Having set themselves above international law by bombing Syria without UN authorization, the US, the UK and France are now going calling on other countries to unite behind their fait accompli and endorse their actions.

Top officials in the US and the United Kingdom are meeting Thursday to discuss their response to an alleged chemical attack in Syria, as US President Donald Trump doubled down on his threats of a missile strike as a means of sending a message to the countries he holds responsible: Syria and Russia.

The leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran convened for a summit in Ankara on April 4 ostensibly to discuss Syria. (Putin, Erdogan and Rouhani). Most pundits noted two salient inferences, that the US was conspicuously absent and the conclave would lead to nothing longterm since the countries involved had divergent goals in Syria.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir reiterated on Thursday that Iran was the source of terrorism in the region, accusing it of meddling in the internal affairs of other countries and violating international laws.

Officials from China, the United Arab Emirates and at least two other countries privately talked about ways they could control Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and close adviser, a Washington Post report said on Tuesday, citing current and former U.S. officials.

Oil prices rose by 1 per cent on Monday, recovering at least some of last week’s steep losses as Asian stock markets found their footing after days of chaotic trading. Looming over oil markets, however, was rising production in the United States which is undermining efforts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia to tighten markets and prop up prices.

US sanctions against Russia’s defense and intelligence sectors are intended to reduce Moscow’s profit from deals with other countries, a senior US Department of State official said.

As the United States and North Korea continue to take hardline positions against each other, the possibility of a grave crisis over North Korean missiles is still on the horizon. Meanwhile, other countries warn over the implications of any escalation in this issue.

Amid calls for the arrest of the Sudanese President on his three day visit to Uganda, a Ugandan government spokesman Ofwono Opondo defended the decision not to hand over Al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC). He said Al-Bashir was a sitting head of state with immunity from prosecution and went further to say that Sudan was largely responsible for politically stabilizing the countries in the region.

Robert Mugabe has called Donald Trump a “giant gold Goliath” who threatens to make other countries “extinct”.

The U.S.

After the events in Charlottesville last week, Iran’s Supreme Leader has advised the US to get its own house in order before meddling in the affairs of other countries.

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, which have been in a diplomatic standoff with Qatar since cutting off ties with the country in June, said they were open for a dialogue to resolve the matter. However, before the talks, Qatar must stop funding terrorism and not interfere with the foreign affairs of other countries, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said, according to Reuters.

The Kurdistan Region Referendum Committee on Saturday formed three delegations to discuss independence referendum with Baghdad, neighboring and other countries in a near future.

The U.S. deployment of an advanced anti-missile system in South Korea gravely harms the strategic security interests of China, Russia and other countries in the region, Chinese President Xi Jinping has said.

Britain is pulling out of an agreement that permits fishermen from five other countries to operate in U.K. waters, the first step in reasserting control over its fishing industry as it prepares to leave the European Union.