TAIPEI, Taiwan — Gangsters kill a Taiwanese-American professor in cold blood in the U.S., then flee back to Taiwan. An FBI agent follows the killers' trail across the Pacific to Taipei, where he's shocked to discover the perpetrators had links with the government. It's the plot of a new political thriller called "Formosa Betrayed." But the movie based on real events, including the 1984 murder of Taiwanese journalist Henry Liu in his home in Daly City, Calif., by thugs acting on orders from Taiwan military intelligence.

KABUL, Afghanistan — The center of Kabul was rocked by bomb blasts and gunfire Friday, leaving at least 17 people dead and more than 30 injured, according to police sources. It took security forces a little over two hours to clear the area of combatants, but it will take much more time to sift through the conflicting theories of motives and perpetrators, despite early Taliban claims of responsibility.

PARIS, France — It might have been the premise of a post-Cold War fictional thriller by author John Le Carre. Instead France’s decision to sell a Mistral-class warship to Russia is causing consternation among NATO allies, raising anxiety about future instability among Russia’s neighbors and drawing criticism from observers.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — While China ramps up its missile threat, Taiwan's air defenses are getting shabbier by the day. So says an unclassified report from the Defense Intelligence Agency, prepared for and sent to the U.S. Congress last month. Taiwan has some 400 fighter jets, but "far fewer" than that number would actually be good in a fight, the DIA says. (China has 330 fighters within range of Taiwan, and 1,655 fighters total, according to the most recent Pentagon report on China's military power).