The United States once again has vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that had demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages.

President Donald Trump has been using diplomatic appointments as a soft landing for officials leaving his administration.

Hamas has named the next three Israeli hostages it plans to release as part of the ceasefire deal.

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has canceled what would have been his final official trip abroad as concerns grow over potential violence at next week’s presidential inauguration, the State Department said Tuesday. Pompeo was to have met with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Belgium's foreign minister while in Brussels. Officials said the cancellation of Pompeo’s trip was intended to support the transition and was not related to fears of violence. “The Department of State is well along in its transition efforts with President-elect Biden’s team," Ortagus said in a statement. The department had announced late Monday that Pompeo would be visiting Brussels on his final trip abroad.

MOSCOW – The United States and Russia inched closer Tuesday to a deal to extend their last remaining arms control pact, after U.S. threats to allow the deal to expire early next year. “We appreciate the Russian Federation’s willingness to make progress on the issue of nuclear arms control,” department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. The pact limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance. After both Moscow and Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty last year, New START was the only remaining nuclear arms control deal between the two countries. Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argued that Russia couldn't agree to the U.S. proposal to limit tactical nuclear weapons alongside nuclear warheads that arm strategic missiles and bombers until Washington agreed to withdraw its nuclear warheads from Europe.

Rain droplets line a railing along the waterfront of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)WASHINGTON The Trump administration on Wednesday suspended or terminated three bilateral agreements with Hong Kong covering extradition and tax exemptions. President Donald Trump already had determined that Hong Kong was no longer eligible for the continued preferential treatment that it enjoyed based on its autonomy following its reversion to Chinese rule in 1997. These steps underscore our deep concern regarding Beijings decision to impose the National Security Law, which has crushed the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement. The administration has already acted to end special trade and commercial privileges that Hong Kong had and has imposed sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials involved in enforcing the new security laws.

The top US envoy to Syria says economic threats and military presence could have prevented the Turks from invading Syria. "It's a tough call, and the answer is probably not," Roebuck wrote in the memo, obtained by the Times. "But we won't know because we didn't try." The Times posted the full memo Thursday afternoon. Two administration officials confirmed to CNN that the memo was real and that the Times report is accurate.

EXPRESSEN via CNNSTOCKHOLM, Sweden (CNN) - The working-level talks between the United States and North Korea in Stockholm, Sweden, have concluded for the time being, US and North Korean officials said Saturday. Painting different pictures of the meeting, US officials said they "had good discussion" while North Korea's top negotiator blamed the ended talks on Washington. Negotiations on denuclearization have stalled since February -- when President Donald Trump cut short his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. The two leaders last met in June in the Korean Demilitarized Zone where they agreed to revive staff-level talks. American officials said they have accepted the Swedish invitation to return to Stockholm in two weeks to continue discussions.

(CNN) - The United States and North Korea plan to resume working-level talks next week, according to the U.S. State Department. "I can confirm that U.S. and DPRK officials plan to meet within the next week. I do not have further details to share on the meeting," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement Tuesday. Negotiations on denuclearization stalled after President Donald Trump's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June, at the end of the G20 summit in Japan. While North Korea has put a moratorium on testing long-range missiles following three meetings between Trump and Kim, the country has continued to test short-range ballistic missiles and has made no firm commitments to stop testing submarine-launched missiles.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday subpoenaed the envoy who had been leading negotiations with the Taliban to testify in an open hearing next week. "For months, we haven't been able to get answers on the Afghanistan peace plan, and now the President is saying the plan is dead. The move to legally compel Khalilzad to testify in public comes after close to a year of talks with the Taliban collapsed earlier this week. Trump reiterated on Wednesday that "the talks with the Taliban are dead." On Sunday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced support for the move, saying that Trump "made the right decision."

Win McNamee/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON, D.C. - The US is warning Iran it's taking Tehran's threats seriously and will hold it accountable if it compromises the safety of any American. The comments came in a tweet from US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus on Saturday, after Iran announced sanctions against American Mark Dubowitz and his foundation for what it called "US economic terrorism." "The outlaw regime in Iran issued a threat today against @FDD, an American think tank, and its CEO. We intend to hold Iran responsible for directly or indirectly compromising the safety of any American," Ortagus said. The FDD says it "conducts independent research and analysis on national security issues" while Iran "prohibits such freedoms at home, and would like to do so abroad as well.