Efforts by Russia, Iran and China to sway US voters may escalate, new Microsoft report says

NEW YORK (AP) — Foreign adversaries have shown continued determination to influence the U.S. election –- and there are signs their activity will intensify as Election Day nears, Microsoft said in a report Wednesday. Russian operatives are doubling down on fake videos to smear...

G7 allies are moving ahead with a $50 billion loan for Ukraine backed by frozen Russian funds

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine will receive $50 billion in loans, backed by frozen Russian assets, from Group of Seven allies, the White House said Wednesday. Distribution of the money will begin by year's end, according to American officials who said the United States is providing $20 billion of the...

Financial cooperation and BRICS expansion are on the table as Putin hosts Global South leaders

KAZAN, Russia (AP) — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hosted China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi and other world leaders at a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, part of the Kremlin's efforts to challenge Western global clout. Putin said the...

Editorial Roundup: United States

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ Oct. 18 The Washington Post on taxpayers subsidizing flood insurance Hurricane Helene likely caused more than $30 billion worth of damage. Less than two weeks later,...

US defense chief says there’s evidence North Korea has sent troops to Russia

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. defense secretary said Wednesday there is evidence that North Korea has sent troops to Russia, calling it a “very, very serious issue” if they join the war in Ukraine on Moscow's side and warning of possible consequences. South Korea's spy...

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says there is evidence that North Korea has sent troops to Russia

With or without the far right in power, Austria's links with Russia cause concern among allies

VIENNA (AP) — Tens of thousands of devastated Swifties trading friendship bracelets, wearing sparkly dresses and singing songs in the streets of Vienna. Workers taking down the Taylor Swift stage inside an empty stadium. This was the scene at the beginning of August in the...

Navalny's memoir details isolation and suffering in a Russian prison — and how he never lost hope

NEW YORK (AP) — In a memoir released eight months after he died in prison, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny never loses faith that his cause is worth suffering for while also acknowledging he wished he could have written a very different book. “There is a mishmash of...

South Korea warns it can send arms to Ukraine after reports of North's troops in Russia

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea warned Tuesday it could consider supplying weapons to Ukraine in response to North Korea allegedly dispatching troops to Russia, as both North Korea and Russia denied the movements. NATO's secretary general said that would mark a “significant escalation.”...

Russia is behind viral disinformation targeting Walz, intelligence official says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Groups in Russia created and helped spread viral disinformation targeting Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday. The content, which includes baseless accusations about the Minnesota governor's time as a...