If the agreement collapses, violence may be imminent. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have spent months negotiating with the government in Damascus how to implement their March agreement for the SDF to merge with the national armed forces. Mistrust of government centralization and recent sectarian massacres have shaken the …

When President Trump travels to Beijing early next year to finalize a new trade deal, China will deploy one of its favorite pressure tactics: restricting exports of rare earth elements. Last month, The New York Times’s Thomas Friedman warned that China’s threat to cut off rare earth exports could “trump …

Official says unresolved disputes over Gaza, Rafah Crossing and security make summit with Netanyahu unlikely despite interest from Jerusalem, Washington Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi currently has no plans to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a government official familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel, amid reports that …