By Matt Spetalnick, Patricia Zengerle and Simon Lewis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -When President Donald Trump defended Saudi Arabia's crown prince this week over the 2018 killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, he did more than just stir renewed accusations from critics of an affinity toward strongmen.

Trump's remarks, which contradicted U.S. intelligence findings, threw into stark relief just how far his administration has shifted away from the traditional U.S. support for human rights globally.

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia has agreed to allow Turkey to host next year's COP31 climate summit, but Canberra will lead the conference's negotiations among governments, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday.

"So what we've come up with is a big win for both Australia and Turkey," Albanese told ABC Radio.

Both Australia and Turkey had submitted bids in 2022 to host the annual COP, or Conference of the Parties, the world's main forum for driving climate action.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Leslie Adler)

BELEM, Brazil/CANBERRA (Reuters) -Turkey would host next year’s UN climate summit while Australia would lead the conference’s negotiations among governments, under a compromise deal that three sources familiar with the matter said was taking shape in talks on Thursday.

Australia and Turkey both submitted bids in 2022 to host the annual COP, or Conference of the Parties, the world's main forum for driving climate action.

The two nations have been in a protracted struggle to host, with neither willing to back down.

By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The world's 20 largest economies will grow by just 2.9% in 2030 amid headwinds from protectionism and policy uncertainty, their weakest medium-term outlook since the global financial crisis of 2009, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

In a report to the Group of 20, the global lender mapped out a series of challenges facing the global economy, including widening excessive balances and stretched public coffers, as well as aging populations in advanced economies.

Saudi Arabia has lifted a travel ban on a US citizen who criticized the kingdom on social media, his family said Wednesday, as President Donald Trump welcomed the crown prince.

Saad Ibrahim Almadi, a US citizen of Saudi origin, had been arrested during a visit to his native country in 2021 after tweets that mentioned corruption and the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident writer strangled and dismembered in a Saudi consulate.

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The F-35 fighter jets the U.S. plans to sell Saudi Arabia will be less advanced than those operated by Israel, in line with a U.S. law that guarantees Israel’s military edge in the region, U.S. officials and defense experts said on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump announced the sale this week, but officials said the Saudi aircraft will lack superior features of Israel’s fleet that include advanced weapons systems and electronic warfare equipment.

US President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to end Sudan's grinding civil war at the request of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, condemning "tremendous atrocities" in a conflict he has previously overlooked.

Trump admitted that the devastating war between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was "not on my charts" before Prince Mohammed bin Salman pushed him to get involved.

(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's lavish welcome of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Washington this week, touted by many as rehabilitation of human rights record of Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, has been followed by the kingdom ramping up its planned U.S. investments to $1 trillion.

The move marks a remarkable increase from the $600 billion that the world's largest exporter announced during Trump's visit to Riyadh six month ago. Bin Salman is scheduled to meet top U.S. corporate leaders on Wednesday.

By Sarah Marsh

WIESBADEN, Germany (Reuters) -Germany's interior minister on Wednesday backed Berlin’s decision to strip a man of his citizenship for supporting Hamas, saying naturalised citizens should forfeit their nationality when they are found not to uphold German values.

The decision comes as Germany tightens immigration and citizenship rules amid a debate about who belongs in the country and the rise of the far-right.

By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. lawmakers cautioned against ushering in a nuclear arms race in the Middle East after the United States and Saudi Arabia said they signed an initial agreement on civil nuclear energy cooperation.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman signed an initial civil nuclear cooperation agreement on Tuesday as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, made his first White House visit in more than seven years.