The brother of a US citizen arrested on Friday for spying in Russia has told BBC News he is innocent and was in Moscow to attend a wedding. The family of ex-Marine Paul Whelan, 48, learnt of his arrest on Monday from news reports after wondering why they had not heard from him for days. His twin brother David Whelan …

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said he is committed to denuclearisation, but warned he will change course if the US continues its sanctions. He made the remarks during his closely-watched annual New Year’s address. Last year’s speech set the country on an unprecedented path of international diplomacy with South Korea and the US. Mr Kim met US President Donald …

Russia’s FSB state security agency says it has arrested a US citizen “caught spying” in Moscow. It named him as Paul Whelan, saying he was arrested in Moscow on 28 December and charged with “espionage”. The FSB gave no further details. The US state department says it has requested consular access for the man held in Moscow, Reuters news agency …

The European Union (EU) has introduced retaliatory tariffs on US goods as a top official launched a fresh attack on President Donald Trump’s trade policy. The duties on €2.8bn (£2.4bn) worth of US goods came into force on Friday. Tariffs have been imposed on products such as bourbon whiskey, motorcycles and orange juice. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said duties …

The US has pulled out of the United Nations Human Rights Council, calling it a “cesspool of political bias”. The “hypocritical and self-serving” body “makes a mockery of human rights”, said US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley. Ms Haley last year accused the council of “chronic anti-Israel bias” and said the US was reviewing its membership. Formed in 2006, …

First lady Melania Trump will not be joining President Donald Trump on his upcoming trips to the G7 summit in Quebec and the highly anticipated summit between the United States and North Korea in Singapore, her spokeswoman told ABC News. The 48-year-old first lady has not been seen in public since May 10, when she and the president welcomed home three American detainees from …

Donald Trump probably has the power to pardon himself in the Russia collusion affair but does not intend to do so, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani says. A special counsel is investigating Russia’s role in the 2016 election, and whether Mr Trump obstructed justice. The question of self-pardon arose after the New York Times published a letter to the counsel from …

Five days after their arrival, chemical weapons inspectors in Syria will be given access to an alleged attack site on Wednesday, Russia says. The team has been in the country since Saturday but has been prohibited from entering the town of Douma. US officials have raised concerns that Russia may have tampered with the site while inspectors were denied access. …

   By Frank Amponsah  President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has affirmed in no uncertain terms, that Ghana has “not offered a military base, and will not offer a military base to the United States of America.” According to President Akufo-Addo, “the United States of America has not made any request for such consideration and, consistent with our established foreign policy, …

US President Donald Trump has instructed officials to consider a further $100bn (£71.3bn) of tariffs against China, in an escalation of a tense trade stand-off. These would be in addition to the $50bn worth of US tariffs already proposed on hundreds of Chinese imports. The proposal comes after China retaliated to that by threatening tariffs on 106 key US products. …