World

Lebanon’s electricity grid has shut down entirely after the country’s two main power stations ran out of fuel, according to reports. The al Zahrani and the Deir Ammar power stations stopped working after supplies of diesel were apparently exhausted, and energy production dropped to below 200 megawatts. The outage will continue for a few days,

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

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

In Thailand’s fields, convicted criminals tend to a precious crop. In the blazing sun, in neon orange tops, they bend and scrape, painstakingly weeding the ground around neat lines of dark green plants. They’re growing green chiretta (Andrographis paniculate) – or Fah talai jone, as it’s called in Thailand. It’s a traditional herbal medicine commonly

More than 29 inches of rain – nearly two-and-a-half feet – fell in 12 hours in Italy this week, breaking a European record, as parts of the country were hit by extreme weather. The commune of Rossiglione in Genoa, Liguria, was among the worst affected with the record deluge of 29.2in of rain on Monday

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

Malaria is a preventable and curable disease. But it still kills one child every two minutes, overwhelmingly in Africa. Today, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced it is backing a malaria vaccine for the first time. Clinical trials have proven that Mosquirix prevents three in every 10 cases of serious malaria disease in young

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

A bomb has exploded in the entrance of a mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul, leaving a “number of civilians dead”, according to the Taliban. The blast happened as a memorial service was being held for the mother of deputy information minister Zabihullah Mujahid, who later tweeted the attack had claimed civilian lives. Those killed

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

Air New Zealand has announced that it will require passengers to be vaccinated on international flights from February. The airline’s chief executive Greg Foran said in an email to customers that the move was “a step towards opening back up to the world”. He added: “It looks like proof of vaccination and pre-departure testing are

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has announced he is planning to retire from politics and will not be running for vice president in next year’s elections when his term ends next year. He said his decision had been prompted by many Filipinos who opposed his vice-presidential bid in surveys and public forums. It means he will

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

The 35-year hunt for a serial killer in France may finally have come to an end after a former police officer left a posthumous confession saying he was “the pockmarked killer”. The corpse of a 59-year-old man identified only as Francois V was found in the southern town of Grau-du-Roi near Montpellier on Wednesday, French

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

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

Lava flowing from an erupting volcano in the Canary Islands – that could create clouds of toxic hydrochloric acid vapour – is now within 800m of the ocean.  While one of two lava rivers has slowed on La Palma, the other has picked up pace on its way to the shoreline, officials said on Tuesday.