Earthquake Kills at Least 1,600 in Turkey and Syria

The New York Times

A magnitude 7.8 quake was followed hours later by a separate powerful earthquake. The death toll appeared likely to keep rising.

Cyprus Presidential Election Goes to Runoff With Ex-Foreign Minister in Lead

By Helena Smith | The Guardian (free)

The race to become the eighth president of Cyprus will extend into a second week after the Mediterranean island’s former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides emerged as the frontrunner but failed to gain enough support to win outright.

More from WPR: Reunification Isn’t on the Ballot in Cyprus’ Presidential Election

Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Leaders Held an Election. Now They’re on Trial

By Tiffany May & David Pierson | The New York Times

Forty-seven defendants, including well-known figures like Joshua Wong, are charged with subversion under the national security law that China imposed in 2020.

More from WPR: China Is Closing the Door on More Than Just Democracy in Hong Kong

U.S. Navy Divers Work to Recover Debris From Chinese Spy Balloon as Diplomacy Dwindles

By Helene Cooper & Edward Wong | The New York Times

Navy divers were searching for debris from the Chinese spy balloon that a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina, defense officials said Sunday, as the fallout from the dramatic confrontation between the world’s two great powers showed no signs of easing.

More from WPR: Rising or Falling, China Is a Serious but Manageable Competitor

Pentagon Reports Past Chinese Surveillance Balloons Near Florida, Texas

By Dan Lamothe & Azi Paybarah | The Washington Post

The Defense Department has notified Congress of several previous incursions of U.S. airspace by Chinese surveillance balloons, with earlier sightings near Texas, Florida, Hawaii and Guam, U.S. officials said Sunday, as Republicans criticized the Biden administration for allowing a suspected surveillance balloon to track across much of the United States over the last week.