Foreign News

Sydney - Australia's attorney-general Monday defended a register meant to track the role of foreign agents in local politics, saying it was already changing behaviour despite only a handful of declarations.

Beirut - Hailing from far and wide, they flocked to Syria to wage "holy war". Now foreign jihadists face a fight to the last to hold onto Idlib, their final bastion.

Berlin - Germany's designated next foreign minister Heiko Maas is a sharp dresser with a steely edge who has become the nemesis of far-right and online giants spreading hate speech.

Sydney - Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said he will "stand up" for Australia, brushing aside Chinese criticism of new foreign interference laws as fears rise of overseas meddling in domestic institutions.

Sydney - Foreign interference in Australian politics has become a "serious problem", a top official said Monday, with tougher laws on espionage and overseas donations to be introduced to parliament.

Budapest - "Son of Saul" -- whose Oscar for best foreign language film Sunday adds to a string of accolades for the Hungarian movie -- pulls the viewer right into the hell of the Holocaust.

Hong Kong - The number of foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria has more than doubled since last year to at least 27,000, a report by an intelligence consultancy said on Tuesday, highlighting the global dimension of the conflict.

Paris - With thousands of Europeans fighting in Syria and Iraq, governments have slapped unprecedented and controversial controls on would-be jihadists, but experts say a legacy of mistrust has hampered intelligence sharing.

An ITC judge has ruled that Lumia-branded Windows Phone smartphones built by Nokia and Microsoft violate patents held by licensing firm InterDigital. Microsoft plans to appeal but failure could lead to an import ban on Lumia phones in the US.

Berlin - Russia can expect international sanctions against it to be lifted only when it complies with the terms of a ceasefire with Ukraine, foreign ministers from the Group of Seven said on Wednesday.

Deutschland - G7 foreign ministers met in Germany on Tuesday looking to build on recent progress on the Ukraine crisis and Iran's nuclear programme, host Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.

Danish drama "The Hunt" has at least one advantage over its rivals in its bid to win the best foreign-language picture Oscar: the familiar face of Mads Mikkelsen.

As Oscar voting enters the homestretch, "The Great Beauty" gives an historical nod to the Italian films that have made the nation the most successful winner of best foreign-language film.

For the first time in 75 years, foreign investors will be allowed to join with Pemex, Mexico's state-run energy giant, to explore and extract oil and gas, taking a share of the profits, as well. With the opening of relations with Russia, is this all?

Officials say 11 foreign nationals, thought to be Turks, Russians and one from Kyrgyzstan have been captured by the Taliban, when their helicopter was forced to land due to bad weather on Sunday.

S&P and the Dow are up 4.48 and 69.07 respectively, but the US Dollar is just not picking up. Optimistic or not, Feds are announcing action plans to combat the poor economic situation.

Israel's Minister of Defense said last night's launch of the IDF's Ofek-9 Spy Satellite was "a technological and operational achievement.” Israel is using the satellite to monitor activities in foreign countries including Iran and Syria, said Al-Jazeera

Beijing - China is planning to draft the nation's first immigration law as the number of foreigners moving to the country has grown intensely in the recent years.

An authority of Shanghai World Expo said yesterday that foreign publications may get permission to be sold in the city during the six-month event.

Chinese game firms are seeking domestic options as the government will implement a five-year program promoting clean online games.

More than 4,000 foreign journalists were granted credentials to cover the campaign finale by the U.S. State Department.

With Canada Day Just one day away, it's time to celebrate the heritage of our country, but with so many of our companies and home grown products now owned by foreign companies. Just what is there that we can truly call Canadian anymore?

"A "Top Secret" memo obtained by the National Post shows Stephen Harper was briefed about the discovery of the spy in advance of the arrest but told to keep quiet to avoid compromising the operation."

Two electric cable-stealing thieves in northeast China were rescued from a mine full of poisonous gas after spending 23 hours underground in a bid to evade police.

Embittered by career diplomats during his first term, President Nixon said he wanted to "ruin the Foreign Service" before leaving office, according to newly released State Department documents.

With no word coming on the whereabouts of a photographer kidnapped this week, and increasing concern that more kidnappings are in the planning, foreigners have been asked to evacuate.

North Korea's foreign minister has died. He was 78.

Talk about people outside America going against it. Americans living in foreign countries are choosing to renounce their citizenship rather than pay higher taxes. The US is the only developed country that taxes it citizens while they live overseas.