World

Former Pope Benedict XVI is ill with shingles after returning to the Vatican from a visit to Germany, a newspaper citing his biographer has reported. The 93-year-old retired pontiff has become very frail and his voice is barely audible, author Peter Seewald told German daily Passauer Neue Presse. However, German-born Benedict met with Mr Seewald

The cameraman was filming from a distance, through the dust-covered window of a car, but he managed to capture the scene before him. A policeman and a soldier centred on a pair of local residents in a township in Harare, taking wild swings with their batons. The image was shocking and the message was clear

South Africa has confirmed more than 500,000 coronavirus cases, as the number of infections in the African continent climbs towards one million. The country reported a daily rise of 10,107 new COVID-19 infections. This brings the total to 503,290 – the fifth-highest worldwide, behind the US, Brazil, India and Russia, according to Johns Hopkins University

Lockdown restrictions were eased too quickly and now “severe measures” may be required to quell a second wave, according to the governor of Belgium’s worst-affected province. Cathy Berx, who oversees Antwerp province, told Sky News that she could “understand the fear” of a return to a full lockdown, but said that the virus was now

This isn’t how Mrs Lee imagined her middle age in Hong Kong: doing an anonymous interview, using a pseudonym, as she prepares to leave her home. “I am a traditional Hong Konger,” she tells Sky News. “I believe there ought to be justice.” “I’m not young. I’m 48 and my husband is in his fifties.

Elections for Hong Kong’s parliament – previously scheduled for September 2020 – will be postponed due to a spike in coronavirus cases. Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam said the election will now be held on 5 September 2021, and the decision is aimed at “safeguarding people’s health”. She said it was the “hardest choice”

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he is taking antibiotics for an infection that left him feeling weak – having spent weeks in isolation after catching coronavirus. He appeared during a live broadcast and chuckled as he told viewers that he had “mould” in his lungs. The leader said: “I just did a blood test. I

COVID-19 has infected millions around the world since emerging in China late last year, claiming the lives of more than 660,000 people and changing our way of life for some time to come. Now, fears of a second wave of coronavirus are growing in many nations. Here, Sky News’ foreign correspondents across Asia, the US,

It’s a familiar sight at Nigambodh Ghat, Delhi’s largest Hindu crematorium. A section of it carved out just for COVID-19-related deaths.   Hurried last rites performed on a 65-year-old man who succumbed to the virus this morning. His loved ones have to bid a distant and hurried farewell – everyone deprived of a traditional ritual.

Muslims wearing face masks and socially distancing have started arriving in Mecca for a dramatically scaled-down Hajj pilgrimage in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Some 2.5 million pilgrims usually visit the Saudi Arabian cities of Mecca and Medina for the week-long ritual – a once-in-a-lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it.

Iran has launched ballistic missiles from underground bases at a mock-up of a US aircraft carrier in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state television has said. The US navy called Wednesday’s action “irresponsible and reckless”, accusing Tehran of trying to “intimidate and coerce”. Drone footage captured by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard showed two missiles

Germany has become a key target for Chinese and Russian interference and influence, putting Europe’s largest economy on the “frontline of a new Cold War”, a study has said. Poor relations between US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have exacerbated Berlin’s sense of exposure to potential dangers from Beijing and Moscow, according

The UK – having imposed new restrictions on those returning from Spain, and previously introduced its first local lockdown in Leicester – is far from the only country to have had to respond to resurging coronavirus infection rates. Below are some of the countries that have toughened their rules as a result of an increase

Israel’s military says it has exchanged fire with gunmen linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group. The incident on Monday afternoon represents an escalation of tension along the border shared by the two countries. According to the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), a “terror squad” crossed the UN administered Blue Line on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon

Vietnam is evacuating 80,000 people, mostly local tourists, from the central city of Da Nang after 11 residents tested positive for coronavirus. The Southeast Asian country is back on high alert after confirming its first community infections since April over the weekend. The evacuation will take at least four days with domestic airlines operating approximately

Banksy has donated three oil paintings referencing the European migrant crisis to a charity auction raising money for a hospital in Bethlehem. The works, titled Mediterranean Sea View 2017, are estimated to sell for between £800,000 and £1.2m. The anonymous street artist from Bristol took 19th century-style Romantic seascapes and added life jackets and buoys