World

The world’s second tallest man is competing in the Paralympics – but he is so tall, he has to sleep on the floor. Morteza Mehrzadselakjani, better known as Mehrzad, is 8ft 0.85in tall and a two-time Paralympic champion in sitting volleyball, representing Iran. But even though he had a custom-made bed for the Tokyo Paralympics,

A polio vaccination campaign is under way in Gaza – while medics claimed at least 49 people were killed in Israeli strikes ahead of the rollout. The UN, relying on daily eight-hour pauses in fighting between Israel and Hamas, is aiming to vaccinate 640,000 children in the territory. Healthcare workers in Gaza have warned of

A judge has ordered social media giant X, formerly known as Twitter, to be taken down in Brazil. Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes made the order after the site’s billionaire owner Elon Musk failed to name a legal representative in Brazil. The judge and Musk have been feuding in public for months after X

There is evidence Israel could be establishing infrastructure in Gaza signalling plans for a long-term military presence in the Strip. Satellite imagery, gathered over months, has mapped the creation of a new corridor in northern Gaza that is almost a kilometre in width in some places. It reaches from Gaza’s border with Israel to the

The world’s richest man and one of Brazil’s Supreme Court justices are set for a showdown with Elon Musk’s social media platform X facing a ban in the world’s fourth largest economy. Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes issued an order on Wednesday for X to appoint a new legal representative within 24 hours or

Israel and Hamas have tentatively agreed to a series of brief ceasefires in parts of Gaza so that the polio vaccine can be safely distributed, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said. The pauses will begin on Sunday and will take place in three phases covering central Gaza first, then the south and finally the

Flights have been grounded and police officers were forced to communicate by text while on duty as a network outage at the Dutch ministry of defence caused major IT failures across the country. The extent and cause of the problems are not yet known, but a spokesperson for the Dutch defence ministry confirmed the issue

An Austrian surgeon allegedly let his teenage daughter drill a hole in a patient’s skull. Following a forestry accident in January, a 33-year-old man was been flown by air ambulance to Graz University Hospital, Styria, southeastern Austria, with serious head injuries, according to Kronen Zeitung, an Austrian newspaper. He needed emergency surgery, but the doctor

Russia launched about 200 missiles and drones at Ukraine overnight on Monday, in what appeared to be the biggest attack on the country in weeks. At least five people have been killed and dozens injured due to the strikes, which caused significant damage to Ukraine‘s energy sector in at least 15 different regions – more

In a dusty square at the centre of the small Chadian town of Tiné, four aid trucks are crammed with medicine and food. Supplies sent to relieve civilians trapped in a besieged and famine-ridden area of North Darfur, Sudan – just across a narrow valley border – have been sitting in the sun for weeks.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has vowed to step up deportations of rejected asylum seekers after it emerged the suspect in Friday’s knife attack was a Syrian who was due to be removed. Mr Scholz made the remarks while visiting a makeshift memorial site for the victims of the attack in Solingen, which saw a suspected

Israel and Hezbollah have reportedly exchanged messages via intermediaries aimed at preventing further escalation after both sides traded heavy fire on Sunday. The development comes hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned “this is not the end of the verse” after Israel launched “pre-emptive strikes” against Hezbollah in Lebanon in the early hours of

Telegram founder Pavel Durov is a “political prisoner” after his arrest in France, a Russian official has said. The 39-year-old Russian-born billionaire behind the encrypted messaging app was detained after his private jet landed at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of Paris on Saturday. It is unclear what Mr Durov was arrested for but

This appears to have been a high-stakes Israeli military operation that risked igniting a regional war.  Israel will say it had no choice: One of the pillars of Israeli military doctrine has long been the principle that offence is the best form of defence. It is not the first time it has used its air

German prosecutors have named the man suspected of carrying out a knife attack at a festival that killed three people and injured eight. The Syrian national Issa Al H is accused of being “a member of a terrorist organisation abroad”, saying he shares the “ideology of Islamic State” (IS). He has also been charged with

Israel has launched airstrikes inside Lebanon – as Hezbollah says it has begun an attack with a large number of drones. Sirens have been heard in northern parts of Israel – and reports suggest flights to and from Tel Aviv have been suspended. In a statement, the Israeli military accused Hezbollah of “preparing to file

Israel has launched “pre-emptive” airstrikes in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah – as the militant group said it had fired drones and hundreds of rockets. Warning sirens sounded in northern Israel and explosions were heard as the military’s Iron Dome aerial defence system shot down missiles from southern Lebanon. Flights to and from Tel Aviv’s Ben

Police have arrested the person suspected of carrying out the stabbing attack at a festival in Germany. A 56-year-old woman and two men, aged 56 and 67, died following the attack in the city of Solingen on Friday. Eight people were injured, four seriously, while “many other people have suffered mental stress”. The state internal

A volcano has erupted in Iceland, forcing the evacuation of nearby homes. Red-hot lava can be seen shooting up from the ground on the Reykjanes Peninsula. It is the sixth time in the last eight months that the area has seen an eruption. The nearby town of Grindavik has been largely abandoned since late last

Brazil has awarded special protected status to Scotch whisky – with the UK’s trade secretary toasting the decision by visiting a distillery in Scotland. Brazil legally recognised Scotch whisky during the UK’s pre-election period in June and the move is expected to give distillers better access to South America’s largest economy. The Department for Business