U.S. intelligence

President Trump has decided to end the CIA’s covert program to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels battling the government of Bashar al-Assad, a move long sought by Russia, according to U.S. officials.

Donald Trump's eldest son released emails on Jul 11 showing he embraced Russian efforts to support his father's presidential campaign, a shocking disclosure likely to further fuel speculation over Moscow's suspected role in the election.

U.S. President Donald Trump's warning to the Syrian government not to carry out a chemical weapons attack appears to have worked, Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said on June 28.

"It appears that they took the warning seriously," Mattis said, referring to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on June 27 that dozens of people were killed in an air strike believed to have been carried out by the U.S.-led coalition on an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) prison in the eastern Syrian town of al-Mayadeen.

Declassified documents released last week shed light on the Central Intelligence Agency’s central role in the 1953 coup that brought down Iranian Prime Minister Muhammad Mossadegh, fueling a surge of nationalism which culminated in the 1979 Iranian Revolution and poisoning U.S.-Iran relations into the 21st century.

Officials in Maryland and the U.S. capital Washington will sue President Donald Trump for accepting payments and benefits from foreign governments through his business empire, news reports said late on June 11.

The suit centers on the so-called emoluments clause, which bans U.S. officials from taking gifts or other benefits from foreign governments.

A top secret U.S. report showing that hackers from Russian military intelligence tried repeatedly to break into U.S. voting systems before last year's presidential election have raised new alarms about the extent of Moscow's meddling.

The probe into Russia's role in the U.S. election pierced the innermost circle of the White House on May 27, with reports that Donald Trump's son-in-law sought a secret communications line with Moscow - the most damning allegation yet from the scandal.

Turkey has agreed to a request from the Australian government to extradite a citizen it believes to be a top recruiter for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadist group, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on May 12.

Melbourne-born Neil Prakash has been linked to several Australia-based attack plans and has appeared in ISIL videos and magazines.

The Trump administration is ready to press ahead with a U.S.-backed military offensive to evict the Islamic State from its last remaining urban stronghold in the Syrian city of Raqqa over strong objections from Turkey.

President Donald Trump is expected to inform his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of the U.S. plans when he visits the White House later this month.