The chief of Britain’s foreign spy service warned yesterday that the West’s adversaries such as China and Russia were racing to master artificial intelligence in a way which could revolutionise geopolitics over the next decade.

Fresh talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers restarted on Monday, with the EU chair saying he felt “extremely positive” while admitting that “difficult issues” have yet to be tackled.

The United States yesterday warned Russia of “serious consequences” if it launches an invasion of Ukraine, as Nato ministers looked to counter a military build-up by Moscow on its neighbour’s border.

Former Maldives president Abdulla Yameen was released from house arrest yesterday after winning an appeal on his money laundering conviction.

I mean the mutual recognition of vaccines and vaccination certificates, the availability of vaccines for all regions of the planet...”

One in eight of the world’s children - more than 300 million - live in conflict zones where they are at risk of becoming child soldiers, a charity warned yesterday, saying boosting school access was vital in fighting forced recruitment.

The World Health Organization yesterday called for countries to keep calm and take “rational” measures in response to the new, fast-spreading Covid variant Omicron, which has sparked global panic.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that constitutional amendments adopted last year allowing him to seek two more presidential terms “stabilise” the country, but did not say whether he would actually stand.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed yesterday urged Tigrayan rebels to surrender, claiming government forces were nearing victory just one week after he vowed to lead military operations at the front.

The US military will reinforce deployments and bases directed at China and Russia, while maintaining forces in the Middle East adequate to deter Iran and jihadist groups, the Pentagon said Monday, referencing results of a review.

BioNTech and Pfizer's established Covid-19 vaccine will likely offer strong protection against any severe disease from the new Omicron virus variant, BioNTech's Chief Executive told Reuters.

Barbados stopped pledging allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday as it shed another vestige of its colonial past and became a republic for the first time in history.

Intent on making a flawless impression as the first host of the world’s fair in the Middle East, Dubai sought to leave nothing to chance.

Morocco will push for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, King Mohammed VI said yesterday, almost a year after his country renewed ties with the Jewish state.

An Egyptian court yesterday fined prominent human rights activist Hossam Bahgat for “insulting” the country’s electoral commission on social media, a judicial source said.

Armed troops broke up Tamil memorials for Sri Lanka’s civil war dead and beat up journalists covering one ceremony in a former battle zone, residents and media organisations said yesterday.

Israel yesterday cautioned world powers to beware of what it described as Iranian “nuclear blackmail” as diplomats convened in Vienna to discuss resurrecting a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.

1939 - Twenty Russian divisions -- almost half a million men -- invaded Finland in the “Winter War”.

The world must study the wreckage of Covid-19 and say “never again” by striking a pandemic preparedness treaty, the WHO said yesterday as countries gathered to build a new accord.

Climate change is the “overwhelming factor” driving the country’s ever-more intense bushfires, Australian government scientists believe -- directly contradicting claims by the country’s political leaders.