The United States will respond by September 1 to Russia's attempt to force a major reduction in American diplomatic staff, Rex Tillerson has said.

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said he saw no ideological grounds for a war with the US – cold or hot – despite strained relations with Washington and the Nato alliance.

THE prolonged disappearance of Fidel Castro from public view indicates that the Cuban president is confronting “serious” health problems, a senior US State Department official said yesterday.

The prolonged disappearance of Fidel Castro from public view indicates that the Cuban president is confronting “serious” health problems, a senior us State Department official said today.

The US is imposing a ban on arms sales to Venezuela because of what it claims is a lack of support by President Hugo Chavez’s leftist government for counterterrorism efforts, the US state department said tonight.