North Korean Defector Who Vanished in Rome Is Now in South Korea

North Korean Defector Who Vanished in Rome Is Now in South Korea

SEOUL—A senior North Korean diplomat who vanished from public view while serving as Pyongyang’s acting ambassador to Italy in 2018 has been secretly living in South Korea for over a year, according to South Korean lawmakers briefed by the country’s spy agency. The whereabouts of the envoy, Jo Song Gil, who the Journal has reported … Read more

Islamic State ‘Beatles’ Fighters Brought to U.S. to Face Charges

Islamic State ‘Beatles’ Fighters Brought to U.S. to Face Charges

Two British Islamic State fighters accused in the torture and killing of Western hostages were brought to the U.S. to face criminal charges in Virginia, U.S. authorities said Wednesday, after more than two years of legal limbo after their capture in Syria. The men, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, who had allegedly supervised Islamic … Read more

Putin Criticizes Joe Biden’s ‘Sharp Anti-Russian Rhetoric’

Putin Criticizes Joe Biden’s ‘Sharp Anti-Russian Rhetoric’

MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin offered his first substantive remarks on the U.S. presidential race, noting what he called Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s sharp anti-Russian rhetoric. He praised President Trump for improving relations between the two countries, and said he was reassured by Mr. Biden’s support for extending arms-control agreements. Mr. Putin’s comments come after the … Read more

Kyrgyzstan Opposition Says It Seeks to Seize Control of Former Soviet Republic

Kyrgyzstan Opposition Says It Seeks to Seize Control of Former Soviet Republic

Political opposition forces in Kyrgyzstan said they were seeking to seize power and form a new government after taking control of state buildings in the capital following elections that international monitors said were marred by allegations of voter fraud. President Sooronbai Jeenbekov fled the presidential palace early Tuesday after demonstrations rocked the capital of this … Read more

Hurricane Delta Bears Down on Mexico

Hurricane Delta Bears Down on Mexico

MEXICO CITY—Mexico began evacuating residents and tourists in and around the Caribbean resort of Cancún ahead of the expected arrival of Hurricane Delta, which strengthened rapidly Tuesday as it moved toward the Yucatán Peninsula. The U.S. National Hurricane Center upgraded Delta to a Category 4 storm at 11:20 a.m. ET, with maximum sustained winds of … Read more

Sweden Tries to Isolate Covid-19 Cases Without a Lockdown as Infections Surge

Sweden Tries to Isolate Covid-19 Cases Without a Lockdown as Infections Surge

Sweden, almost alone in Europe in rejecting a broad lockdown this spring, has introduced new guidelines to curb a surge in coronavirus infections but is sticking to its largely voluntary approach. The Nordic country, which only had minor restrictions throughout its epidemic, had until recently been spared by the second wave of Covid-19 cases currently … Read more

U.S., Japan, India and Australia Strengthen Ties to Counter China

U.S., Japan, India and Australia Strengthen Ties to Counter China

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the foreign ministers of Japan, India and Australia pledged to uphold territorial sovereignty and freedom of navigation as rising tension between the countries and China draws them closer to counter Beijing’s expansionist ambitions. On a visit to Tokyo limited to less than 24 hours because of President Trump’s … Read more

WSJ News Exclusive | U.S., Russia Move Toward Outline of Nuclear Deal, Administration Says

WSJ News Exclusive | U.S., Russia Move Toward Outline of Nuclear Deal, Administration Says

U.S. and Russian negotiators made progress Monday on a new framework accord that would freeze each side’s nuclear arsenal and outline the parameters for a detailed treaty that would be negotiated next year, a senior Trump administration official said. The accord, if it comes together in the coming month, would give each side something it … Read more

Honduran Migrant Caravan Disbands in Guatemala

Honduran Migrant Caravan Disbands in Guatemala

MEXICO CITY—A caravan of several thousand Honduran migrants that set out last week for the U.S. via Guatemala and Mexico had virtually disbanded by Monday after Guatemalan authorities turned many of them back and Mexico prepared to halt them at its border. “Fortunately the caravan from Honduras isn’t continuing,” Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador … Read more

Iran Sets Coronavirus Record as Capital Returns to Lockdown

Iran Sets Coronavirus Record as Capital Returns to Lockdown

Iran reported its highest daily Covid-19 death toll and its largest single-day rise in infections on Monday, as the country imposed a second lockdown of its capital to contain a resurgent outbreak. The government over the weekend ordered a shutdown of schools, movie theaters, beauty salons, coffee shops, mosques and other businesses and institutions in … Read more