(Reuters) - Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

By Clyde Russell LAUNCESTON, Australia (Reuters) - "This time it's different" is a well-worn cliché that seems to be getting another whirl with the latest U.S. sanctions against Russia's crude oil exports.

An outgoing Biden administration official overseeing nukes warned against a new arms race with Russia and China in her farewell address Thursday.

Reliance on Russia’s military offerings has become increasingly prevalent in parts of Africa, amid an aggressive push by Moscow to lessen Western influence on the continent.

According to Ushakov, Moscow will not have a presence at the inauguration because Russia's possible candidate for Russian ambassador to the U.S.—Alexander Darchiev, the head of the North American Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry—has still not received an agrément from Washington.

Attacks on underwater cables in strategic areas connecting telecommunication lines and power sources in Asia and Europe are suspected to be coordinated attacks by China and Russia.

US special operations forces could be leveraged in ways similar to the way they were in the Cold War as the US military focuses on China and Russia.

Chinese researchers apply for patents for ‘submarine cable cutting devices,’ while Russian experts boast on television that cable-cutting will

Former Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis warns Europe against China's potential 'peace proposals' for Ukraine and highlights the risks of accepting China as a nuclear guarantor.

The Chinese government has claimed that it has been "forced" to develop nuclear weapons as a United States official issued a warning about China's weapons of mass destruction program. Newsweek has emailed the Pentagon out of hours and the defense ministry in Beijing for comment.

U.S. Treasury nominee Scott Bessent plans to say at his confirmation hearing that President-elect Donald Trump has an opportunity to unleash “a new economic golden age.”

Japan on Thursday formally inaugurated an independent mission to the NATO military alliance as Tokyo and NATO seek to bolster cooperation amid escalating tension from Russia, China and North Korea.