Moscow says it has ordered its troops to start returning to their permanent bases following extensive military drills in southern Russia and in and around the occupied Ukrainian region of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in March 2014. The April 22 announcement comes amid heightened tensions with the West over Russia’s …

Critics see echoes of Albania’s feared Communist-era ‘Sigurimi’ in the discovery of a database that purportedly belongs to the ruling Socialists and contains detailed personal data of almost a million voters, each of them assigned to a party apparatchik often on the public payroll. The contents of a database leaked …

Czech accusations the Kremlin was behind a 2014 explosion at a munitions depot that killed two people and the subsequent expulsion of 18 ‘diplomats’ will further damage already strained relations, notwithstanding the president’s pro-Russian leanings. The Czech Republic accused Russia on April 17 of being behind a 2014 explosion at …

Bosnia and Herzegovina has one of the world’s most notoriously dysfunctional constitutions. Although at 5,000 words the document is also one of the world’s shortest constitutions, brevity is not always a benefit. The constitution was prepared by US lawyers overseeing the peace negotiations ending the Bosnian war in Dayton, Ohio …

“We condemn escalatory measures by any actor which could jeopardize progress.” Iran’s clerical establishment said it will not return to the 2015 agreement unless all sanctions are lifted. The European parties to the Iran deal warned against taking non-diplomatic steps to stop the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, in a statement …

Reports indicate the explosion happened near Ramle at a routine test at the Tomer factory for advanced weapons. Iranian state media highlighted a “powerful explosion” that they said took place at a “sensitive Israeli missile factory” during a test. A similar report appeared in Haaretz, and it appears Iranian media …

The IDF says that “surface-to-air missile fire was identified from Syria, which landed in the Negev area. In response,the IDF struck the battery, from which the missile was launched, and additional Syrian surface-to-air batteries in the area.”Reports online say the missile was an S-200, also known as an SA-5. This …

Much remains unclear about the incident on April 22, including why Syria fired a missile so wildly and so far south into Israel – and whether Israel’s interceptors failed to stop the threat. A sleepless night on Thursday morning left many in Israel wondering what sirens at two in the …

SA-5 flies from Syria all the way to Negev in the longest-range attack yet by Syria; Patriot missile activated in response. Israel and Syria exchanged missile attacks early on Thursday morning, after Damascus launched an advanced surface-to-air missile that landed in the Negev Desert. Alarms sounded in Abu Qrenat near …

“China’s leaders see distant water fleets as a way to project presence around the world. The aim is to be present all over the world’s oceans so that they can direct the outcomes of international agreements that cover maritime resources.” — Tabitha Mallory, CEO of China Ocean Institute and affiliate …