With one American carrier strike group already in the Middle East and another apparently on its way as U.S. President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Iran to give up its nuclear program, fears are rising of the outbreak of another war that could spread into a regional conflict.

The 12-day Israel-Iran war last year appeared to cripple key elements of Iran's military, yet left its capabilities far from neutralized — a distinction that looms large as tensions rise again.

Britain's High Court ruled Friday that the government's decision to outlaw the protest group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization was unlawful, but it kept the ban in place pending another hearing while the government prepares an appeal.

Judges Victoria Sharp, Jonathan Swift and Karen Steyn said "the nature and scale of Palestine Action's activities" did not meet the "level, scale and persistence" that would justify proscription.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, an AFP journalist said, at a time of heightened Washington-Beijing tensions.

The meeting came days after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would host Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House late this year, as the world's two biggest economies look to reset ties marred by a trade war.

Another round of U.S.-brokered talks between envoys from Russia and Ukraine will take place next week in Geneva, days ahead of the fourth anniversary of the all-out Russian invasion of its neighbor, officials in Moscow and Kyiv said on Friday.

The meeting will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.

The Danish government will hold Greenland talks with US officials including Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters.

"We have agreed to hold several meetings with American politicians, including the secretary of state, also (about) Greenland," Danish news agency Ritzau quoted her as saying as she arrived at the conference, referring to US President Donald Trump's designs on the strategically-located, mineral rich Arctic island.

Two Mexican Navy ships laden with humanitarian aid docked in Cuba on Thursday as a U.S. blockade deepens the island's energy crisis.

The ships arrived two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country selling or providing oil to Cuba, prompting the island to ration energy in recent days.

President Donald Trump is heading to North Carolina on Friday to celebrate members of the special forces who stormed into Venezuela on the third day of the New Year and whisked away that country's leader, Nicolás Maduro, to face U.S. smuggling charges.

First lady Melania Trump will also be making the trip to Fort Bragg, one of the largest military bases in the world by population, to spend time with military families.

The United States will send the world's largest aircraft carrier to the Middle East to back up another already there, a person familiar with the plans said Friday, putting more American firepower behind President Donald Trump's efforts to coerce Iran into a deal over its nuclear program.

The USS Gerald R. Ford's planned deployment to the Mideast comes after Trump only days earlier suggested another round of talks with the Iranians was at hand. Those negotiations didn't materialize as one of Tehran's top security officials visited Oman and Qatar this week and exchanged messages with the U.S. intermediaries.

An annual gathering of top international security figures that last year set the tone for a growing rift between the United States and Europe opens Friday, bringing together many top European officials with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others.

The Munich Security Conference opens with a speech by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, one of 15 heads of state or government from European Union countries whom organizers expect to attend.

A member of Niger's ruling junta has urged his country's citizens to prepare for "war" with France, as relations with the former colonial power hit new lows.