The world this week zt21

Google says it has achieved quantum supremacy - with ground-breaking new technology. The claim is disputed, but scientists say it's a moment like the start of powered flight. Also in this edition: challenges to the system in Lebanon and Chile; the significance of the king of Thailand sacking his official concubine; and the issues at stake in the row over basketball, free speech, China, Hong Kong, money, and the United States. (Picture: Google boss Sundar Pichai and colleague Daniel Sank with a Google quantum computer. Credit: Reuters)

Syrian forces moved back towards the Turkish border, after the Kurds asked them to help. Alliances are shifting rapidly in the Middle East. Also in this edition: Catalan separatists get long prison sentences; an upsurge in violence in Burkina Faso; Somalia opens its first blood bank for decades; and the effect of Brexit on British politics and society. (Picture: Bystanders watch as Syrian troops move into the formerly Kurdish-held town of Ain Issa. Credit: HO via AFP)

Syrian forces moved back towards the Turkish border, after the Kurds asked them to help. Alliances are shifting rapidly in the Middle East. Also in this edition: Catalan separatists get long prison sentences; an upsurge in violence in Burkina Faso; Somalia opens its first blood bank for decades; and the effect of Brexit on British politics and society. (Picture: Bystanders watch as Syrian troops move into the formerly Kurdish-held town of Ain Issa. Credit: HO via AFP)

Turkish troops moved into Kurdish-occupied northern Syria. President Trump allowing this to happen has caused outrage. Also in this programme: the OECD moves to tax big companies; an unexpected ray of hope in Brexit talks; and why women are causing so much trouble these days. (Picture: Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, near the Turkish border. Credit: Getty Images)

The new government put its Brexit proposals to the EU. Will it get approval from Brussels - and parliament? Also in this edition: Ukraine tries to unfreeze its frozen conflict; China marks the 70th anniversary of Communist rule - as Hong Kong protests; why crowds are staying away from the world athletics championships; and the low slow retreat of the United States from world affairs. (Picture: first page of the letter from the British prime minister Boris Johnson to the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. Credit: PA)

Donald Trump and Boris Johnson both suffered major setbacks this week. One faces impeachment; the other was humiliated by Britain's top court. Also in this programme: President Assad of Syria is invited to tiptoe back onto the world stage; riots in Indonesia's easternmost provinces kill many; and how protests in Hong Kong are dividing families. (Picture: UK prime minister Boris Johnson and US president Donald Trump meet in New York. Credit: Reuters)

Drones and missiles took out half the kingdom's production. The US and Saudi Arabia blamed Iran - but there was no immediate military retaliation. Also in this edition: Italy softens its ban on Mediterranean migrants; child mortality halves; and India talks about what language it should talk in. (Picture: Smoke billows from an Aramco factory in Abqaiq in Saudi Arabia Credit: Reuters)

Judges said Boris Johnson's official reasons for suspending parliament were unlawful. The prime minister said he hadn't lied to Queen Elizabeth on the issue. Also in the programme: Tunisia gets ready for a free presidential election; Putin gets a bloody nose in Moscow local elections - though he may be coming out of the cold; and Bolton bolts: another one bites the Trump dust. (Picture: The British prime minister Boris Johnson speaks to apprentices in London after the prorogation of parliament. Credit: AFP/Getty)

Britain's prime minister suffered some bruising defeats - but an election is coming. The question is: when? Also in this edition: Hong Kong's chief executive backs down over extradition; the US and the Taliban agree an outline peace deal; Walmart deals a blow to the US gun lobby; and India decides nearly two million people in India aren't really Indian at all. (Picture: UK prime minister Boris Johnson gestures as he speaks in parliament. Credit: AFP/Getty)

Parliament will not sit for five weeks in the run-up to Brexit. Opponents cry foul. Also in this edition: Kenya makes its first oil shipment; big fines for Big Pharma; Iranian women are allowed to watch (some) men's football; and why Emmanuel Macron is emerging as leader of the West. (Picture: protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in London. Credit: Getty)

New part-civilian authorities were sworn in. It's part of a planned move to fully democratic government. Also in this edition: the populist governing coalition in Italy collapses - for the moment, at least; concern mounts about wildfires in Brazil; the Hong Kong chief executive offers an olive branch to pro-democracy protesters; and why Greenland won't be ing the United States just yet. (Picture: Sudanese people celebrate after the g of a power-sharing agreement between the military and the civilian opposition. Credit: EPA)

This was the week protestors in Hong Kong targeted the airport, when a lockdown in Kashmir stayed in place, and a teenage eco-warrior set sail on a carbon zero trip to America (Picture: Protestors at Hong Kong Airport Credit: Getty Images)

This was the week India said no more autonomy in Kashmir meant more freedom, when UN climate scientists said we should eat less meat, and we heard we may have put life on the moon (Picture: Indian security forces patrol in Indian-istered Kashmir Credit: Getty Images)

This week, Japan removed South Korea from the list of trusted trade partners. Laura Bicker traces the history of the astonishingly bad relations between the two regional powers.

Boris Johnson has become British prime minister promising a speedy Brexit. To do so, he's named top Leave campaigners to key government posts. Also in this edition: the president of Ukraine's party of political newcomers wins a majority in parliamentary elections; Algeria says universities should correspond in Arabic and English, not French; China and Russia mount air patrols together; and we go sailing in space, powered by the sun. (Picture: the new British prime minister Boris Johnson speaking in the House of Commons. Credit: PA)

The president was accused of using racist language about Democrat congresswomen. He says he's not racist, but crowds at one of his rallies chanted: 'Send her back!' Also in this edition: an outline peace deal in Sudan; China's disappointing growth figures; the race for space; and why you shouldn't say footballers are worth their weight in gold. (Picture: A er of President Trump wears a shirt with the slogan 'Love it or Leave it' - an apparent reference to Democrat congresswomen criticised by the president - at a Trump rally in North Carolina. Credit: Reuters)

Taliban and government have agreed a roap for peace. Parallel US/Taliban talks are also going well. Also in this edition: Turkey's president sacks his central bank boss; Trump forces the UK's Washington ambassador to resign; top financier Jeffrey Epstein is arrested on child sex charges; India crash out of the world cricket cup; and why the internet is replacing religion. (Picture: The Taliban spokesman in Qatar attending the intra-Afghan dialogue there. Credit: AFP/Getty)

Protests against Beijing's influence spilled over into violence. Demonstrators fear democratic freedoms will shrink. Also in this edition: Donald Trump's non-standard diplomacy; the royal split that's transfixed the Arab world; the politics that led to Europe getting two women bosses; and how Taylor Swift is splitting the music world, again. (Picture: the former colonial flag in Hong Hong's vandalised Legislative Council building. Credit: Reuters)

A father and his toddler daughter drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande. Congress was jolted into action as the US examined its conscience. Also in this edition: President Erdogan of Turkey loses a key election; mulls how to counter the far right; the impact of US sanctions on Iran; and why some politicians are returning bribes. (Picture: A man walks above the Rio Grande near where Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his daughter Valeria died. Credit: Reuters)

This week's charges thrust Crimea back into the spotlight - and keep sanctions going. Ordinary Russians are feeling the pinch. Also in this edition: contenders to be UK Conservative leader and prime minister are down to the last two; former Egyptian president Morsi dies a prisoner; what happened when a Japanese medical school stopped discriminating against women; and why Donald Trump is struggling to manage the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea. (Picture: The Netherlands chief prosecutor Fred Westerbeke speaks in front of pictures of the four suspects charged in connection with bringing down Flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. Credit: AFP/Getty)