnel landmines and boost defense spending to at least 3% of GDP by 2029 in response to the evolving military threat from Russia, the government said on Tuesday. Poland and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said last month they would withdraw from the 1997 Ottawa convention due ...

Two close associates of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been remanded in custody for three days, following their arrest on Monday by Israeli police in connection with an investigation into suspected unlawful ties between the senior aides and Qatar, a case that has become known as QatarGate. An Israeli court on Tuesday extended the initial detention of Yonatan Urich, ...

A 22-year-old Palestinian man was tortured and killed by Hamas militants after he criticized the group publicly and participated in rare anti-Hamas protests in Gaza, his family said. Hassan said his brother had altercations with members of the group around a month before his death and had expressed fears that militants would come for him. Uday Rabie had also participated ...

All bakeries in Gaza have closed due to a severe lack of fuel and flour caused by Israel’s near month-long blockade of humanitarian aid, according to local authorities. “The occupation has forced all bakeries to shut down entirely, exacerbating the famine crisis that threatens the lives of innocent civilians, particularly children, patients, and the elderly,” the Hamas-controlled Government Media Office ...

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of the military’s operation in Gaza involving the seizure of large areas of land that would be “incorporated into Israel’s security zones.” The operation would also involve a “large-scale evacuation of Gaza’s population from combat zones,” the statement said without specifying details. Katz said the military operation would expand to ...

The Chinese military practiced live-fire strikes in the East China Sea in an escalation of ongoing surprise drills near Taiwan, the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command said in a statement Wednesday. China’s armed forces launched exercises, dubbed “Strait Thunder-2025A,” in the middle and southern areas of the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, focusing on testing the troops’ capabilities of “joint ...

The Pentagon has sent at least six B-2 bombers – 30% of the US Air Force’s stealth bomber fleet – to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, in what analysts have called a message to Iran as tensions once again flare in the Middle East. The deployment comes as US President Donald Trump and his defense chief Pete Hegseth ...

Buildings in Myanmar are continuing to collapse five days after a powerful earthquake struck the country, creating perilous conditions for rescuers as they attempt to extricate survivors from the rubble. More than 2,700 people were killed in the 7.7-magnitude quake, with thousands more injured, according to Myanmar’s military junta. Hundreds more remain missing, meaning the death toll is almost certain ...

The United States has approved the potential sale of 20 F-16 fighter jets to Manila, giving the key US ally in the Indo-Pacific a major upgrade to its air force just days after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to counter “China’s aggression.” The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced the proposed sale of the F-16s and related equipment, ...

Hundreds of men and women stand in rows, divided by nationality, in the courtyard of a white-walled compound, flanked by armed guards in fatigues. The group were among around 7,000 people recently released from scam centers run by criminal gangs and warlords operating along Myanmar’s border with Thailand, where many are held against their will and forced to work conning ...