The threat of weaponizing oil lingers in Saudi-U.S. relations

Blinken is looking to drum up support for President Joe Biden's plan to withdraw all troops. He briefed both Afghan and US officials on the next steps, and warned the Taliban against carrying out any attacks.

In an interview with FRANCE 24, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace condemned the killing of Chadian President Idriss Deby and said Britain would do everything it could to support its friends such as France, as well as countries in the Sahel that are facing instability and radicalisation. Wallace also touted Franco-British defence projects and underlined that such cooperation will be key for both countries in meeting challenges from Russia and China, as well as non-conventional threats.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Saturday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Saturday.

"We're not going back to the shutdowns of March of 2020," says White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, as the US national average of daily coronavirus cases tops 60,000 and is rising rapidly.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tells reporters at the State Department that the US should "reflect" on its withdrawal from Afghanistan and "learn from it."

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the US government will run out of money next month. She called on Congress to raise the debt limit in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Foreign Affairs Committee that the previous presidency left Joe Biden little choice but to complete the withdrawal. Republicans called it "an unmitigated disaster."

"The world lost one of the greatest leaders that we have ever witnessed," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says in Tbilisi, Georgia, after former US Secretary of State Colin Powell died of complications from Covid-19.

Speaking after a summit in Brussels, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reaffirms the United States' commitment to continue to help Taiwan 'defend itself' against threats from China. Recent comments by US President Joe Biden sparked a new firestorm in Washington-Beijing relations, when he affirmed that the United States had an agreement to help defend US ally Taiwan. Authoritarian China regards self-ruled Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to one day seize the island, by force if needed.

The French government's strong and swift response to the Covid-19 pandemic has won praise from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in its latest report. But the OECD is also warning of risks from debt and high public spending. For more, Stephen Carroll speaks to OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann.

The UK national broadcaster has apologized to Patrick Jephson, who served as Princess Diana's private secretary when the BBC's Martin Bashir conducted a controversial interview.