Tourists haven't been deterred from visiting the tropical island of Guam even though the U.S. territory has been the target of threats from North Korea during a week of angry words exchanged by Pyongyang and Washington.

Chiho Tsuchiya of Japan heard the news, but she decided to come anyway with her husband and two children. "I feel Japan and Korea also can get danger from North Korea, so staying home is the same," said the 40-year-old.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday it is time for political leaders to accept the survival of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government.

Chinese President Xi Jinping made a plea for cool-headedness over escalating tensions between the U.S. and North Korea in a phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday, urging both sides to avoid words or actions that could worsen the situation.

The call came after Trump unleashed a slew of fresh threats against North Korea on Friday, declaring the U.S. military "locked and loaded" and warning North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that he "will regret it fast" if he takes any action against U.S. territories or allies.

President Donald Trump on Saturday reassured Guam it was secure amid mounting regional tensions, vowing that American military forces "stand ready" to safeguard the US Pacific island territory against a belligerent North Korea.

The North has threatened to fire ballistic missiles over Japan toward the tourism-dependent idyllic island, as Pyongyang and Washington ratchet up their war of words.

Military officials said Friday they plan to move ahead with large-scale U.S.-South Korea exercises later this month that North Korea, now finalizing plans to launch a salvo of missiles toward Guam, claims are a rehearsal for war.

The exercises are an annual event, but come as Pyongyang says it is readying a plan to fire off four Hwasong-12 missiles toward the tiny island, which is U.S. territory and major military hub. The plan would be sent to leader Kim Jong Un for approval just before or as the U.S.-South Korea drills begin.

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro said Thursday he wants a meeting with President Donald Trump — the same man he ridicules as a crass imperial magnate and blasts for U.S. sanctions against officials in his socialist administration.

In a lengthy address to the 545 members of a new, all-powerful constitutional assembly, Maduro instructed Venezuela's foreign minister to approach the United States about arranging a telephone conversation or meeting with Trump.

CNN fired conservative commentator Jeffrey Lord on Thursday after he tweeted a Nazi salute at a critic.

A network spokesperson confirmed that Lord was no longer with the network and said "Nazi salutes are indefensible." The statement came hours after Lord tweeted the Nazi slogan "Sieg Heil!" at the head of a liberal advocacy group, Media Matters for America.

Last year's global weather was far more extreme or record-breaking than anything approaching normal, according to a new report.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday released its annual checkup of the Earth, highlighting numerous records including hottest year, highest sea level, and lowest sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctica.

The Lebanese army has shelled the posts of the Islamic State group on the outskirts of the eastern border towns of al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek, the Army Command-Orientation Directorate said in statement on Thursday.

The Lebanese army is gearing up for a long-awaited assault to dislodge hundreds of Islamic State militants from a remote corner near Syrian border, seeking to end a years-long threat posed to neighboring towns and villages by the extremists.

The campaign might involve cooperation with Hizbullah and the Syrian army on the other side of the border — although Lebanese authorities insist they are not coordinating with Syrian President Bashar Assad's government.