President Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, is facing serious opposition before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which may not have enough votes to recommend him for confirmation because all Democrats, and at least one Republican, have said they will oppose him.

The full Senate is still expected to consider Pompeo's nomination later this week. But the rare rebuke expected from the panel Monday, even after Pompeo's recent visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, would be the first time in years that a nominee for the high-level Cabinet position did not receive a favorable committee vote.

Queen Elizabeth II is marking her 92nd birthday with a star-studded concert in London.

Sting, Tom Jones, Craig David and Kylie Minogue are among singers performing at the celebration at Royal Albert Hall, billed as the "Queen's Birthday Party."

For weeks, President Donald Trump had grown increasingly frustrated with the cable news chatter that he couldn't hire a big-name attorney for his legal team.

But the president boasted to a confidant this week that he had struck a deal that he believed would silence those critics: He was hiring "America's F---ing Mayor."

Syrian state media says Islamic State group militants have agreed to give up their last pocket in Damascus.

The SANA news agency says militants will be given the option to stay and reconcile with the government or leave on buses to IS-held territory in the eastern Syrian desert.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe courted the new American president with a golden driver not long after Donald Trump won the White House. He's met with the billionaire businessman more than any other world leader, and he's Trump's second-most frequent caller.

Yet the "bromance" between Trump and Abe has its limits.

The U.N. Security Council is heading to a remote Swedish estate this weekend for its annual retreat with the secretary-general after one of its most contentious weeks in years that saw ambassadors accusing each other of lying about a suspected chemical attack in Syria.

Sweden's deputy U.N. ambassador, Carl Skau, whose country is serving a two-year term on the council and is hosting the retreat, told reporters Wednesday that the meeting is taking place "at a critical time for the United Nations but also at a very difficult moment for the life of the Security Council."

President Donald Trump said that although he's looking ahead optimistically to a historic summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un he could still pull out if he feels it's "not going to be fruitful."

Trump said that CIA Director Mike Pompeo and Kim "got along really well" in their recent secret meeting, and he declared, "We've never been in a position like this" to address worldwide concerns over North Korea's nuclear weapons.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday sent his “best wishes” to Israelis and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel marked 70 years since its creation.

“Best wishes to Prime Minister @Netanyahu and all of the people of Israel on the 70th Anniversary of your Great Independence. We have no better friends anywhere,” Trump tweeted.

Saudi Arabia is to hold a private screening on Wednesday of the Hollywood blockbuster "Black Panther" to herald the launch of movie theaters in the kingdom that are expected to open to the public as early as next month.

Authorities are planning an invitation-only screening of the movie in a concert hall converted into a cinema complex in the capital, Riyadh. The screening, to be attended by both men and women, will be followed by a rush to build movie theaters in major cities.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo recently traveled to North Korea to meet with leader Kim Jong Un, a highly unusual, secret visit undertaken as the enemy nations prepared for a meeting between President Donald Trump and Kim within the next few months.

Two officials confirmed the trip to The Associated Press on Tuesday. The officials were not authorized to discuss the visit publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.