An American warship sailed near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, the US Navy has said, challenging Beijing's claims on the resource-rich waterway and prompting a warning from the Chinese military.

Russian military vehicles and attack helicopters surrounded two US armored cars in a tense confrontation in northeastern Syria Wednesday, leaving US troops injured, according to the White House.

Negotiators from the United States and China will on Saturday discuss the "phase one" trade deal signed earlier this year -- before the coronavirus slammed the world economy and relations between the two economic powers took a turn for the worse.

President Donald Trump said Friday that he would take part in an international conference call for donors organizing aid for Lebanon after the giant explosion in Beirut.

Workers removed the US insignia from the consulate in the Chinese city of Chengdu on Saturday, a day after Beijing ordered its closure as relations deteriorated in a Cold War-style standoff.

Stocks were mixed Thursday as investors juggled hopes for a new stimulus deal in Washington with coronavirus concerns and another flare-up between China and the United States.

The New York Times on Wednesday said it was moving its digital news hub from Hong Kong to South Korea as a result of a national security law Beijing imposed on the city last month and trouble obtaining visas.

North Korea does "not feel any need" to resume talks with Washington, a senior diplomat for the country said Saturday, days after Seoul called for a summit as it seeks improved ties with Pyongyang.

China said Monday it would impose visa restrictions on US citizens who had "behaved egregiously" over Hong Kong, ahead of the expected approval by Chinese lawmakers of a controversial national security law for the city.

The United States has recorded another 839 coronavirus-related fatalities in the last 24 hours, bringing the country's death toll to 114,613, according to a tally Friday by Johns Hopkins University.