China on Wednesday announced that it will slap additional 25 per cent tariff on $16 billion worth of US products in retaliation to Washington's latest round of duties, escalating the trade battle between the two countries.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday told North Korea's Foreign Minister not to trust the US, following the US decision to impose economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to kill around 100 police officers accused of corruption and abuse of power, the media reported on Wednesday.

The footage of Duterte's speech, which was delivered at the Malacanang palace on Tuesday night, was aired repeatedly on Philippines television channels on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia has stopped all medical treatment programmes in Canada and is coordinating for the transfer of Saudi patients to medical facilities outside the country, Saudi press agency reported on Wednesday.

The agency cited Dr Fahd bin Ibrahim Al Tamimi, Saudi Health Attache in the US and Canada, as saying that "the mission seeks to ensure the safety of Saudi patients who receive treatment in Canada with their companions, and to complete their treatment elsewhere".

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was on Wednesday charged in a Kuala Lumpur court on three new counts related to a corruption scandal linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad state fund.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him, Efe news reported.

Two girls schools have been set ablaze in Pakistan's Balochistan province, police said on Wednesday. No casualty was reported.

The schools located in Pishin district were set on fire late on Tuesday when the institutes were closed as they were both day schools.

US President Donald Trump's son has said his 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer was about "essentially nothing" relevant to claims of collusion.

Donald Trump Jr called the media uproar over the meeting "the ultimate distraction" from his father's success, BBC reported on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday issued a strong warning to America's trading partners that anyone who does business with Tehran will not be doing business with Washington, following his administration's re-imposition of sanctions on Iran.