Michael Flynn: Trump's national security adviser quits
Donald Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, has resigned over his contacts with Russia, the White House has announced.
Mr Flynn is alleged to have discussed US sanctions with the Russian ambassador before Mr Trump took office.
He is said to have misled officials about the conversation.
Earlier, US media reported that the Justice Department had warned the White House about the contacts late last month.
They said that Mr Flynn might be vulnerable to Russian blackmail.
It is illegal for private citizens to conduct US diplomacy, and the calls happened late last year before Mr Flynn was appointed to the administration.
Violence flares in war-weary Ukraine as US dithers and Russia pounces
As Ukrainian forces trade shellfire with Russia-backed rebels, the residents of Avdiivka face endless stress and misery
Not much is audible over the noise of the hulking, powerful machinery at Avdiivka’s sprawling factory – except for the artillery barrages.
Since the war started in 2014 more than 300 shells have fallen on the grounds of the factory, the largest coking plant in Europe, which sits on Ukrainian-controlled territory just a few miles from the frontline with Russia-backed separatists. The big guns have been mercifully quiet for months, but the past fortnight has seen a new flurry of violence, linked in Kiev to a Russia apparently newly emboldened by the election of Donald Trump in the US.
More than 30 people are believed to have died in the latest wave of violence, including civilians on both sides of the lines, as heavy artillery banned by a two-year-old ceasefire has been wheeled back into place. Avdiivka was without electricity for several days during the latest fighting, the most intense for more than a year, according to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which monitors the conflict.
Scientists discover banned toxic chemicals in animals living in world's deepest ocean trench
'We still think of the deep ocean as being this remote and pristine realm, safe from human impact, but our research shows that, sadly, this could not be further from the truth'Ian Johnston Environment Correspondent
“Extraordinary” amounts of toxic chemicals that were banned in the 1970s have been discovered in the bodies of sea creatures living at the bottom of the deepest ocean trench in the world.
Scientists were stunned to discover that such high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other persistent organic pollutants were to be found more than 10km (six miles) below sea level in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. It is about 1,300km from the nearest major land mass, Japan.
And a similar situation was found about 7,000km away in the Kermadec trench, which is also more than 10km deep and about 1,500km north of New Zealand, the researchers reported in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.
'Indonesia is on the brink of disaster'
Indonesia's upcoming regional elections have been overshadowed by Muslim mass protests against the candidacy of Jakarta's Christian governor Ahok. The country is on a dangerous course, says Berthold Damshäuser.
The re-election of Jakarta's Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama, the minority Chinese-Christian governor, is not the only uncertainty shaking Indonesian politics. The future of the county's secular democracy is becoming more unclear as Islamist groups gain more traction and visibility.
Ahok was accused in November 2016 of blasphemy by the "Islamic Defenders Front" (FPI) group, after he commented that "If you cannot vote for me because you're afraid of being condemned to hell, you do not need to feel uneasy, as you are being fooled." His critics say this was criticism of a verse from the Koran that could be interpreted as a warning for electing a non-Muslim leader.
7 Hong Kong policemen found guilty of assaulting Occupy protester
Updated 0730 GMT (1530 HKT) February 14, 2017
Seven police officers were convicted Tuesday of assaulting a protester during Hong Kong's pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014.
All the defendants faced one joint count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, but in the end the city's court convicted them with a lesser charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The convicted officers face a maximum three years in prison, according to Hong Kong law.
One of the defendants, policeman Chan Siu-tan, 31, was also found guilty of common assault for slapping social worker Ken Tsang Kin-chiu twice during an interview, at a police station in Hong Kong's Central district.Palestinians in East Jerusalem battle for their homes
Dozens of Palestinian families live with the constant threat of eviction by Israeli settler groups in the occupied city.
Jaclynn Ashly
Occupied East Jerusalem - Ahmad Sub Laban gently peeled back the blinds covering a window in his home, revealing the golden Dome of the Rock in Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
"If you look outside this window, you will understand exactly why the Israelis are targeting us with eviction," he told Al Jazeera.
The Sub Labans are among at least 180 Palestinian families threatened with eviction by Israeli settler groups throughout occupied East Jerusalem, including 21 families in the Old City.
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