World News

U.S. and Canadian officials on Thursday frantically tried to hammer out final sticking points for a deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, with one day left before President Trump’s deadline for an agreement.

Saudi FM Adel Al-Jubeir said during a press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that ‘we have come to an agreement with Russia regarding continued coordination concerning regional developments. We made it clear that we support additional sanctions on Iran.’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday described militants in Syria’s last big rebel-held enclave of Idlib as a ‘festering abscess’ that needed to be liquidated.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday that NAFTA trade negotiations with the United States were at a ‘very intense moment’ and Canada was looking for compromises that were ‘win-win’ for all sides.

The Korean peninsular and Southeast Asia may be next to report outbreaks of African swine fever after the rapid onset of the deadly pig disease in China, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday the U.S. intends to continue backing the Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen despite civilian casualties and questions about the Saudis’ commitment to avoiding killing innocents.

NATO confirmed a large-scale Russian navy buildup in the Mediterranean Sea off Syria on Tuesday. ‘The Russian Navy has dispatched substantial naval forces to the Mediterranean, including several ships equipped with modern cruise missiles,’ NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu confirmed to Haaretz in a statement.

Russia will flex its military muscles and hold the biggest war games since the Cold War era next month, including almost 300,000 troops and 1,000 aircraft, the Russian defense ministry said Tuesday, leading NATO to warn of a ‘more assertive Russia.’

The Russian Ministry of Defence said on Monday it had noticed Washington was building up its military forces in the Middle East in preparation for what Moscow feared was a possible strike on Syrian government forces, Russian news agencies reported.

The Russian government is warning of a staged gas attack by Syrian rebels in Idlib. Experts doubt the validity of that information, however, and see the move as a telltale sign of desperation in Moscow.

Iran has signed a deal to rebuild Syria’s armed forces, which have been depleted by more than seven years civil war, Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said on Monday.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will visit Iran on Sept 7, his office said on Monday, on a trip expected to include a three-way summit with Russian and Iranian leaders.

President Trump heralded a tentative trade deal with Mexico on Monday as a big win for his get-tough trade policies, which he said put Canada on the spot to start its own negotiations with the U.S. or face higher tariffs on autos.

Iran will argue Monday against renewed sanctions imposed by the United States, as a bitter legal battle between Tehran and Washington opens before the UN’s top court.

The European Union’s decision to transfer millions of dollars in aid to Iran is a symbolic move intended to undermine the United States’ strategy of pressuring Tehran into re-negotiating the nuclear deal, analysts said.

Iran and Syria signed a deal for military cooperation in a meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries in Damascus, the Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.

The United States and Mexico look close to resolving key differences on the North American Free Trade Agreement and may have a complete deal worked out by as early as Monday, according to sources close to the talks.

The leader of ISIS in Afghanistan was killed in an airstrike on Saturday along with 10 other fighters, officials said.

Amid what North Korea calls a ‘deadlock’ in denuclearization talks, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Pyongyang next week, with the new Special Representative for North Korea, Steve Biegun, in tow.

Trade talks between the U.S. and China failed to produce any visible sign of progress, reducing the prospects of a deal soon, people closely tracking the talks said.