World News

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday he would do whatever he could to advance a controversial trade deal with the European Union in his last eight months in office, but warned that time was running short.

President Obama is expected to announce Monday that he is sending another 250 military personnel to Syria to assist local forces combat the Islamic State, according to multiple reports.

France will host a meeting of ministers from 20 countries on May 30 to try and relaunch the Israel-Palestinian peace process, Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault announced on Thursday. He told the international press, however, that Israel and the Palestinian officials would not be invited to the meeting, which will take place in Paris.

Russia has reportedly been moving artillery units to parts of northern Syria populated by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, a move that could indicate that Russia is readying to bolster its ally should full-scale fighting resume.

Iran this week conducted the first launch of a new rocket that the Pentagon views as a key element of Tehran’s effort to build long-range missiles.

Saudi Arabia has told the Obama administration and members of Congress that it will sell off hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of American assets held by the kingdom if Congress passes a bill that would allow the Saudi government to be held responsible in American courts for any role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck about 9 miles, or 14 kilometers, north-northwest of Pedernales, Ecuador killing at least 235 people. The massive quake struck at about 6:58 p.m. local time Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Treasury Department officials are moving to reassure Congress that Iran will not be granted access to U.S. financial markets following comments by top Obama administration officials suggesting such a plan was under consideration, according to correspondence obtained by the Washington Free Beacon and conversations with congressional sources.

The U.S. Navy on Wednesday released photos and video of Russian Su-24 attack planes and helicopters flying dangerously close to a U.S. Navy destroyer this week.

Leading members of Congress have petitioned Iranian officials to grant them entry to the country ahead of a major speech by a top Iranian diplomat scheduled to take place Friday in Washington, D.C., according to documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile program is “not open to negotiation” with the United States, seemingly spurning an overture from Secretary of State John Kerry.

The U.S. Air Force has deployed B-52 long-ranger bombers to the Middle East, for the first time since the Gulf War ended, to conduct strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, officials said Saturday.

The United States suggested Thursday it was open to a “new arrangement” with Iran for peacefully resolving disputes such as Tehran’’s recent ballistic missile tests.

Russia will begin the first shipment of the S-300 air defense missile system to Iran in the coming days, Interfax news agency quoted a senior Russian diplomat as saying Tuesday.

The Obama administration is helping Iran access billions of dollars in funds that are tied up in international banks across the globe by rewriting regulations and other measures, according to testimony Tuesday by a top U.S. official, who admitted that these assets could be used to fund terrorism.

A world of blowback descended on capitals from Moscow and Riyadh to Washington and Reykjavik Monday a day after the publication of the so-called “Panama Papers” exposed the offshore and potentially illegal financial dealings of dozens of wealthy, famous and powerful people around the world.

Iran warned the US on Monday that any attempt to encroach on the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile program would constitute the crossing of a “red line.”

Russia is doubling the number of its strategic nuclear warheads on new missiles by deploying multiple reentry vehicles that have put Moscow over the limit set by the New START arms treaty, according to Pentagon officials.

The United States and Russia have agreed to let Syrian President Bashar Assad seek refuge in another country as part of a future political solution regarding the prolonged civil war engulfing his country, the British- based publication Al-Hayat reported Thursday.

The United States and three allies are calling for a Security Council meeting to formulate an “appropriate response” to Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests which they say were carried out in defiance of a UN resolution and to threaten Israel.