Latest Military and defense News

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange returns to Australia a free man after US legal battle ends

Jun. 26, 2024 09:22 AM EDT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange returned to his homeland Australia aboard a charter jet and raised a celebratory clenched fist as his supporters cheered on Wednesday, hours after pleading guilty to obtaining and publishing U.S. military secrets in a deal with Justice...

Suspected North Korean hypersonic missile exploded in flight, South Korea says

Jun. 26, 2024 08:51 AM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A suspected hypersonic missile launched by North Korea exploded in flight on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, as North Korea protests the regional deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier for a military drill with South Korea and Japan. Later...

Suspected Houthi attack targets a ship in the Gulf of Aden, while Iraq-claimed attack targets Eilat

Jun. 26, 2024 01:37 AM EDT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Suspected attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels early Wednesday targeted a ship in the Gulf of Aden, while a separate attack claimed by Iraqi militants allied with the rebels targeted the southern Israeli port city of Eilat, authorities said. The...

US military shows reporters pier project in Gaza as it takes another stab at aid delivery

Jun. 26, 2024 00:42 AM EDT

With U.S. soldiers within shouting distance of Gaza's bombed-out coast, the American military is taking another stab at delivering aid to hungry Palestinians by sea. After several fits and starts, a $230 million pier is up and running again. The U.S. military invited reporters for a...

A Palestinian was shot, beaten and tied to an Israeli army jeep. The army says he posed no threat

Jun. 26, 2024 00:36 AM EDT

JENIN, West Bank (AP) — When Mujahid Abadi stepped outside to see if Israeli forces had entered his uncle's neighborhood, he was shot in the arm and the foot. That was only the start of his ordeal. Hours later, beaten and bloodied, he found himself strapped to the searing hood of an Israeli...

What to know about WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and the guilty plea that freed him

Jun. 26, 2024 00:05 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The guilty plea by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange brings a stunning conclusion to an international saga of the quixotic hacker who exposed government secrets. The deal reached with the U.S. Justice Department came after Assange spent 12 years either in...

Sheri Biggs wins Republican nod for US House in South Carolina over Trump-backed candidate

Jun. 25, 2024 22:52 PM EDT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Sheri Biggs, a nurse practitioner and Air National Guard officer, won the Republican nomination for the U.S. House in South Carolina’s 3rd District on Tuesday, defeating a challenger who called himself former President Donald Trump's pastor. In November,...

Australian leaders cautiously welcome expected plea that could bring WikiLeaks founder Assange home

Jun. 25, 2024 16:27 PM EDT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian leaders cautiously welcomed an expected plea agreement that could set free Julian Assange, who was pursued for years over WikiLeaks' publication of a trove of classified documents. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday there was...

Israel's high court orders the army to draft ultra-Orthodox men, rattling Netanyahu's government

Jun. 25, 2024 12:43 PM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for compulsory service, a landmark decision that could lead to the collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition as Israel continues to wage war...

South Korea says North Korea is again flying balloons toward the South, probably carrying trash

Jun. 25, 2024 12:08 PM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea said North Korea was flying balloons likely carrying trash across the border for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, despite the South’s threat to retaliate with anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts in border areas. The development comes as...