Europe|Russian Foreign Minister Likely to Discuss Nuclear Arms With Trump and PompeoSergey V. Lavrov is set to visit the White House on Tuesday afternoon, for a conversation that could include extending the last major nuclear treaty between the United States and Russia.Sergey V. Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, will be in Washington this week.Credit...Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesDec. 9, 2019WASHINGTON — The last time President Trump met in the Oval Office with Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, it…

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have continued to issue threats against Israel, after a senior commander of Ansar Allah, General Mohammed Nasser al-Atifi, told the Arab media outlet Al-Medean that they have “a bank of targets, both land and sea-based, at which it can strike the Zionist enemy.” The senior Houthi commander added that “[they] will not hesitate to attack them if the leadership decides to do so. Our military forces are prepared for this kind of attack.” The statements…

Image copyright AFP Image caption Michael Spavor (L) and Michael Kovrig have been held since December Friends and colleagues of two Canadians arrested by China are speaking out on the anniversary of the pair's detention. Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, and Michael Spavor, a businessman, were both detained on 10 December 2018.China has accused the pair of espionage. The move by Beijing is widely viewed as "hostage diplomacy" - a tactic to put the pressure on Canada to release Huawei…

Iranian and Russian media reported that Russian Sukhoi Su-35 warplanes were scrambled from Russia’s Khmeimim air base in northern Syria to intercept an alleged Israeli attack near the Tiyas Military Airbase, also known as the T-4 Airbase earlier this month. The report on the alleged attack on the Syrian Arab Air Force base east of Homs was first put online in a blog at Avia. It was picked up by the website Almasdar News. The Tasnim News in Iran then…

Rudolph W. Giuliani didn’t get the job he expected. But as unpaid personal counsel to the president and for-profit peddler of access and advice, he got the spotlight.Credit...Erin Schaff for The New York TimesNot so long ago, it seemed to Rudolph W. Giuliani that he would be presiding over a hefty part of the world.Holding court a few nights after the 2016 election in a private cigar bar on Fifth Avenue, glass of Macallan at hand, Mr. Giuliani boasted to…

Officials said on Sunday that federal investigators were working on the presumption that the attack in Pensacola on Friday was an act of terrorism. Sailors from Alabama, Florida and Georgia were killed, and eight others were injured. ImageEscambia County Sheriff David Morgan said that under certain circumstances, foreigners can legally buy guns in the state of Florida.Credit...Josh Brasted/Getty ImagesInvestigators are working on the presumption that the shooting was an act of terrorism.Rachel Rojas, the special agent in charge of the…

The US and Iran have conducted a prisoner swap in a rare sign of co-operation between the two countries. The exchange involved a Chinese-American researcher convicted of spying in Iran and an Iranian scientist held by the US. Both deny wrongdoing. Iran's foreign minister said he was glad as he announced the exchange. Hours later, US President Donald Trump tweeted: "Thank you to Iran on a very fair negotiation. See, we can make a deal together!" Who were the prisoners?…

Image copyright AFP Image caption Men driving pick-up trucks are said to have attacked the protesters Iraq has seen one of the worst flare-ups in weeks of anti-government protests, with gunmen killing at least 20 people in Baghdad early on Saturday. The unknown attackers raided key protest sites in the capital sending demonstrators fleeing into the streets. The unrest in Iraq began in October, fuelled by anger over corruption, unemployment, poor public services and the influence of Iran. More than…