World

We met an elderly man amongst the long stalks of sorghum in a valley – and a village – that local people called Alatti. He wore a sun-bleached jacket with a ‘Coca-Cola’ patch on the front and the back. I asked him his name and he said: “Ahmed. My name is Ahmed Seid.” He took

At least 46 people have been killed and more than 140 wounded after a suicide bomber attacked a mosque in Afghanistan’s northeastern Kunduz province, a state-run news agency has reported. Photos from the scene show bodies and bloodstains surrounded by rubble inside the mosque. Rescuers could be seen carrying bodies wrapped in blankets from the

The Nobel Peace prize has been awarded to two journalists who have championed press freedom against authoritarian regimes. Maria Ressa is a leading reporter in the Philippines who has been previously honoured for fighting disinformation and attacks on the free press. Dmitry Muratov is editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, an independent newspaper in Russia, which has

Governments are being urged to do what is “morally right” to ensure all countries have enough jabs – as the World Health Organisation set a target of vaccinating 70% of the world by the middle of next year. The agency also said countries need to help meet its fresh target of vaccinating 40% of the

At least 20 people have been killed and more than 200 injured after an earthquake in Pakistan. The 5.9-magnitude quake was about 12 miles deep and centred eight miles north-northeast of Harnai in Balochistan province. It hit at about 3.20am on Thursday, when most people were asleep. According to Pakistan’s The News, people had rushed

The first vaccine against malaria could be rolled out to billions of people after key advisers to the World Health Organisation (WHO) gave it the green light. Experts on the WHO’s advisory bodies for immunisation and malaria concluded the vaccine Mosquirix could save tens of thousands of lives every year. The vaccine is now expected

Taiwan’s defence minister has warned that China will be capable of mounting a “full-scale” invasion of the island by 2025. Chiu Kuo-cheng said on Wednesday that the relationship between the two countries is the worst it has been in more than four decades. Mr Chiu said there was the risk of a “misfire” across the

A French actor has said he was raped by a priest when he was eight years old. Laurent Martinez spoke out on the day a damning report into the Catholic Church in France found an estimated 330,000 children were victims of abuse between 1950 and 2020. A commission concluded that the church showed complete and

The Catholic Church in France showed complete and sometimes cruel indifference to people who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of clergy for decades, a commission investigating the abuse has found. The investigation found that an estimated 330,000 children were victims of abuse between 1950 and 2020. The report said an estimated 3,000 child abusers

Two more earthquakes have rattled the Spanish island of La Palma amid a fresh surge of lava from an erupting volcano. Part of the volcano’s crater has also collapsed – two weeks after the eruption on what is one of the Canary Islands situated off northwest Africa. Spain’s National Geographical Institute said it recorded two

North and South Korea have reopened their hotlines, around two months after they were cut by the North. At least 49 hotlines have been set up between the two countries since the 1970s and they are crucial in preventing misunderstanding resulting from unexpected military developments. They were also intended to arrange diplomatic meetings, economic and

An erupting volcano in the Canary Islands has turned “much more aggressive”, officials have warned, after two further cracks blew open, spewing lava. Amid reports of “intense” activity on La Palma, the fresh fissures, some 25m (50ft) apart, sent scorching rivers of molten rock down towards the sea, parallel to an earlier flow that reached

A huge blaze has torn through a Caribbean island resort, ravaging more than 200 homes and businesses and forcing hundreds of residents to flee. Dramatic video shared on social media showed rows of seaside properties engulfed in flames and collapsing on Guanaja, which lies around 44 miles (70km) off the north coast of Honduras. The

A serial killer who carried out a spate of murders and rapes in and around Paris in the 1980s and 1990s has been revealed as a retired police officer, according to reports in France. Francois Verove, 59, is said to have used his police identity card and handcuffs to abduct and restrain his victims. The

An erupting volcano in the Canary Islands has blown open a third fissure – sending a fresh river of lava down the mountainside. It came as authorities recorded eight new earthquakes up to magnitude 3.5 on the island of La Palma on Friday. They are now waiting to see whether lava from the new fissure

Australia will start to reopen its international border from November, allowing fully vaccinated travellers into the country. Only Australian citizens and permanent residents will be able to enter at first, and they will need to quarantine for seven days. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said individual states will have to achieve vaccination rates above 80% before

On a recent Sunday evening in Beijing, a few minutes before 8pm, Huang Chong opened a Harry Potter video game on her smartphone and tried to play. She couldn’t – by government decree. A pop up appeared on her screen: “Dear players… Minors can only play online games between 8-9pm on Fridays, weekends and national

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to a year of house arrest after illegally financing his campaign for re-election in 2012. A court in Paris said Sarkozy will be made to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. The 66-year-old, France’s president from 2007 to 2012, has vigorously denied wrongdoing and will appeal against the

At least 116 people have been killed and 80 injured during a battle between gangs in a jail in what has been described as the worst prison massacre in Ecuador’s history. President Guillermo Lasso decreed a state of emergency in the country’s prison system, allowing the government to deploy the police and soldiers to jails.

People on the Spanish island of La Palma have been urged to stay indoors due to toxic gas fears after lava from an erupting volcano reached the Atlantic Ocean. Scientists have warned of breathing difficulties and irritation to eyes and skin due to the chemical reaction caused by the lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano