AQABA, Jordan (AP) - Top U.S. officials were in the Middle East on Thursday, pushing for stability in Syria and an end to Israel's 14-month war in the Gaza Strip in a last-ditch diplomatic push by the outgoing Biden administration before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in a few weeks.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration next month - extending a diplomatic olive branch even as Trump threatens to levy massive tariffs on Chinese goods.

LONDON (AP) - Keir Starmer will attend a meeting of European Union leaders early next year, becoming the first U.K. prime minister to do so since the country's departure from the bloc in 2020.