* Russia and China team up for massive 300,000 troop war games Last year, Russia's held a massive series of war games they refer to as "Zapad," or "West."
* Russia notches up military tensions by pouring out charges of coming US aggression in Syria The latest claim by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday, Aug. 30, was that "it will take the US and its allies just 24 hours to ready its missile-strike group for an attack on Syria."
* As EU divisions deepen, Macron stakes out electoral turf Emmanuel Macron's strategy for next year's European elections is taking shape and the French president sees it in stark terms - an open battle between anti-immigrant nationalists on the one hand and pro-EU 'progressives' on the other.
* Israel sees slowdown in long-term Iranian deployments in Syria Israel's defense minister described Iran on Friday as having slowed down its long-term force deployment in Syria, attributing this to Israeli military intervention as well as an economic crisis gripping Tehran as U.S. sanctions are restored.
* New images show Iranian surface-to-surface missile facility in Syria The facility is reportedly in its final stages of construction and will likely be completed by early 2019.
* Mysterious secret tunnels could be site 'where Jesus turned water into wine' Archaeologists think they have found the site where Christians believe Jesus turned water into wine - thanks to new clues.
* French President Macron claims that President Erdogan's Turkey is 'deplorable' Turkish minister of foreign affairs Hami Aksoy has called French President Emmanuel Macron's recent statements about Turkey's inability to join the European Union "deplorable."
* Jerusalem: Why Palestinian Leaders Say Don't Vote Palestinian leaders do not want to see any improvement in the lives of the Arabs in Jerusalem so that they can continue to incite against Israel and accuse it of discriminating against its Arab population.
* John Bolton warns Russia it will hit Assad if he uses chemical weapons: Report National security adviser John Bolton delivered a message to his Russian counterpart that the U.S. is prepared to hit Syrian President Bashar Assad with stronger military action than it has in the past if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons as it seeks to retake control of one of the country's last rebel-held areas, according to a new report.
* Australian Bishops Reject Reporting Sexual Abuse Revealed in Confession Mandatory reporting risks making children less safe, church argues; some priests say they would rather go to jail than break 'seal of confession'.