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Today, 4 August 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the national position of the Republic of Latvia, prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economics, regarding further work on the European Commission's proposals to increase tariffs and expand sanctions against Russia and Belarus.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law establishing the legal basis for the legal circulation of cryptocurrencies in Russia, according to a document published on the legal acts portal on Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to submit a US$14 billion arms package for Taiwan to Congress soon, senior Republican lawmaker Michael McCaul said Tuesday, stressing that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan would not be affected by Washington's ties with Beijing.

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul said Tuesday he hopes the U.S. and Taiwan will establish a partnership on drone production and technology that would create a "hornet's nest" capable of deterring Chinese aggression.

The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment Tuesday that adds convictions under the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act to the list of offenses that disqualify individuals from running for president or vice president in Taiwan.

At the request of the National Interagency Fire Center, U.S. Northern Command is preparing to deploy approximately 200 U.S. Army Soldiers to support a wildland fire ground response operation in the Pacific Northwest. U.S. Army Western Hemisphere Command, U.S. Northern Command's Joint Force Land Component Command, will oversee the military ground operation in support of federal and state efforts.

Saudi oil giant Aramco announced on August 4 that its net profit rose 44 percent in the second quarter of the year, as energy prices increased amid the conflict in the Middle East.

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Japan's Defense Ministry released Tuesday its "Defense of Japan 2026," which continued to portray an "increasingly severe" regional security environment, in an effort to pave the way for revising the country's three key security documents by the end of this year and accelerating its military buildup.

A Chinese defense spokesperson on Tuesday refuted contents related to the Chinese military in Japan's new defense white paper, noting that it is hyping up the so-called "China threat" rhetoric, which merely serves as an excuse for Japan to ease restrictions on its own military buildup.

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The DPRK Foreign Ministry dismissed the US-led "joint warning" about an alleged North Korean cyber threat as a "stereotyped political accusation" aimed at tarnishing the country's image, KCNA reported.

In the latest episode of a PLA documentary focusing on joint operations, striking footage shows two J-20 stealth fighters escorting an H-6N bomber carrying a large missile under its fuselage, rather than the smaller missiles typically seen under the wings. A military affairs expert says the missile could be a powerful air-launched ballistic missile capable of conducting anti-ship or ground-strike missions.

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Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the initiative of the Brazilian side.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Honourable Penny Wong. High Commissioners, distinguished guests, industry, academia and international partners, defence colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, dare I say it, sailors, soldiers, aviators, diplomats and technology partners, it is a pleasure to be here in Adelaide for the 2026 Australian Defence Summit. This week, in fact, today, 40 years ago, I boarded a plane for Adelaide, my hometown, to embark on a journey into the unknown, into the Royal Australian Navy, into the Australian Defence Force, not really knowing what lay ahead. But what I did know was that South Australians do difficult things.

ADMIRAL MARK HAMMOND, CHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCE: Good morning, everybody. Thank you for joining us here today. Later on today we'll be announcing the Defence Innovation Science and Technology Strategy, which is a significant step forward for the Defence Department in allowing targeted investment of resources into innovative technologies that are really going to make a difference to the war-fighting potential of the Australian Defence Force. Advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, hypersonics, et cetera. I'll leave it to Professor Monro to fill in the gaps.

Today, the Department of the Navy announced a decisive step to sharpen its competitive edge, reclassifying nineteen planned Virginia Class submarines equipped with the Virginia Payload Module (VPM) as guided missile submarines (SSGN). This pivotal shift clearly differentiates these advanced platforms from traditional Virginia Class fast attack submarines (SSNs), signaling a leap forward in undersea warfighting capability, lethal combat power, and global deterrence.

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AFRICOM Commander Gen. Dagvin Anderson conducted a regional visit to Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, July 26-30, 2026.