World

Lionel Messi has said he is staying at Barcelona, saying he didn’t want to take the club where he has spent all of his career to court. The Argentinian forward, regarded by many as the best footballer of all time, had expressed a desire to leave the Spanish club in recent days. Messi, 33, has

Twenty-two schools have been shut down in France and the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion due to coronavirus as cases soar in the country. More than 12 million pupils returned to classrooms in France on Tuesday but some parents and teachers’ unions have expressed concern over the reopening of schools as the spread

Possible signs of life have been detected by Beirut rescue workers in the rubble of a building that collapsed after a huge explosion a month ago, a rescue worker said. A team with a rescue dog detected movement under a destroyed building in the Gemmayze area of the Lebanese capital, one of the worst hit

A senior German politician has called for a “European response” after “unequivocal evidence” found that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the nerve agent novichok. Norbert Roettgen, who heads Germany’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said it was necessary to “pursue hard politics” and “respond with the only language (President) Putin understands – that

Hospital tests have shown Putin critic Alexei Navalny was “without doubt” poisoned with a nerve agent from the novichok group, the German government has said. Tests performed on samples taken from the Russian opposition leader from his hospital bed in Berlin showed the presence of the Soviet-era agent, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert

Australia has fallen into recession for the first time in more than 28 years. The country joins the likes of America, Britain, and Germany in recording two quarters in a row of decline after the coronavirus pandemic crushed world economies. Official figures show gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by a record 7% in the second

India’s economy has suffered its worst slump in 24 years as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. Official data shows the economy shrunk by 23.9% in the quarter from April to June – its worst performance since the government began releasing quarterly data in 1996. And economists say the impact on GDP

Ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are melting at a rate which matches the worst-case scenario for sea level rises, according to a new study. The vast majority of the planet’s ice mass is contained in the Antarctic ice sheet, which would cause sea levels to rise by 58 metres if it melted completely. The

Wildfires have been ravaging parts of Europe over the past few days, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes. In Greece, four water-dropping planes and two helicopters helped dozens of firefighters contain a huge blaze on Sunday at the edge of one of the country’s most important archaeological sites – Mycenae. Located around 120km

If there are symbols of just how indebted the Syrian opposition forces are to Turkey, then the new army base in Aleppo Province for its elite Al Hamza division is evidence of this. The Turkish red crescent flag is given as much prominence as the Syrian opposition one. In the grand greeting rooms where commanders

Tens of thousands of protesters have rallied in Minsk in opposition to Alexander Lukashenko, with many directing chants of “happy birthday, you rat” towards the embattled Belarusian president. Mr Lukashenko, who refuses to stand down over election rigging claims, spent his 66th birthday on Sunday at his residence in the capital, where he was again

At least 29 people are dead after a two-storey restaurant collapsed during a birthday party in China. A further 28 were injured, including seven of them seriously, China’s Ministry of Emergency Management said. The building in Linfen city suddenly fell apart on Sunday but it is not yet clear what caused this. Image: Dozens of

The Italian coastguard has helped a rescue boat funded by British street artist Banksy after the vessel became stranded in the Mediterranean Sea. The boat was unable to move due to an overcrowded deck after picking up 219 migrants off the Libyan coast since Thursday. The crew said on Twitter they were close to declaring

A man described as a “sick monster” has been charged over the murders of two young brothers after being invited to stay at their Florida property. Mark Wilson Jr, 30, allegedly used a knife and hammer to attack Robert Baker, 12, and his brother, Tayten, 14. He has been arrested. The boys’ mother found their

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s symptoms are improving after his suspected poisoning, the German doctors treating him have said. The 44-year-old is stable and there is “no immediate danger to his life”, according to the Charite hospital in Berlin, although it “remains too early to gauge potential long-term effects”. Russian officials have rejected accusations from

Before Shinzo Abe came to power in 2012, the entrance to the Japanese prime minister’s office may as well have been a revolving door.  From 1993 to 2012, there were 13 prime ministers (including Abe, in his year-long first term). Abe bucked that trend, remarkably. He became the country’s longest-serving prime minister earlier this month.