The US Congress has approved a short extension to allow US intelligence agencies to collect information from foreign targets without a warrant, after a three-year extension failed to gather enough votes to pass, Al Jazeera reports.

President Donald Trump and intelligence officials have for weeks urged Congress to renew a key provision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that allows agencies like the CIA, National Security Agency and FBI to conduct warrantless surveillance.

The temporary patch, which received wide support in the Senate and House, extends the programme through June 12.