World

Spain is to reintroduce the mandatory wearing of face masks in hospitals after a spike in flu and COVID cases. The nationwide mandate by Spain’s central government is due to come into force on 10 January – despite opposition from some regional health authorities. Spain’s minister of health, Monica Garcia, said the move was necessary

Emmanuel Macron has appointed France’s youngest ever prime minister – and the first to be openly gay. The French president is expected to officially confirm the appointment of 34-year-old Gabriel Attal, who became a household name as government spokesperson during the COVID pandemic. The education minister will replace the outgoing prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, as

German and World Cup football legend Franz Beckenbauer has died aged 78. The German defender – nicknamed “Der Kaiser” because of his sublime talent – was regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. He was also famed for carving out his own role as a sweeper – now often known as a

Sex tapes are alleged to have been taken of Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton and Sir Richard Branson by Jeffrey Epstein, court documents have revealed. Sarah Ransome, who says she was a victim of Epstein, wrote about claims that the Duke of York, the ex-US president and billionaire businessman were filmed by the paedophile US financier.

Chinese authorities say have detained a man accused of collecting state secrets for the UK’s MI6 intelligence agency. China’s ministry of state security, the country’s intelligence agency, posted on its WeChat social media account that the individual is the citizen of a third nation. The security agency has identified them only as Huang and said

Russia has launched a large-scale missile attack across Ukraine, injuring several people and hitting residential and industrial buildings, Ukrainian officials have said. All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts from around 6am local time (4am UK time) with Ukraine’s Air Force saying thecountry was under threat from several waves of cruise missiles and in

The bodies of two hikers have been found in the Italian Alps near Switzerland after they were struck by an avalanche. The force of the avalanche, which hit at around 12pm on Sunday, pushed one of the victims into a lake near the bottom of the slope, while the other body was found buried in

Violence has been reported in Bangladesh as 120 million people are set to vote in a general election that has a foregone conclusion. There have been a total of 18 arson attacks, including 10 on polling booths in the last 48 hours, authorities said. On Friday, four people including one child were killed when a

A football team from Martinique which made an 8,000 mile (12,900km) round-trip to play a cup tie in France lost the match 12-0. Golden Lion are the reigning champions on the island, an overseas region of France in the Caribbean, and one of several teams from outside the country to enter the French cup. Unfortunately

Despite Russia having significantly greater firepower, its illegal invasion of Ukraine has not gone according to plan. Although Ukraine was not a member of NATO, the West responded to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s appeal for help with a mass of hi-tech weapons and ammunition. However, following nearly two years of high-intensity conflict, both sides are running

No investigation has been launched after Prince Andrew was among scores of people named as associates of Jeffrey Epstein in court papers unsealed by a US court, the Met Police have said. The newly unsealed court documents name dozens of Epstein’s associates, although many of them are not accused of any wrongdoing. In one document,

A drone boat packed with explosives has detonated in the Red Sea. The US navy says the vessel belonged to Houthi rebels, and no damage or casualties have been reported since the blast. Houthis, who control much of Yemen and are aligned with Iran, have launched multiple attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea

India has secured the fastest Test victory in history to produce a winner, with their seven-wicket triumph over South Africa achieve in only a day and a half. The visitors levelled the series at Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town with the match completed in 642 balls (107 overs). Previously, the record was 656 balls

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II rode through the country’s capital in a gilded, horse-drawn coach as she concluded her New Year celebrations and made her final public appearance as monarch before abdicating this month. Europe’s current longest-serving monarch will step down on Sunday 14 January – exactly 52 years to the day of her accession to

India secured the fastest Test victory in history to produce a winner, with their seven-wicket triumph over South Africa achieved in only a day and a half. The visitors levelled the series at Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town with the match completed in 642 balls (107 overs). Previously, the record was 656 balls when

Are Israel and Hezbollah heading for war? An Israeli drone strike killing a Hamas operative in Hezbollah’s urban stronghold certainly gives that impression. And we are hearing more and more from Israeli officials and their mouthpieces in the Western media suggesting a bigger war is increasingly likely. The 7 October attacks changed the rules for

At least 20 people have been killed at a cemetery in Iran where a ceremony was being held to mark the 2020 killing of Iran’s top commander Qassem Soleimani, state media has reported. The reports added there were two explosions at the site in the city of Kerman where the former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

As firefighters and rescue crews work on the ground following a huge plane fire at Tokyo’s Haneda airport in Japan, investigators behind the scenes will try to piece together how it happened. Captured in dramatic footage from the scene, a Japan Airlines aircraft can be seen bursting into flames and moving along the runway in

The number of people killed after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Japan has risen to at least 30. A series of quakes struck Ishikawa prefecture on Monday afternoon, triggering a now-cancelled tsunami alert that caused some to flee to higher ground. Buildings collapsed, cracks opened in roads and fires broke out – with Japan‘s prime minister

Israel’s Supreme Court has struck down a controversial law passed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government that rolled back some of the high court’s power and sparked nationwide protests. The new legislation had removed one of the methods by which the Supreme Court can quash government and ministers’ decisions. The law would have stripped