Acknowledging his push to broker peace in the Middle East has stalled, President Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared to threaten to cut off U.S. aid money to the Palestinian Authority, asking why the U.S. should make "any of these massive future payments" when the Palestinians are "no longer willing to talk peace."

Trump, in a pair of tweets, said the U.S. pays "the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect."

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid al-Yaacoub has presented a copy of his credentials to Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil in preparation for presenting them to President Michel Aoun, ending a diplomatic tussle over presentation with each country delaying accreditation of the other's diplomat.

Yaacoub presented his letters of credence to Bassil at the Foreign Ministry, the State-run National News Agency reported on Tuesday.

Iran has seen its largest anti-government protests since the disputed presidential election in 2009, with thousands taking to the streets in several cities in recent days.

Travel restrictions and moves by the government to shut down social media networks have limited the ability of journalists to cover the ongoing unrest, which reportedly has killed at least 13 people. Here's what we know so far:

Bone-chilling cold gripped much of the central U.S. as 2018 began Monday, breaking century-old records, icing over some New Year's celebrations and leading to at least two deaths attributed to exposure to the elements.

The National Weather Service issued wind chill advisories covering a vast area from South Texas to Canada and from Montana and Wyoming through New England. Dangerously low temperatures enveloped much of the Midwest, yet didn't deter hundreds of people from ringing in the new year by jumping into Lake Michigan.

President Donald Trump has returned from an end-of year holiday to face fresh legislative challenges, midterm elections and threats abroad.

The president began the second year of his presidency with confrontational tweets targeting Iran and Pakistan. He slammed Islamabad on Monday for "lies & deceit," saying the country had played U.S. leaders for "fools," by not doing enough to control militants.

President Bashar Assad reshuffled his government Monday replacing the ministers of defense, information and industry, Syria's state news agency SANA reported.

SANA did not give a reason for the government reshuffle that comes at a time when Assad's forces have been gaining ground over the past two years under the cover of Russian airstrikes and with the help of Iran-backed fighters.

Saudi Arabia in 2017 laid the groundwork for momentous change next year, defying its conservative reputation for slow, cautious reforms by announcing plans to let women drive, allow movie theaters to return and to issue tourist visas. The kingdom could even get a new king.

King Salman and his ambitious 32-year-old son and heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, have upended decades of royal family protocol, social norms and traditional ways of doing business. They bet instead on a young generation of Saudis hungry for change and a Saudi public fed up with corruption and government bureaucracy.

Iran's semi-official ILNA news agency reported Friday that authorities arrested a small number of demonstrators in Tehran protesting price hikes and the president's economic policy.

The report quoted the security deputy of Tehran's governor, Mohsen Hamedani, as saying that fewer than 50 people gathered at a public square in Tehran, and that most of them left after a police warning but a few decided to stay on.

The United Nations' budget is set to shrink by over $285 million next year — a 5 percent cut that the U.S. government says it negotiated.

The U.S. Treasury Department issued sanctions Tuesday against two officials it describes as "key leaders of North Korea's unlawful weapons programs."

The sanctions against Kim Jong Sik and Ri Pyong Chol block them from any property or interests in property within U.S. jurisdiction, and prohibit them from transactions with American citizens. Treasury said the men are senior officials in North Korea's Munitions Industry Department.