Julian Assange would cooperate with Swedish authorities if they reopen a rape case against him but will continue to resist any bid to extradite him to the United States, his lawyer said Sunday.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday defended the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as protectors of Iran a day after the United States labeled the group as a foreign terrorist organisation.

A South African court ruled Monday that a Mozambican ex-finance minister, held since December on a US warrant over corruption allegations, can be extradited to the United States.

The Trump administration on Sunday doubled down on its threat to shut down the southern border with Mexico, a day after it cut aid to Central American countries which President Donald Trump blasted for deliberately sending migrants to the United States.

Members of the Saudi team that killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi received training in the United States, the Washington Post has reported, revealing other new elements in the death of the newspaper's former contributor.

The United States and China said they made progress in trade talks that concluded on Friday in Beijing that Washington called "candid and constructive" as the world's two largest economies try to resolve a bitter, nearly nine-month trade war.

The United States on Monday accused Russia of "reckless escalation" of the situation in Venezuela by deploying military planes and personnel to the crisis-stricken South American nation that Washington has hit with crippling sanctions.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would be disappointed if North Korea were to resume weapons testing and reiterated his belief in his good relationship with its leader, Kim Jong Un, despite the collapse of a summit with him last week.

Rescuers in Alabama on Monday dug through the remnants of homes and businesses destroyed by a spate of tornadoes that killed at least 23 people, including children, the deadliest such storms to strike the United States in almost six years.

The United States sent two Navy ships through the Taiwan Strait on Monday as the US military increased the frequency of movement through the strategic waterway despite opposition from China.

China struck an upbeat note on Monday as trade talks resumed with the United States, but also expressed anger at a US Navy mission through the disputed South China Sea, casting a shadow over the prospect for improved Beijing-Washington ties.

The United States still plans to lead a global fight against the Islamic State movement despite its withdrawal from Syria, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured allies on Wednesday.