Canberra, Australia CNN — More than a year after the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia dropped the tightly held news they were combining submarine forces, the trio released more details Monday of their ambitious plan to counter China’s rapid military expansion. Under the multi-decade AUKUS deal, the partners will build a combined fleet … Read more
Editor’s Note: David A. Andelman, a contributor to CNN, twice winner of the Deadline Club Award, is a chevalier of the French Legion of Honor, author of “A Red Line in the Sand: Diplomacy, Strategy, and the History of Wars That Might Still Happen” and blogs at Andelman Unleashed. He formerly was a correspondent for … Read more
Abu Dhabi, UAE CNN — Uranium particles enriched to near bomb-grade levels have been found at an Iranian nuclear facility, according to the UN’s nuclear watchdog, as the US warned that Tehran’s ability to build a nuclear bomb was accelerating. In a restricted report seen by CNN, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that … Read more
CNN — Between North and South Korea lies the demilitarized zone (DMZ), one of the world’s most heavily armed borders. The 160-mile stretch is barred with fences and landmines and is largely empty of human activity. But that isolation has inadvertently turned the area into a haven for wildlife. Google released street view images of … Read more
Seoul, South Korea CNN — North Korea said Sunday it conducted a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) a day earlier, its third known test of the long-range weapon in less than a year. The state-run Korean Central News Agency said a Hwasong-15 ICBM was fired in a “surprise ICBM launching drill” under the … Read more
Abu Dhabi CNN — Diplomatic efforts to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapon should restart, said International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi, who warned that Tehran has amassed enough material for “several nuclear weapons.” Speaking ahead of a planned visit to Tehran, Grossi told a European Parliament subcommittee in Brussels on Wednesday that Iran … Read more
CNN — Five North Korean drones crossed into South Korean airspace on Monday, prompting the South Korean military to deploy fighter jets and attack helicopters, the country’s defense ministry said. The ministry said South Korea’s military fired shots at the drones, but added it couldn’t confirm whether any drones were shot down. Lee Seung-oh, a … Read more
Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter, a three-times-a-week look inside the region’s biggest stories. Sign up here. Abu Dhabi, UAE CNN — Electronic music, strobe lights, glittered faces and hundreds of thousands of people in mixed-gender gyrations are all part of a new kind … Read more
CNN — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is planning to build “the world’s most powerful” nuclear force, state news agency KCNA reported on Sunday. The “ultimate goal” behind North Korea’s nuclear program was to possess an “absolute force, unprecedented in the century,” Kim said Saturday as part of an order promoting dozens of military … Read more
Bangkok, Thailand CNN — The three major summits of world leaders that took place across Asia in the past week have made one thing clear: Vladimir Putin is now sidelined on the world stage. Putin, whose attack on Ukraine over the past nine months has devastated the European country and roiled the global economy, declined … Read more