North Korea has claimed it has developed a new hypersonic missile following a test flight on Tuesday. If true it would represent a significant step forward in Pyongyang’s military technology. The North’s announcement came a day after the South Korean and Japanese militaries said they detected North Korea firing a ballistic missile into sea. Hypersonic
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Twenty-one World Health Organisation (WHO) staff members were allegedly involved in sexual abuse during the agency’s response to the Ebola crisis in central Africa, according to an official report. The allegations, which include nine of rape, were identified by a special panel commissioned by WHO to look into claims involving the UN’s health agency in
Le Palma’s donation centre is a place for evacuated residents to find clothes and food, and also a place for them to console each other. I met Rosy outside, she was picking up a box of tins and fruit for her family. Her town was one of the first to be evacuated on the island.
Germany’s Social Democrats (SDP) will seek to start the process of trying to form a three-way alliance and lead the government for the first time in 16 years after Sunday’s tight election results. The SDP narrowly beat Angela Merkel’s Union bloc and the party’s leader, Olaf Scholz, hopes to strike a coalition deal before Christmas.
Preliminary results in the German election show the centre-left social democrats have beaten outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right bloc. SPD won 25.8% to the CDU/CSU’s 24.1%, according to figures from German broadcaster ARD and Reuters. The greens were next with 14.6%, followed by the FDP on 11.5%. The two parties have signalled they are willing
An exit poll in Germany suggests the two main rivals are tied in an election that will determine who will succeed Angela Merkel. No single party has ever won a total majority in the country’s Bundestag (lower house of parliament), meaning politicians will likely be plunged into negotiations in the coming days. One exit poll
The world of 2005 feels a long way away. We had president George W Bush and prime minister Tony Blair; Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles. Bombs in London and a hurricane battering New Orleans. Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France yet again, despite those rumours; London winning the right to host the Olympic
Authorities have closed La Palma’s airport as a new vent opened in an erupting volcano, spreading more ash across the island. Flights to and from the Spanish island have been cancelled as a result of the volcanic eruption that has lasted nearly a week. Rivers of lava poured down the slopes of the volcano and
The Hofbrauhaus in the heart of Munich is a huge building dedicated to the art of beer. It’s been welcoming drinkers for 432 years, during which time Bavaria has been ruled variously by princes, emperors, kings, dukes, dictators and, latterly, a load of democrats. The walls here have heard every grumble and every political aspiration.
Three more towns have been evacuated on the island of La Palma in the Canaries amid “intensifying volcanic activity”, emergency services say. Authorities ordered the evacuation of the towns of Tajuya, Tacande de Abajo and the part of Tacande de Arriba thathad not already been evacuated due to a volcanic eruption, emergency services said. Residents
The advance of lava from a volcanic eruption in Spain’s Canary Islands has slowed, rising in some places up to 50 feet as it thickens. One giant river of lava on the island of La Palma slowed to 13 feet (4m) per hour on Wednesday – on Monday, a day after the eruption, it was
Swathes of La Palma are swimming in volcanic ash. It’s everywhere, on the roads, covering cars and buildings and in your clothes, and probably lungs. The roar of the volcano can be heard for miles. It is thunderous and menacing. The lava is spewing from the crater, burning everything in its path, utterly consuming anything
A volcanic eruption in Spain’s Canary Islands could last three months, experts have said. The Canary Islands Volcanology Institute said on Wednesday that the eruption on the island of La Palma and its aftermath could last for up to 84 days. The institute said it had looked at calculations of the length of previous eruptions
Authorities have warned people on the island of La Palma of fresh dangers after a new volcanic vent blew open and rivers of unstoppable lava flowed towards more densely populated areas and the sea. Residents were cautioned on Tuesday about earthquakes, toxic gases, volcanic ash and acid rain after several small earthquakes shook the Spanish
The Australian city of Melbourne has been struck by a 6.0-magnitude earthquake, Geoscience Australia has said. The quake, which was one of the country’s biggest on record, caused some damage to buildings as it hit the city on Wednesday. No serious injuries have been reported so far, prime minister Scott Morrison said. The epicentre was
The desperation of those in Afghanistan is heart-rending. It’s in the faces of those who sit for hours with their children and their suitcases outside the building where one of the few airlifts is being organised. It’s contained in the dozens of emails sent to me: “You are a journalist. I am too. Please help
Boris Johnson has criticised other world leaders over their efforts to tackle climate change, telling them he is growing “increasingly frustrated” that their commitments are “nowhere near enough”. Speaking during a meeting at the United Nations in New York, the prime minister said the gap between what has been promised by industrialised nations and what
At least eight people have been killed and dozens injured after a gunman opened fire at a university in the Russian city of Perm, officials have said. The gunman at Perm State University was “neutralised”, according to the independent Russian news agency Interfax. The Russian Investigative Committee said the suspect had been identified as a
Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party is expected to secure an emphatic win as polls close in the country’s parliamentary election. Preliminary results from the Central Election Committee, based on just 9% of ballots counted, showed that United Russia had won 38.57% of the vote. Initial results also showed the Communist Party finishing in second place
The Taliban has replaced Afghanistan’s women’s ministry with an all-male “vice and virtue ministry”. The new ministry is tasked with enforcing the group’s extreme interpretation of Islam. Officials at the ministry told the Associated Press they had not been informed whether a new women’s ministry is being planned. Please use Chrome browser for a more