The White House has not yet decided how it will implement the president’s ban on transgender people serving in the US military. Mr Trump’s surprise Twitter announcement on Wednesday has been met with criticism from rights groups. Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the administration would work alongside the Pentagon to decide how to proceed. It … Read more
The United States donated surveillance aircraft and began delivering weapons to the Philippines on Thursday to help its Asian ally fight Islamist militants. The two Cessna C208B planes, which together with their equipment are worth more than $30 million, will track Islamic State group-styled gunmen as well as patrol maritime borders, US ambassador Sung Kim … Read more
US President Donald Trump says transgender people cannot serve in “any capacity” in the military. He tweeted that he had consulted with military experts and cited “tremendous medical costs and disruption”. The Obama administration decided last year to allow transgender people to serve openly in the military. But in June, Defence Secretary James Mattis agreed to … Read more
US President Donald Trump says transgender people cannot serve in “any capacity” in the military. He tweeted that he had consulted with military experts and cited “tremendous medical costs and disruption”. The Obama administration decided last year to allow transgender people to serve openly in the military. But in June, Defence Secretary James Mattis agreed to a six-month … Read more
US President Donald Trump says transgender people cannot serve in “any capacity” in the military. He tweeted that he had consulted with military experts and cited “tremendous medical costs and disruption”. The Obama administration decided last year to allow transgender people to serve openly in the military. But in June, Defence Secretary James Mattis agreed to … Read more
Britain’s defence secretary Wednesday made a strong push to build Australia’s next fleet of warships, saying the frigates he proposes are best placed to hunt “Russian and Chinese submarines” amid regional tensions. Australia earlier this year detailed a massive Aus$89 billion (US$70.4 billion) shipbuilding strategy, including constructing new submarines and frigates, in the nation’s largest … Read more
Islamist gunmen led by one of the world’s most wanted terrorists still hold about 1,500 buildings in a southern Philippine city after weeks of ferocious fighting that has left hundreds dead, officials said Monday. The Philippine military has struggled to expel scores of gunmen who rampaged across Marawi city on May 23 flying the black … Read more
The White House envoy coordinating the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group was holding talks in Ankara on Friday a day after visiting a Syrian Kurdish militia deemed by Turkey to be “terrorists”. The visit by Brett McGurk, which was not announced in advance, comes a month after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called … Read more
NATO will increase troop numbers in Afghanistan to help train local forces facing a resurgent Taliban but will not return to a combat role, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday. The alliance ended its longest-ever military operation in 2014 when it handed over post-9/11 frontline duties to the Afghan military and took on an advice and … Read more
NATO allies will increase troop numbers in Afghanistan to help the government battle a resurgent Taliban but there is no question of returning to a combat role, the alliance’s chief Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday. NATO ended its longest-ever military operation in 2014 when it handed over frontline duties to the Afghan military and took on … Read more
US-led coalition air strikes killed nearly 60 people at a Syrian prison run by the Islamic State group, a monitor said Tuesday, as Washington insisted the jihadists remain its only target. The coalition has been hitting IS in Syria and Iraq since mid-2014 but has also been involved in recent confrontations with President Bashar al-Assad’s … Read more
Embattled Philippine troops struggling to force out Islamist militants from a southern city raised the national flag for Independence Day on Monday, in a tearful ceremony dedicated to the scores killed during the conflict. Thousands of Philippine soldiers, advised by US Special Forces, are locked in fierce combat with hundreds of insurgents who overran Marawi … Read more
Theresa May said the government planned to focus on social issues and “delivering a successful Brexit” as she completed a Cabinet reshuffle. The PM said the new line-up brought in “talent from across the whole of the Conservative party”. Her comments came after Michael Gove, one of the driving forces behind Brexit, returned to the … Read more
There are growing calls for a rethink of Theresa May’s Brexit stance in the wake of a hung parliament. The Conservatives leader had sought to take the UK out of the single market and end freedom of movement, but her party lost its Commons majority. Former Chancellor George Osborne said he did not believe a … Read more
A Conservative deal with the Democratic Unionist Party would only apply to “big issues” like the economy and security, the defence secretary has said. Sir Michael Fallon said the parties were seeking an agreement – which would not be a formal coalition – to keep a minority Tory government in power. Speaking to Andrew Marr, … Read more
Police in Sri Lanka have arrested a key figure from an extremist Buddhist organisation blamed for a series of hate crimes against Muslims that has drawn international censure. The 32-year-old man from the radical Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), or Buddhist Force, is the first suspect to be arrested in connection with arson attacks against Muslims … Read more
Theresa May is expected to finalise her team of ministers later as she seeks to form a government with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party. Ministers say initial talks have begun with Northern Ireland’s DUP after the Conservatives failed to secure a majority in Thursday’s election. The Tories needed 326 seats to win but … Read more
With bomb-proof tunnels, anti-tank weapons hidden in mosques, human shields and a “mastery” of the terrain, Islamist militants holed up in a southern Philippine city are proving a far tougher opponent than military chiefs expected. Two weeks after gunmen waving black flags of the Islamic State (IS) group rampaged through the Muslim city of Marawi, … Read more
China has expressed “firm opposition” to remarks made by US Pentagon chief Jim Mattis during a regional defence summit over the weekend, after he criticised Beijing’s “militarisation” of the South China Sea. Washington has repeatedly expressed concerns that China’s development of artificial islands in the region poses a threat to freedom of navigation through its … Read more
Philippine airstrikes aimed at Islamist militants who are holding hostages as human shields killed 11 soldiers, authorities said Thursday, as they conceded hundreds of gunmen may have escaped a blockade. The friendly fire deaths bring to 171 the number of people reported killed since militants waving the black flags of the Islamic State (IS) group … Read more