US lawyer frustrated over investigation of undeclared $17bn crude oil exports

Washington and Tokyo plan to upgrade defense ties to maintain security and peace in the Asia-Pacific region. President Joe Biden and PM Fumio Kishida have said the alliance between the two countries is "unbreakable."

Roll out the red carpet for Japan. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is being feted with a speech before a joint session of Congress and a White House state dinner. Key to the courtship is Tokyo's ramped-up role in policing the Pacific. Like the Germans in Europe, the Japanese have had to shed the post-war pacifism that's even embedded in their constitution. It’s with an eye to China, North Korea and Russia that they’ve drawn closer to South Korea and supported Ukraine.

US diplomats urged countries to do more to stop the humanitarian crisis in Sudan as the conflict between the army and the RSF nears the one-year mark. They also called for Iran not to provide arms to Sudan.

Members of the United Nations Security Council failed to reach a consensus on a Palestinian bid for full UN membership.

A former US diplomat has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for spying for Cuba for decades. The incident has been called "one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the US government."

Crude oil prices subside as traders bet that the worst is over in tensions between Iran and Israel, although fears remain. Meanwhile, investors charge into safe-haven assets like gold, and Chinese market regulators roll out new investor protections.