World

The Trump administration has re-designated Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism” – hitting the country with new sanctions just days before Joe Biden takes office. Barack Obama had removed the communist island from the list in 2015, in what was regarded as one of his biggest foreign policy achievements – helping to restore diplomatic

Pakistan has started a five-day vaccination campaign to try to protect tens of millions of children against polio. The coronavirus threat will make things more challenging than previous efforts, with workers having to wear masks and gloves as they go door to door around the country. It’s hoped 40 million children can be vaccinated and

Israel’s health minister has urged countries simply to “get out there” if they want to replicate his country’s vaccination success. Speaking to Sky News, Yuli Edelstein said that expert logistics, early procurement, close co-operation with the manufacturer and Israeli innovation had all been combined to make the country a clear leader in the global vaccination

A desperate relative hoping survivors will be found following a plane crash in Indonesia has urged people to pray for his family as he awaits news. Irfansyah Riyanto’s mother and father, as well as his sister and her two children, were all on the Sriwijaya Air flight SJ 182 which disappeared on Saturday. The Boeing

Pakistan’s national power grid has experienced a major breakdown, leaving millions of people in darkness, government officials have said. “A countrywide blackout has been caused by a sudden plunge in the frequency in the power transmission system,” Power Minister Omar Ayub Khan said on Twitter. According to Mr Khan, the power breakdown was caused after

A search and rescue operation is under way in Indonesia after contact was lost with a Boeing 737-500 plane on a local flight. An Indonesian Transport Ministry spokesman said the Sriwijaya Air flight SJ 182 was flying from from the capital Jakarta to Pontianak City in West Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo. The

Kim Jong Un has threatened to expand North Korea’s arsenal of nuclear weapons and develop more sophisticated atomic weapons systems unless the US ends what he calls its “hostility” to his regime. The North Korean leader ordered officials to develop missiles with multiple warheads, underwater-launched nuclear missiles, spy satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, the Korean Central

Brisbane has entered a three-day lockdown after a cleaner at a quarantine hotel was diagnosed with the COVID-19 variant first identified in the UK. Australia’s third largest city – and its surrounding areas – will also see the introduction of compulsory face masks for the first time, the Queensland state government said. Queensland chief health

Donald Trump has conceded defeat to Joe Biden for the first time – a day after his supporters stormed the US Capitol. The president said he was “outraged” by Wednesday’s “heinous” attack, which came as politicians in Congress certified Mr Biden’s victory. Four people died in the violent protests – with a mob overwhelming police

Hong Kong pro-democracy lobbyist Joshua Wong has actually been jailed behind bars on a brand-new fee, while a restrained American attorney has actually been provided bond. Mr Wong, 24, was jailed on Thursday early morning on uncertainty of going against the debatable nationwide safety and security legislation troubled Hong Kong last June, his family and

Zara Holland has actually been fined $12,000 (₤ 4,415) by a court in Barbados after breaching COVID-19 quarantine subjugate Christmas. The previous Love Island celebrity was nailed at the flight terminal on 29 December, regardless of being informed to separate at her resort adhering to a coronavirus examination 2 days previously, according to the Royal

World leaders have condemned the storming of the US Capitol building in Washington, with many expressing their shock and outrage. Such chaotic scenes might normally be associated with the toppling of a dictator, but this was an attempt by American citizens to stop a peaceful transition to power after a democratic election. One woman was

US President Donald Trump has turned on his deputy, accusing him of lacking courage after Mike Pence said he would not intervene in the election result. In a tweet, the president wrote: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a

Visitors to Ireland will have to produce a negative COVID-19 test taken within the previous 72 hours, as the country’s government brings in a raft of tough new restrictions. The requirement for a PCR test will initially apply to travellers from Great Britain and South Africa – who until Friday night are banned from entering

Britain is putting vulnerable people at risk from mutant variants of the coronavirus by delaying the second dose of the vaccine, according to South Africa’s top adviser on immunisations. South Africa is suffering a sharp spike in cases, driven by a new variant that may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines. That threat has been underlined

Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed the “British mutation” of COVID-19 for a big spike in coronavirus cases in Israel. The Israeli prime minister said the pandemic was “spreading at top speed with the British mutation” as his government placed the country under stricter lockdown measures for the third time. “It [the British mutation] has reached Israel