President Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia is temporarily recognising passports and other identity documents issued by the self-proclaimed rebel republics in eastern Ukraine. Clashes between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian army flared up again in recent weeks, leaving many dead. Ukraine’s President, Petro Poroshenko, condemned the decision to recognise ... Read More »
US aircraft carrier the USS Carl Vinson has started what it calls “routine operations” in the South China Sea, with a fleet of supporting warships. The deployment comes days after China’s foreign ministry warned Washington against challenging Beijing’s sovereignty in the region. China claims several contested shoals, islets and reefs ... Read More »
Iraqi government forces have launched an offensive to liberate the western part of the city of Mosul from the so-called Islamic State. Hundreds of military vehicles, backed by air power, rolled across the desert towards the jihadists’ positions early on Sunday. Iraqi forces retook two villages south of the city ... Read More »
India’s Supreme Court has convicted the head of the ruling party in Tamil Nadu state of corruption, ending her attempts to become chief minister. Sasikala Natarajan was an aide of late chief minister Jayalalitha. Though she has never held public office, the ruling AIADMK party said last week that she ... Read More »
Michael Flynn has resigned as national security adviser over his contact with Russian officials before US President Donald Trump took office. His resignation on Tuesday followed reports a day earlier that the Department of Justice warned the Trump administration weeks ago that such communications could leave him in a compromised position. ... Read More »
President Trump’s embattled national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned Monday night, Fox News reported. Flynn, in his resignation letter, wrote that he “inadvertently” briefed top officials with incomplete information regarding his call with the Russian ambassador. “I have sincerely apologized to the president and the vice president, and they have ... Read More »
The Bolivian government has declared a state of emergency in a vast agricultural area affected by a plague of locusts. President Evo Morales has announced a contingency plan, which includes $700,000 in extra funds for fumigation. The swarm first appeared over a week ago near the low-lying eastern city of ... Read More »
Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court has described the president’s attacks on the judiciary as “demoralising” and “disheartening”. Neil Gorsuch’s comments were made to a Democratic senator and confirmed by his spokesman. The president called a judge who halted his controversial travel ban a “so-called judge”, and said any ... Read More »
An Australian man has survived spending hours struggling to keep his nose above water after his excavator rolled into a waterhole. Daniel Miller, 45, had been riding the machine at his remote property 300km (180 miles) north of Sydney. When the edge of the dam gave way, the farmer was ... Read More »
US President Donald Trump has sent a letter to Xi Jinping, his first direct approach to the Chinese leader. The president thanked Mr Xi for congratulating him on his inauguration last month and said he looked forward to “constructive” relations. Mr Trump has not yet spoken to Mr Xi but ... Read More »
A US court has ordered Facebook and other defendants to pay $500m (£395m) after finding they unlawfully used a firm’s virtual reality technology. The jury found Oculus, which Facebook bought in 2014, used computer code belonging to video game developer Zenimax to launch its own VR headset. Oculus said it ... Read More »
President Trump reportedly had a fiery conversation over the weekend with Australia’s prime minister over a refugee deal agreed upon under the Obama administration. Trump reportedly blasted the agreement as “the worst deal ever” and accused Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of seeking to export “the next Boston bombers.” The call ... Read More »
