Russia’s special envoy for Syria has conducted a secret meeting with Assad and “guarantors” of the Astana process, according to Asharq al-Awsat. The Kremlin’s special envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentiev, who frequently travels to Damascus, carried out a secret visit to the Syrian capital at the end of last week. …

Japan has proposed to the administration of new U.S. President Joe Biden signing a tentative one-year deal on sharing costs for hosting American troops while negotiations on a longer-term agreement continue, government sources say.

Beijing’s embassy here hit out at the Philippines on Monday for what it called “false accusations” about a new law allowing the Chinese coast guard to use force in South China Sea waters claimed by the Asian superpower. In a statement on its Facebook page, the Chinese Embassy in Manila …