World

A bobsleigh team from Tunisia is preparing for its own Cool Runnings moment after qualifying for the Winter Olympics. The squad from the North African country is going for glory at the Youth Winter Olympics in Gangwon, South Korea. Joanthan Lourimi, 17, Sophie Ghorbal and Beya Mokrani, both 15, will compete separately in the monobob

Standing on the hill overlooking the eruption site, it’s clear how perilously close it is to the Icelandic town of Grindavik. A search and rescue team going into the exclusion zone, past the Blue Lagoon spa and towards the evacuated town, can see the fire fountains spouting molten rock and lava sweeping towards people’s homes

Lava has flowed into the evacuated Icelandic town of Grindavik after a volcano blasted orange smoke into the night sky and spewed molten rock from the Reykjanes peninsula. A fissure has bypassed barriers that were put in place to protect the town – with the country’s prime minister calling it a “very serious situation” and

The world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes to £688bn in three years – while the wealth of the poorest 60% has fallen, according to Oxfam. It says the first trillionaire could emerge within a decade but that poverty won’t be eradicated for 229 years. The charity’s report, Inequality Inc, comes as

China has criticised the UK, US and other governments for congratulating the winner of Taiwan’s presidential election. Beijing accused several nations of “interfering in China’s internal affairs” after world leaders sent messages to president-elect Lai Ching-te following his victory on Saturday. China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory and considers it a breakaway

Denmark has a new king following the historic abdication of the country’s longest-reigning monarch Queen Margrethe II. Thousands of people converged on central Copenhagen for the succession where the 83-year-old passed on the throne to her eldest son with the signing of a declaration in parliament. King Frederik X is now the head of Europe’s

A volcano has erupted in the same peninsula in southwest Iceland where molten rock was seen spewing from fissures in the ground in December. The eruption began north of the town of Grindavik, which this weekend was evacuated over fears an eruption might be imminent amid a swarm of seismic activity. Barriers of earth and

The monarchies of Denmark and Britain do things very differently. Copenhagen’s royal handover seems a far cry from the coronation of the King. But both monarchies face similar existential questions. Denmark‘s solution though, isn’t something Britain wants to contemplate, for now. On her 21st birthday the late Queen said, “I declare that my whole life,

Iran has condemned US and British military attacks on Yemen, calling them “a clear violation of the country’s sovereignty”. Britain and the US have started launching strikes from the air and sea against military targets linked to Houthi rebels in Yemen, in response to the movement’s attacks on ships in the Red Sea in support

An oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman was boarded by “unauthorized” people in military uniforms on Thursday morning, an advisory group run by the British military and a private intelligence firm warned. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKTMO), which provides warnings to sailors in the Middle East, said the incident began early in

British and US forces have launched an attack on Houthi targets in Yemen after the Iranian-backed militant group defied a warning to stop targeting ships in the Red Sea, according to reports. Reuters said four US officials confirmed strikes had begun. In addition, three explosions were heard in the country’s capital of Sanaa, according to

Senior politicians from a German far-right party reportedly met neo-Nazi activists to discuss a proposal to deport “unassimilated” immigrants – even if they had citizenship. Investigative portal Correctiv said Roland Hartwig, the personal assistant to the leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, attended the meeting in a hotel near Berlin late last year.

Controversial deep sea mining is one step closer to reality as Norway approved the practice in a parliamentary vote, sparking furious outcry from environmental campaigners. The move opens up Norway’s seabed to heavy machinery that would scrape it for metals and minerals including magnesium, niobium, cobalt. Such materials are in demand to feed the world’s

Spain is to reintroduce the mandatory wearing of face masks in hospitals after a spike in flu and COVID cases. The nationwide mandate by Spain’s central government is due to come into force on 10 January – despite opposition from some regional health authorities. Spain’s minister of health, Monica Garcia, said the move was necessary

Emmanuel Macron has appointed France’s youngest ever prime minister – and the first to be openly gay. The French president is expected to officially confirm the appointment of 34-year-old Gabriel Attal, who became a household name as government spokesperson during the COVID pandemic. The education minister will replace the outgoing prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, as

German and World Cup football legend Franz Beckenbauer has died aged 78. The German defender – nicknamed “Der Kaiser” because of his sublime talent – was regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. He was also famed for carving out his own role as a sweeper – now often known as a

Chinese authorities say have detained a man accused of collecting state secrets for the UK’s MI6 intelligence agency. China’s ministry of state security, the country’s intelligence agency, posted on its WeChat social media account that the individual is the citizen of a third nation. The security agency has identified them only as Huang and said

Russia has launched a large-scale missile attack across Ukraine, injuring several people and hitting residential and industrial buildings, Ukrainian officials have said. All of Ukraine was under air raid alerts from around 6am local time (4am UK time) with Ukraine’s Air Force saying thecountry was under threat from several waves of cruise missiles and in

The bodies of two hikers have been found in the Italian Alps near Switzerland after they were struck by an avalanche. The force of the avalanche, which hit at around 12pm on Sunday, pushed one of the victims into a lake near the bottom of the slope, while the other body was found buried in

A nuclear power station in Japan has reported an oil leak after being shaken by a powerful earthquake. The magnitude 7.6 quake hit in the Hokuriku region on New Year’s Day and killed more than 120 people. The Shika power station is 65km (40 miles) from the epicentre and had already reported temporary power outages,