Saudi Arabia's foreign minister has denied that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to the Gulf kingdom on Sunday to secretly meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday warned France to drop plans for a tax on digital giants such as Facebook and Apple, saying it would hurt American business.

US President Donald Trump has sacked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, replacing him with the director of the CIA, Mike Pompeo.

Chinese efforts to exert covert influence over the West are just as concerning as Russian subversion, the director of the CIA has said.