World

Germany has begun shutting down its three remaining nuclear power plants as part of a long-planned transition towards renewable energy. The shutdown of the Emsland, Neckarwestheim II and Isar II reactors, which was agreed upon more than a decade ago, has proved divisive. Other industrialised countries – such as the UK, US, Japan, China and

The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are now members of NATO, so are probably beyond Russia’s grasp – for now – but with the war in Ukraine dominating world headlines, Russia has been quietly increasing its influence and control over Belarus. Is Belarus the next target on Putin’s radar, and is there anything

Ghana has become the first country in the world to approve a new malaria vaccine developed by Oxford University. R21/Matrix-M was shown to be up to 80% effective in a trial involving 400 children in Burkina Faso, published in September. Malaria kills more than 600,000 people each year, most of them children in Africa, and

Alexei Navalny, the jailed critic of Vladimir Putin, is grappling with a mystery ailment in prison that could be the result of a slow-acting poison, his spokesperson has suggested. The opposition politician has reportedly lost 8kg in weight in just over two weeks and an ambulance was called for him over the weekend. Mr Navalny

Donald Trump has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of “kissing Xi Jinping’s a**” during his recent visit to Beijing. Mr Macron held talks with his Chinese counterpart last week in the hope of convincing him to use his relationship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Speaking to Fox News on Wednesday,

A space mission with a name like no other is about to embark on a journey to find alien life on the moons of Jupiter. Juice (that’s short for Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) is a European Space Agency (ESA) venture to make unprecedentedly detailed observations of the gas giant. It will include searching its icy

The head of Mexico’s immigration agency will face criminal charges for a fire that killed 40 migrants in a locked cell at a detention centre near the border with the US. In a statement, the federal Attorney General’s Office said National Immigration Institute head Francisco Garduno was criminally remiss in not preventing the fire, despite

Alibaba has become the latest Chinese technology giant to unveil its own ChatGPT-like AI model. Tongyi Qianwen, which translates to “truth from a thousand questions”, will be added to the firm’s existing apps, including workplace messaging and a voice assistant. Like OpenAI’s GPT tech, which has been added to websites from Microsoft’s Bing to travel

Germany is on course to shut down its three remaining nuclear power plants on Saturday. The country began phasing out nuclear power more than 20 years ago – but plans were escalated following Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Subsequent anti-nuclear demonstrations in Germany led then chancellor Angela Merkel to press ahead with plans to

Iranian authorities are installing cameras in public places to identify and penalise unveiled women in an attempt to rein in the increasing numbers who are defying the country’s strict dress rules. Those deemed to be violating Iran’s hijab rules will receive “warning text messages as to the consequences”, police in Iran say. The move is

Nearly 20 military ships – about 10 Chinese and 10 Taiwanese – are involved in a stand-off near the Taiwan Strait’s sensitive median line, Reuters reports. China also conducted simulated attacks on foreign military targets off Taiwan’s southwest coast on Sunday, the agency said, citing a source familiar with the situation. It comes on the

Six rockets have been fired from Syria towards Israel overnight, according to the Israeli military. Only three of the missiles fell within Israeli territory – two on open ground and one intercepted by air defence systems, the military said. There were no reports of casualties. Syrian state media later reported explosions in and around the

China has accused the World Health Organisation (WHO) of “attempting to smear” Beijing after the global health body’s boss said data linking the origins of coronavirus to raccoon dogs should have been shared years ago. Samples of genetic material collected at a market in Wuhan – where the first cases were detected in late 2019

China has begun three days of military exercises around Taiwan in retaliation for a meeting between the US House of Representatives speaker and the president of the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing. A Chinese amphibious landing ship – capable of transporting troops, craft and vehicles – began live-fire drills in the seas facing the Taiwan

Israeli strikes hit Lebanon and Gaza early on Friday, in response to rocket attacks it blamed on militant group Hamas. Tensions have flared in the region following police raids on the al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem this week. Blasts rocked different areas of Gaza, as Israel said its planes hit targets including tunnels and weapons

French President Emmanuel Macron has appealed to Xi Jinping to “bring Russia back to its senses and bring everyone back to the negotiating table” over the Ukraine war. The Chinese leader called for peace talks but he gave no indication that Beijing would use its leverage as President Vladimir Putin‘s diplomatic partner to press for

Emmanuel Macron has told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that the war in Ukraine has hit stability and ended decades of peace in the country. The French president is visiting Beijing alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in an attempt to use Xi’s influence over Russia to promote a peace settlement. Mr Macron said

Police in Australia are on the hunt for two people who allegedly stole a platypus. The animal was thought to be taken from its natural habitat in Moreton, Queensland, on Tuesday 4 April, at around 11am. It was then spotted wrapped in a towel being and being carried by one of the two people, boarding

From the start, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s first official visit to Poland since Russia invaded Ukraine was a meeting of friends. It was a display of warmth and solidarity, as well as several public hugs. The Ukrainian president was treated to a hero’s welcome as he visited his closest neighbour. His counterpart, Andrzej Duda, gave him the

Finland has officially become a member of NATO after concerns over Russia’s aggression. The Kremlin has said it could be forced to take “counter measures” to ensure its own border’s security in response. Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022, setting aside years of military nonalignment to seek protection under the organisation’s security umbrella