World News

Two British Islamic State terror suspects known as the “Beatles” were indicted in the torturing and beheading of American aid workers and journalists among others once held hostage in Syria, according to court documents made public Wednesday.

The Russian military says it has successfully test-launched a Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile off Russia’s northern coast, in what President Vladimir Putin hailed as a “big event” for the country.

Officials in the former Soviet nation of Kyrgyzstan say they have annulled the results of Sunday’s parliamentary elections after violent protests in the capital Bishkek killed at least one person.

Imagine going to the bank to take out cash, except without going to the bank and without the cash. If the Chinese central bank’s plan for a digital yuan succeeds, the future could look something like that for everyone.

Negotiators from Russia and the United States met on Monday in Helsinki for a new round of nuclear arms control talks, Finnish officials say.

In contrast to a low-key stance it has adopted in the past, China is now pushing hard for leadership posts in United Nations agencies, frequently resorting to bribery and economic coercion in doing so, the Washington Times reported on Sunday. As one of the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, China has veto power.

Germany’s government has condemned the latest anti-Semitic attack that overshadowed the 30th-anniversary commemoration of the reunification of Germany.

The United Nations has confirmed the names of most of the candidates running for seats on the U.N. Human Rights Council in elections tentatively set for next week, and the expected return of the likes of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba will draw attention once again to the justification given by the Trump administration in 2018 for its decision to withdraw.

The European Central Bank (ECB) says it moves towards issuing a digital version of the euro currency that critics fear could replace banknotes.

Armenia says it is ready to discuss a ceasefire in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in recent days has killed dozens and left scores wounded. The announcement comes amid international calls to end the most significant escalation in years.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to speak to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday to “take stock” of negotiations on a post-Brexit free trade deal and to “discuss next steps,” a British government spokesman said.

The Armenian President warned the international community Wednesday that Caucasus, a region disputed by former Soviet republics Armenia and Azerbaijan, may become “another Syria,” CNBC reported Wednesday. President Armen Sarkissian gave the warning after fighting broke between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus on Sunday.

Russia, France, and the U.S. on Thursday issued calls for an immediate cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan as clashes between the two rivals sparked recently over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh killing dozens of people and threatening to drag nearby Turkey and Russia into a direct military confrontation.

The European Union said Thursday it will take legal action against the British government for violating the terms of their Brexit agreement.

The U.S. and China have “diametrically opposed values” and will eventually slip into a “new cold war” in the coming decades, said a China analyst from Fitch Solutions.

The European Union is considering the possible high-risk deployment of EU military observers to Libya in the event a ceasefire holds in the war-torn North African country, Politico reports. Libya has been the scene of a years-long civil war between Tripoli’s UN-backed Government of National Accord headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, and rebel General Khalifa Haftar, leader of the Libyan National Army (LNA).

According to a new Right-to-Privacy Index (RPI), Asia has become the world’s worst region for mass surveillance privacy violations, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reports. Published by British-based risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, the RPI cites Pakistan, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, India and the Philippines as among the worst offenders.

The European Union’s executive has rejected a demand by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to dismiss its top rule of law official for comments about Hungary’s ‘ailing democracy.’

The UN’s nuclear watchdog says it has gained access to a second site in Iran where nuclear activities are suspected to have taken place in the past, as agreed with Tehran last month.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke on the phone with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisalbin Farhan Sunday, discussing the Abraham peace accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Israel National News reports. Following the signing of the Abraham Accords on September 15, President Donald Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia to also normalize ties with Israel “when the time comes.”