The racial flashpoint city of Ferguson awoke under a state of emergency Tuesday after a second night of clashes between police and protesters, a year after the shooting death of an unarmed black teen.

In unrest that erupted Monday evening and stretched into the early hours, angry demonstrators beat drums and chanted as they threw stones and bottles. Police used pepper spray as they arrested numerous demonstrators.

The United States has said Lebanon falls in the category of countries which could exert more efforts to combat modern-day slavery, placing it on the “Tier 2 Watch List.”

“Lebanon is a source and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking and a transit point for Eastern European women and children subjected to sex trafficking in other Middle Eastern countries,” said an annual ranking compiled by the State Department and announced by Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday.

The House of Representatives has passed a measure that would allow the U.S. government to revoke or deny passports to Americans linked to "foreign terrorist organizations."

Passed by a voice vote Tuesday after a 15-minute debate, the bill aims to block the movement of "lone wolves" trained in Syria by the Islamic State group for attacks in the United States.

At first glance, a loyal supporter of Iran's Islamic revolution and a Democratic ex-senator have little in common. Yet against the odds, John Kerry and Mohammad Javad Zarif have blazed their way into history.

The tall, lanky American secretary of state, in his expensive tailored suits towers over his shorter, stouter Iranian counterpart, Zarif, in his traditional collarless shirts when they gather for choreographed pictures.

The U.S. Army said Thursday it aims to cut 40,000 soldiers from its ranks over the next two years in order to achieve target workforce reductions, confirming numbers leaked this week.

"We'll do as much as possible of this through attrition," said Brigadier General Randy George, the army's director of force management, during a press conference at the Pentagon.

Only about 60 Syrian rebels are being trained by the United States to take on the Islamic State group, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Tuesday, admitting it was far below the number hoped for.

The disclosure is likely to add to criticism of the Obama administration's military strategy, with U.S. Senator John McCain saying that the United States was "losing" the fight against the extremists, who have overrun large areas of Syria and Iraq.

President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that the United States and Cuba will re-establish full diplomatic relations, severed 54 years ago in the angry heat of the Cold War.

The U.S. president and Cuban state television simultaneously announced the landmark agreement, aimed at easing decades of enmity across the narrow Straits of Florida. 

Top diplomats warned Saturday of "hard work" ahead to seal a nuclear deal with Iran, as France insisted three key conditions to put an atomic bomb out of Tehran's reach still had to be met.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met first in Vienna, for what is set to be the final push for an accord after almost two years of negotiations.

U.S. President Barack Obama hailed the Supreme Court ruling in favor of gay marriage Friday, saying it shows social changes once thought impossible can become reality.

"Today we can say in no uncertain terms that we've made our union a little more perfect," Obama said in a White House address shortly after the court issued its decision.

Despite the furious protests of France over the latest U.S. spying claims, experts say that in the intelligence game there are no friends or enemies -- only interests -- and all means are justified to pursue them. 

France may have expressed its outrage at the "unacceptable" news that the U.S. spied on President Francois Hollande and his two immediate predecessors, but much of the shock is feigned, experts say.