The Latest Breaking News from US State Department

Lines of communication between top US Defense Department officials and their Russian counterparts have gone dark since Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine last month, placing the world’s two nuclear superpowers in jeopardy of mischaracterising each other’s troop movements and drilling with potentially disastrous consequences.

Spokesperson Ned Price says U.S. officials were able to meet with the WNBA star in Russia.

Commanders of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) drank tea, nibbled dates and displayed models of Iranian missiles at a defence show in Qatar, a Gulf Arab state that is home to the largest U.S. military base in the region.

Sidelined in high-level talks between the United States and Venezuela, the South American country's opposition is pressing Washington to condition any easing of oil sanctions on political concessions, three people involved in the matter said, adding new hurdles to oil companies hoping to resume operations there.