Obama and Putin meet in China amid struggle for Syria deal

The United States and Russia struggled Monday to keep alive negotiations to end the bloodshed between US-backed rebels and Syria’s Russian-aligned regime. Even as top diplomats vowed to keep trying, President Barack Obama expressed skepticism that an unlikely alliance between rivals would yield the breakthrough needed to end the 5-year-old civil war.

Obama makes trade deal top priority in remaining months

Despite formidable opposition across the political spectrum, President Barack Obama is using his final months in office to fight for congressional approval of a 12-nation free trade pact called the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

‘Secret’ exemptions for Iran after nuclear deal

The United States and its negotiating partners agreed “in secret” to allow Iran to evade some restrictions in last year’s landmark nuclear agreement in order to meet the deadline for it to start getting relief from economic sanctions, according to a report reviewed by Reuters.

UN funneled tens of millions to Assad regime under aid program

The UN has awarded contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to people closely associated with the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, as part of an aid program that critics fear is increasingly at the whim of the government in Damascus, a Guardian investigation has found.

UN condemns 4 North Korean ballistic missile launches

The U.N. Security Council strongly condemned four North Korean ballistic missile launches in July and August on Friday night, calling them “grave violations” of a ban on all ballistic missile activity.

U.N. confirms Syria, Islamic State used chemical weapons

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces carried out at least two chemical attacks in Syria in the past two years and the Islamic State also used mustard gas as a weapon, the United Nations reported Wednesday.

North Korea fires submarine-launched ballistic missile towards Japan

North Korea fired a submarine-launched missile on Wednesday that flew about 500 km (311 miles) towards Japan, a show of improving technological capability for the isolated country that has conducted a series of launches in defiance of UN sanctions.

Russian Military Forces Staging Near Ukraine

The Pentagon has identified eight staging areas in Russia where large numbers of military forces appear to be preparing for incursions into Ukraine, according to U.S. defense officials.

Russia Defends Using Iran Bases for Syria Strikes

Russia took a scornful swipe at the United States on Wednesday, defending its use of Iranian air bases to launch air strikes on Syria and suggesting State Department officials should “check their logic and knowledge” over the issue.

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