U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes blocked the Trump administration from enacting the policy and offered a scathing rebuke of the Pentagon's development of the policy.

Transgender service members and recruits are challenging Trump's ban as discrimination and say it should not be enforced as the courts hear their case.

The UK is hosting a closed meeting on Thursday of senior military leaders from the "coalition of the willing", as they draw up plans for a proposed peacekeeping force for Ukraine. More than 20 countries are thought to be involved.

Western allies began talks to hammer out the detailed military plans underpinning an Anglo-French-led peacekeeping force, stepping up preparations for a potential truce in Ukraine despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rejection of a full ceasefire.

Indonesia’s parliament on Thursday passed contentious revisions to the country’s military law, which will allocate more civilian posts for military officers, and street protests against the changes are expected to take place.

The revisions have been criticised by civil society groups, who say it could take the world's third-biggest democracy back to the draconian 'New Order' era of former strongman president Suharto, when military officers dominated civilian affairs.

Indonesia’s Parliament has unanimously voted to pass a controversial revision of its military law that will expand the armed forces’ role in civilian affairs despite growing opposition from pro-democr