A Florida man who caused a major security scare after landing a small helicopter on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol was charged with two criminal offenses on Thursday and then released pending trial.
Recent satellite images published on Thursday show China has made rapid progress in building an airstrip suitable for military use in contested territory in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands and may be planning another, moves that have been greeted with concern in the United States and Asia.
A Ukrainian journalist known for his pro-Russian views was shot dead on Thursday in Kiev, a day after the killing of a political supporter of ousted Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovich, driving up tension between Moscow and Kiev.
Russian security services raided the Moscow office of the opposition Open Russia group on Thursday, activists said, just as President Vladimir Putin held his annual televised phone-in.
