President Joe Biden, backstage before speaking at the Democratic National Convention last month, is said to be close to announcing a move to formally block Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

China hacked Japan’s sensitive defense networks, officials say Tokyo has strengthened its defenses after a major cybersecurity breach, but gaps remain that could slow information-sharing with the Pentagon

Previously unreported details shed new light on Twitter’s motivations for selling the company — and Elon Musk’s plans to transform it

Russia has effectively legalized patent theft from anyone affiliated with countries “unfriendly” to it, declaring that unauthorized use will not be compensated. The decree, issued this week, illustrates the economic war waged around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the West levies sanctions and pulls away from Russia’s huge oil and gas industry. Russian officials have also raised the possibility o

U.S. spy agencies: North Korea is working on new missiles This commercial satellite image shows North Korea’s Sanumdong missile assembly facility south of Pyongyang on July 7. The red vehicle in the inner courtyard is similar to those used by North Korea to transport missiles. (Planet Labs Inc./James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies)

CIA Director Mike Pompeo made a top-secret visit to North Korea as an envoy for President Trump to meet with Kim Jong Un, and plans for a possible summit between the two leaders are underway, Trump confirmed Wednesday. The extraordinary meeting between one of Trump’s most trusted emissaries and the authoritarian head of a rogue state was part of an effort to lay the groundwork for direct talks bet

President Obama’s last-minute drive for a foreign-policy legacy is making U.S. allies nervous about their own security. Several allied governments have lobbied the administration not to change U.S. nuclear-weapons policy by promising never to be the first to use them in a conflict. The governments of Japan, South Korea, France and Britain have all privately communicated their concerns about a pote

Seven months ago, Post columnist Dana Milbank vowed that if Donald Trump won the Republican presidential nomination, he’d eat one of his columns. With the help of Del Campo Chef Victor Albisu, Milbank will enjoy nine courses of it.

Editor’s note: In his Friday column, David Ignatius writes about his interview with Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe. Below is the complete transcript of their interview. DAVID IGNATIUS: I want to start with economics and the economic policies that we call “Abenomics.”  Explain to me the way that your economic policies are different from previous efforts to stimulate the Japanese economy and get

Azerbaijan's big presidential election, held on Wednesday, was anticipated to be neither free nor fair. President Ilham Aliyev, who took over from his father 10 years ago, has stepped up intimidation of activists and journalists. Rights groups are complaining about free speech restrictions and one-sided state media coverage. The BBC's headline for its story on the election reads "The Pre-Determine