An unnamed American official reportedly told the British newspaper the Guardian on Tuesday that communist North Korea has documented hundreds of casualties in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That estimate is potentially higher than the “dozens” that White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby offered on Monday and suggests a massive deployment of force by Pyongyang onto the European border.

China’s envoy to the United Nations declared on Tuesday that Beijing is seeking to “play a constructive role” in the future of Syria following the fall of Chinese ally Bashar Assad. The Assad family ruled Syria for over 50 years and, under Bashar Assad, waged a civil war against various opposition factions since 2011. The Assad regime fell on December 7 when Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an al-Qaeda offshoot jihadist terror organization, entered Damascus, sending the dictator fleeing. A message alleging to be from Assad, now exiled in Russia, released...

The Chinese Communist Party journal Qiushi on Sunday revealed previously unpublished remarks made by dictator Xi Jinping in November on the subject of his endless “corruption” purges. Xi made the interesting admission that he is not solely concerned with fighting corruption, but instead believes the leadership (other than himself, of course) must be constantly shaken up to keep the Party vigorous. Xi spoke in November at a meeting of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) — which, as its formidable name suggests, is the Chinese Communist Party’s highest disciplinary...

Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence agency on Saturday claimed North Korean mercenaries accidentally killed eight of their Russian partners in a “friendly fire” attack because of the “language barrier” between soldiers from the two countries. According to HUR, a group of North Korean soldiers operating in Kursk targeted a Chechen Akhmat unit that was also fighting on Russia’s behalf. The “language barrier” presumably made it difficult for the Chechen unit to convince the North Koreans they were on the same side. Kursk is the oblast (province) of Russia that was invaded...

Yoon Suk Yeol, the embattled president of South Korea, faces a second parliamentary vote to impeach him on Saturday, with the opposition and protesters demanding more ruling party lawmakers abandon support for their leader over his short-lived martial law​ decree. Mr. Yoon faces impeachment on charges including insurrection, ​11 days after he sent ​military troops into the ​legislature, triggering national outrage and plunging the country into political turmoil. His attempt to place his country under military rule​ for the first time in 45 years lasted only six hours. The opposition...

Multiple reports on Thursday and Friday indicated that Abe Akie, wife of late former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, is planning on visiting President-elect Donald Trump’s estate at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday. Abe, who served as prime minister during Trump’s first term in office, was the first world leader to meet with Trump after his election victory in 2016. The two developed a close friendship, and Abe was often cited as the world head of government with the most access to Trump. Abe Akie and First Lady Melania Trump also reportedly...

The leftist Democratic Party of South Korea formally filed an impeachment motion against conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday, the second of its kind after a first one failed this weekend. The Democrats, alongside several minorities parties, are seeking to impeach Yoon after a dramatic series of events on December 3 in which Yoon abruptly declared martial law and deployed soldiers to keep National Assembly lawmakers out of their chambers. Yoon claimed the move was necessary to stop “the threats of North Korean communist forces, to immediately eradicate the unscrupulous...

“S , the highest-grossing South Korean film of 2023, tells the story of how Chun Doo-hwan, a military dictator, seized power more than 40 years ago. It is supposed to be an edifying historical drama, a reminder of the horrors the country endured under martial law and of how far it has come in the decades since. Instead, on December 3rd, Yoon Suk Yeol, the current president, staged a real-life sequel by imposing martial law for the first time since Chun’s era. The film has shot back to the top...

F Bangladesh was hailed as an economic miracle. Sheikh Hasina, who ruled it autocratically from 2009 until August this year, insisted she was the brains behind the growth. Official statistics gave these claims legitimacy: in the decade before the pandemic the economy grew by 7% annually, a rate comparable with China’s. Yet this narrative has now been upended. A student-led uprising has toppled Sheikh Hasina. And a new white paper, published earlier this month, has shredded her economic legacy.