Digis Mak

Turkey's plan to expand a buffer zone inside northern Syria and use it to relocate large numbers of refugees has gained momentum after officials endorsed a military push that analysts from both countries say will force demographic shifts inside Syria.Though a timeline has not been decided, military and political leaders have confirmed that an extensive operation is being prepared to move Kurdish populations away from Turkey's southern border and assert Turkish control as deep as 18 miles into northern Syria.While not explicitly stated, the move involves moving Syrian Arabs into the new zones, in which Turkey will secure economic influence and political approval on the home front ahead of elections next year. Kurdish populations that dominated the 500-mile border are set to lose more sw...

Australia's foreign minister has used a visit to Fiji to urge Pacific countries to weigh up the “consequences” of accepting security offers from Beijing, saying the region should determine its own security.Speaking on the second day of her trip, Penny Wong said Australia wanted to show it was a reliable and trustworthy partner, and was also “determined to make up for” what she described as “a lost decade on climate action”.Wong's visit coincides with a marathon eight-country visit by China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, in a sign of the growing competition for influence in the region.But the Chinese embassy in Canberra said on Friday that China had not sought a “sphere of influence” and it believed the South Pacific “should not be the battlefield for geopolitical manoeuvring”.In a boost f...