International Spies, Espionage | featured news

The Pentagon said on Friday it believes China spent up to $180 billion on its military buildup last year, a far higher figure than acknowledged by Beijing, and it accused "Chinese actors" of being the world's biggest perpetrators of economic espionage.

An Iranian court has canceled the death sentence for an American accused of espionage in Iran, a semi-official news agency there reported Monday.

A former government space scientist pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of attempted espionage for trying to sell classified information to an undercover FBI agent posing as an Israeli spy.

The two U.S. hikers detained for two grueling years in Iran on spying charges have been sentenced to eight years in prison, state-run TV reported Saturday. Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer each received five years for espionage -- specifically "cooperating with the American intelligence service" -- and three years for illegal entry, the IRINN reported, quoting an "informed" judiciary source.

An American woman released from Iran after more than 13 months in custody began her journey back to the United States on Saturday after asking her supporters to "extend your prayers" to her fiance and another American man who remain in Tehran accused of spying.

The charges against 11 suspects expose a surprising – and mundane – side to modern espionage.

Richard and Cynthia Murphy grew lettuce in a backyard garden, walked their daughters to the school bus each morning, and swapped Christmas cards with neighbors who had moved to Texas.

A former engineer for Rockwell International and Boeing was convicted Thursday of economic espionage and acting as an agent of China, authorities said.

Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Saturday called charges that a former U.S. State Department official and his wife spied for the Cuban government for nearly 30 years "ridiculous" and described the case as an "espionage comic strip."