Vladimir Putin has suggested that Ukraine should temporarily be placed under UN control to elect what he called a more “competent” government. It is the latest attempt by the Russian president to challenge the legitimacy of the Kyiv government. Ukraine accused Putin of proposing “crazy” ideas to delay further movement towards a peace deal –…
Silvano Hajid BBC Indonesian EPA Critics warn that changes to Indonesia’s military law could return Indonesia to the dark days of Suharto’s military dictatorship regime Indonesia’s parliament has passed controversial changes to legislation that will allow its military a bigger role in government. Critics warn that the move could return Indonesia to the dark days…
The back and forth between a federal judge and the Trump administration over the timing of two flights it arranged last weekend deporting a group of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador under the extraordinary powers of a wartime statute will last at least another day. The judge in the case, James E. Boasberg, has given…
President Trump on Saturday signed the government funding bill passed by the Senate on Friday. The bill was passed just hours before a midnight deadline to avoid a lapse in funding, which would have shut down the government. The signing of the bill ended a week of drama of Capitol Hill. On Tuesday, the House…
The US has averted a government shutdown after the Senate passed a Republican-led measure to keep the government funded for the next six months. The stopgap funding bill passed in the Senate 54-46, as two Democrats joined all but one Republican senator in voting yes. President Donald Trump must now sign it into law before…
A Kurdish-led militia alliance which controls north-eastern Syria has agreed a deal to integrate all military and civilian institutions into the Syrian state, the country’s presidency says. The agreement says the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will cease hostilities and hand over control of the region’s border posts, airport, and vital oil and gas fields….
Hugh Bachega BBC Middle East correspondent•Beirut Getty Images In January, days after the first-month anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime in a lightning Islamist-led rebel offensive in Syria, a group of young men – some of them armed – were gathered, checking their phones in the nearly empty interior ministry headquarters in Damascus….
Annabelle Liang Business reporter Getty Images US prosecutors have charged 12 Chinese nationals for being part of an alleged hacking scheme, which sold data of US-based dissidents to the Chinese government. The “state-sponsored” operation also targeted government agencies including the Treasury, according to the Justice Department (DOJ). Hackers also allegedly targeted an American religious organisation,…
Despite growing international pressure, the Democratic Republic of Congo is standing firm on its decision not to have direct talks with the M23 rebel group that has made major advances in the east of the country in recent months. Last week, the UK government added to calls for the group to be part of an…
Impossiable | Moment | Getty Images Hong Kong’s government has earmarked 1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($128.67 million) for the establishment of an artificial intelligence research institute. Called the Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute, the facility will “spearhead and support Hong Kong’s innovative R&D as well as industrial application of AI,” the city’s…
