World

Coronavirus has broken out again in New Zealand after more than 100 days and prompted the country’s government to put its largest city into strict lockdown. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday said four people from one family in South Auckland were found to have contracted COVID-19. These are the first new cases of locally-acquired

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab and the country’s entire government has resigned after the deadly Beirut blast that killed at least 160 people. In a brief televised speech, Mr Diab said he is taking “a step back” so he can stand with the people “and fight the battle for change alongside them”. He said: “I

Police and protesters have clashed in the capital of Belarus and other cities after a contested presidential election. Authoritarian Alexander Lukashenko, who is seeking a sixth term in office, was on track to win the election on Sunday night, with the country’s elections commission saying partial results showed him with more than 90% in some

A Lebanese government minister has quit following the devastating explosion in Beirut that killed more than 150 people, as protesters called for a sustained uprising to topple the country’s leaders. Information minister Manal Abdel-Samad said she was resigning “given the magnitude of the catastrophe” and “in response to the public will for change”. Another minister

Seething with anger, Beirut is a traumatised city that is in danger of tearing itself apart. Tens of thousands of people came from all over the country to the capital to show their utter disgust for the political class that they blame for the explosion that has wrecked the capital. The protests were the biggest

Tear gas has been fired in Beirut as people protesting against the government’s handling of this week’s explosion tried to reach the parliament building. Riot police took action as about 5,000 people gathered in the central Martyrs’ Square and attempted to break through a barrier. More than 100 were injured and 32 taken to hospital,

This is not the election that the long-time leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, had planned. The last five were not hard fought. No need when the entire apparatus of the state is busily engaged engineering a slam-dunk majority for the incumbent. This Sunday was set to be one more token polling day that would see

At least 14 people are dead after an Air India Express flight carrying 191 passengers skidded off the runway at Calicut Airport in Kerala. The plane, which had 10 infants on board, was coming in from Dubai when it overshot the runway and split into two as it landed in heavy rain on Friday, police

India has reported a record daily jump in coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections in the country above two million. On Friday, officials confirmed that 62,538 new cases had been identified. India is the third worst-affected country in the world behind the US and Brazil. Image: Health workers during a check-up campaign in

Lebanon needs a new “political initiative” as part of its rebuilding process because of corruption in the country, the French president has told Sky News. Emmanuel Macron became the first foreign leader to visit the site of the Beirut explosion on Thursday. The French leader arrived in the country with aid as international search teams

It takes a very hardened sort of individual not to feel and empathise with the pain of new parents sitting outside the Intensive Care Unit where their little one is struggling to live. “She’s only four days old,” her father, George Ajoury, told us. “I was breastfeeding her,” Nelly Ajoury, her mother explained. “I tried

The number of dead in Beirut’s huge explosion has risen to 135, with around 5,000 injured and tens of people still missing as rescuers search for survivors, say Lebanese officials. President Michel Aoun said the blast was caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate – used in fertilisers and as an explosive – which was

Donald Trump has contradicted Lebanese officials and suggested a “terrible attack” caused a massive explosion that killed at least 70 people in Beirut. The cause of the blast, which also injured thousands of others, has not been confirmed – but the Lebanese prime minister has blamed thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at a

At least 10 people have been killed in a huge explosion in the Lebanese capital Beirut, officials have said. The country’s health minister Hamad Hasan also told local news station LBC that there are a “high number of injuries” and the blast had caused extensive damage. Footage shows the moment a building several storeys high

Baby A is less than an hour old and already on Turkey’s pandemic risk list. She’s whisked away by two nurses in hazmat suits for her own safety – and for theirs. She is a rare thing – a baby born to a woman with coronavirus. Her mother, who has just given birth to her,

North Korea has “probably developed miniaturised nuclear devices to fit into the warheads of its ballistic missile”, according to a confidential UN report. It says several unidentified countries believe North Korea’s past six nuclear tests have likely helped it to develop such a capability. An interim version of the report – by an independent panel