World

Afghanistan has been hit by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake, its third in a week. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said it was at a depth of 10km and affected the same region as last week’s earthquakes, which killed almost 2,500 people. It hit the Herat province, north of the city of Herat – the same

Israel is preparing to launch a “coordinated offensive” on the Gaza Strip, after the deadline given to Palestinians to move south to escape passed. Up to 1.1 million people on the sliver of land were offered safe passage south of the Gaza Wadi river by Israel’s Defence Forces until 4pm local time on Saturday (2pm

Ireland have been knocked out of the Rugby World Cup at the hands of New Zealand. Ireland, who at one point were favourites to win the tournament outright, lost 24-28 to the three-time champions at Paris’s Stade De France. It means New Zealand play Argentina in next week’s semi-final, after Los Pumas beat Wales in

Wales have been knocked out of the Rugby World Cup after losing in a quarter final against Argentina 29-17. Warren Gatland’s side had been tipped as the favourites before the clash in Marseille. But after their defeat, Argentina now progress to the last four in France to face either Ireland or New Zealand, who play

France will deploy 7,000 soldiers for increased security patrols after a terror attack killed a schoolteacher and wounded three others, the president’s office has said, while the Louvre was evacuated after a threat. The museum in Paris closed early on Saturday because it received a written threat. It said no one had been hurt and

Australia will vote against proposals to enshrine an indigenous advocacy committee in its constitution in a historic referendum, local media are projecting The Indigenous Voice, as it was called, would have been an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander group to advise the government on issues affecting their community. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who championed the

Israel’s military says infantry backed by tanks have carried out “localised raids” in the Gaza Strip. It comes ahead of an expected ground operation, with Israel warning more than a million people in the north of Gaza to evacuate to the south. The small raids were carried out to attack Hamas rocket crews and seek

Israeli infantry and tanks have carried out “localised raids” in Gaza – the first hint at a shift to ground assaults. The small raids were carried out to attack Hamas rocket crews and seek information on the location of hostages taken by Palestinian gunmen last Saturday, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. It is the first

A teacher has died and two people have been seriously injured during a knife attack at a school in France, according to local media. The incident took place at the Gambetta secondary school in Arras – a town in northern France, near to the city of Lens. “The perpetrator is in police custody,” French interior

Two Italian players have been dropped from their national team amid a reported betting probe involving the men. Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali and Aston Villa’s Nicolo Zaniolo will both miss the team’s upcoming games with Malta and England, the Italian football federation (FIGC) said. The FIGC did not reveal what the pair were being investigated

The government has organised flights to get British nationals out of Israel, the Foreign Office has said. The first flight is set to leave Tel Aviv later on Thursday, it added. Airlines and governments are scrambling to evacuate thousands from Israel ahead of a possible ground assault on Gaza. Evacuation efforts come as the combined

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Hamas is the “enemy of civilisation” and will be “crushed”. Speaking alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Mr Netanyahu thanked Washington for its support since Hamas’s attack – adding the militant group should be treated “exactly as ISIS was treated”. Mr Netanyahu said “no country should harbour”

The King has expressed his condolences and “deep shock” at the “barbaric” actions by Hamas in a call with Israel’s president – as Prince William said he was “profoundly distressed” by the “horrors” inflicted. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog thanked the King for his support and said his words were an “important statement” which would serve

Israel could be just “hours or days” from launching a ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza, according to Sky’s security and defence analyst Michael Clarke. With more than two million people living in Gaza, which is 25 miles wide, what would Israel consider before such an attack and how could Hamas respond? Here, we look at

Beer quality is on a steady decline and is likely to cost more at the bar because of climate change, a new study has found. Experts said with falling hop yields, British and European drinkers should expect to see the cost of beer increase in the coming years. Researchers highlighted how the increase in agricultural

Hundreds of homes have been flattened as another earthquake shook a part of western Afghanistan on Wednesday morning – just days after more than 2,445 died in an earlier quake. At least 80 were injured in the 6.3 magnitude earthquake in rural parts of Herat province, around 28km (17 miles) outside the region’s capital, Herat.

Israel will be looking at all military options at the moment.  And they don’t look very good – not with 130 or so Israeli hostages imprisoned and dispersed all over Gaza. But after Israel’s current bombing campaign – designed to go after Hamas ammunition supplies and command facilities, most of which are disguised in ostensibly

From destroyed homes I watched stretcher bearers bringing out the body of a small child.    Without saying a word, the men carried the body and loaded it onto a truck alongside the bodies of other members of the community murdered as they hid or tried to defend themselves. We were taken to the Kfar

UK gas prices have reached a six-month high after an Israeli gas field was closed and a Finnish gas pipe was damaged. While the oil price stabilised from Monday morning by returning to below $88 (£71.84) a barrel, UK gas prices rose more than 12% to nearly 123p a therm (122.96) Tuesday afternoon – a

Iran is being widely accused of helping orchestrate Hamas’s attack on Israel. Although Iran has denied direct involvement, the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said it “kisses the hands of those who planned the attack on the Zionist regime”. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) has long supported Hamas with both financial and military assistance.