China has issued yet another stern warning against weeks-long protests in Hong Kong, saying it will not sit idly by and watch as the unrest continues.

The Chinese media, however, brushed off concerns about a possible “repeat” of the deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown 30 years ago if Beijing moves to end the unrest in Hong Kong.

Defense chiefs of Russia and Venezuela have signed an agreement overseeing visits by warships of both nations to each other’s ports amid persistent US efforts to undermine the government in Caracas.

The United States and Turkey have agreed on a way forward that may marginalize Kurdish forces.

Over eight years ago, Syrian men, women, and children took to the streets, often holding hands or clutching roses, calling for political reform. Wahed, Wahed, Wahed, al-Shaab al-Suri Wahed, they chanted — “One, One, One, the Syrian People are One!” But the regime did not listen; instead, we were shot at, gassed, and later bombed. As regime violence escalated, the uprising gradually militarized and what had been a local movement driven by society soon became a vicious conflict driven in large part by foreign governments. Then came al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Hezbollah and soon enough, the lives, thoughts, and desires of ordinary Syrians mattered little.

Yesterday, a jihadist Telegram channel published a short statement (seen below) attributed to Saif al-Adel, a wanted terrorist who has worked for al Qaeda since the 1990s. The message addresses the jihadist scene in Syria, specifically dealing with the controversies surrounding relations with Turkey and Turkish-backed rebel groups.

A US delegation has arrived in Turkey to set up an operation center in the country for the stated purpose of creating a “safe zone” in Syria.

The United States and the Taliban have concluded the eighth round of talks aimed at reaching an agreement between the two adversaries to end the 18-year-old war in Afghanistan and jumpstart intra-Afghan peace negotiations.

The South Korean Armed Forces are capable of countering the short-range missiles that are now being tested by North Korea, a spokesperson for the South Korean presidential administration said on Monday.

Fears of Beijing intervening in the Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests were raised Monday after footage emerged showing several armored trucks belonging to China’s People’s Armed Police traveling through Shenzhen, which borders the autonomous city.

New missile technologies, including so-called hypersonic systems capable of traveling at more than 25 times the speed of sound, are fueling a new global arms race, according to a new report from analyst group the European Leadership Network.

Russia’s chief nuclear official has vowed to continue developing new weapons while attending a funeral on August 12 of five Russian nuclear researchers who were killed in an explosion in what U.S. experts suspect was a mishandled test of a new nuclear-powered engine.

Bahrain has agreed to buy the US-built Patriot anti-aircraft and missile interceptor system, the Raytheon Company said in a press release.

The US army has formally signed a contract to purchase two Iron Dome missile systems from Israel, according to a report.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has warned India that Pakistan is prepared to respond to any aggression in the disputed region of Kashmir as tensions skyrocketed between the nuclear-armed rivals in the wake of New Delhi’s revocation of the autonomy of the Muslim-majority Himalayan region.

Fighters loyal to Yemen’s Houthis attacked several positions belonging to southern separatists Wednesday, Arab media reported. The attacks occurred a day after a Houthi delegation met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who reportedly backed a resumption of stalled talks between rival Yemeni groups.

A hypersonic weapon moving at five times the speed of sound can travel across the Pacific Ocean in just over 100 minutes.

Turkey established its first military base in Qatar in 2017, on the basis of a bilateral security agreement signed in late 2015, with the base said to be part of a broader security effort by the two countries to confront unspecified “common enemies.”

Mexico’s government on Wednesday amplified its assertion that the Aug. 3 mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, was an act of terrorism against Mexicans, urging the United States to ensure the attack was designated as such.

Years after their parents left Belgium and France to join the Islamic State, 18 children were taken from squalid refugee camps in Syria and flown recently to new lives in Belgium and France, drawing widespread attention in those countries as examples of Europe grudgingly accepting the children of its jihadis.

IRGC chief says Lebanese proxy group honed skills fighting in Syrian civil war, claims US-led efforts to undermine Tehran’s regional influence have backfired.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has criticised a US-led naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz, saying Washington’s military build-up in the Gulf was aimed at “creating division and emptying the treasuries” of countries in the region.

On August 3, 2019, Indian authorities and Kashmir’s government ordered thousands of tourists and Hindu pilgrims to leave Indian-administered Kashmir, warning of a “terror threat” against Hindu pilgrims heading to the Amarnath shrine. Officials claim that armed militants backed by Pakistan were planning an attack on the annual pilgrimage. While the Indian government has deployed an extra 10,000 troops, over 20,000 pilgrims and more than 200,000 laborers have been scrambling to leave the area. Although India and Pakistan claim all of Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi and Islamabad only control portions of the territory.

U.S. President Donald Trump has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of sending “mixed signals” to Iran over possible talks with Washington.

They change offices every few months and store documents only in hard copy. They scan their businesses for covert listening devices and divert all office calls to their cellphones. They know they are under surveillance, and assume their electronics are hacked.

An enormous fire raged across several wheat fields outside this town on July 6. It was a dry summer day and dark smoke towered over the countryside as the flames spread across the farmland. Some locals watched in awe at the inferno. Others tried to fight back with shovels and rakes. They had little success. They watched the blaze consume their livelihood. Locals told The Daily Beast that the fire started near Turkish military checkpoints along the border and made its way south across Kurdish farms.

A Pentagon report that the Islamic State terror group is making a resurgence in both Syria and Iraq is causing bit of a stir in the region, where most governments would like to see a definitive end to its saga.

If history is anything to go by, the Supreme Leader’s statement is barely worth a pinch of salt. It is notable that that the first time Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a fatwa against nuclear weapons took place right after his government was caught red-handed pursuing secret nuclear activities and enriching uranium in two clandestine nuclear sites in Natanz and Arak in 2002 in violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

There are reports of panic buying of iodine drops in Severodvinsk. Emergency officials reported a spike in background radiation. The White Sea bay where both the shipbuilding port and the regional capital Arkhangelsk are located has been ordered closed for swimming and fishing, due to the presence of toxic rocket fuel.

Tokyo is reportedly considering its own operations and has no plans to join a US-led coalition tasked with securing oil shipping routes amid tanker seizures in the region.

NATO has completed a scheduled upgrade of a land-based Aegis Ashore ballistic missile system in Romania, which the military alliance said was purely defensive in nature.

“[Scepticism] has grown louder recently, with the release of satellite images from the European Space Agency showing that the runway for the site’s airport is far longer than is required for civilian aircraft” — Andrew Nachemson, Cambodia-based journalist, South China Morning Post, March 5, 2019.

Turkey is reportedly considering the possible purchase of Russian Su-35 fighter jets after Washington suspended Ankara’s membership in its F-35 program.

Hamas has distanced itself from Saturday’s botched attempt to infiltrate into Israel from the Gaza Strip by arguing that the four terrorists who were killed by the IDF had acted independently.

Israeli forces shot and killed four Palestinian militants near the Gaza border fence after one tossed a hand grenade at Israeli troops on Saturday, the military said.

On the surface, white supremacists and Islamic State recruits would not seem to have much in common. One group embraces a racist, anti-immigrant ideology and is mobilized by fear that a majority of people in the United States will soon no longer be white.