A $10bn (£7.5bn) space telescope has left Earth on a mission to give humankind its first glimpse of the infant universe. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is the world’s most powerful, set off attached to an Ariane rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana at 12.20pm on Christmas Day. It is designed
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A British man working in Afghanistan has reportedly been detained by the Taliban after he went missing. Grant Bailey, believed to be in his 50s and from the south of England, was working for a non-governmental organisation in Afghanistan before he disappeared. He is understood to have returned to the country in September, despite Kabul
A fire on-board a ferry has killed at least 39 people and injured 72 in Bangladesh, officials have said. The blaze broke out at about 3am local time on Friday. It tore through the MV Avijan-10 ferry sailing off the coast of Bangladesh‘s Jhalokati district in the Sugandha River. The boat was carrying 800 passengers
Ireland’s president has commended the “courage, resilience, patience and deep commitment to others” in response to the global pandemic. In his annual Christmas and New Year message, Michael D Higgins extended his sympathies to those who had lost loved ones to COVID-19 in 2021. Ireland has recorded a total of 5,890 coronavirus-related deaths and 673,000
Russia doesn’t want conflict with the Ukraine but Western powers must provide Moscow with “unconditional security” guarantees, President Vladimir Putin says. Speaking at his annual news conference, Mr Putin said the US has missiles at “Russia’s doorstep” and the “ball is in the West’s court” in relation to security in the region. The conference comes
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that “blanket” COVID-19 vaccine booster programmes were “likely to prolong the pandemic”. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the widespread distribution of boosters risked diverting supply to countries that had high levels of their populations already jabbed and away from those that need it most. That
A Madagascan government minister said he swam for 12 hours after his helicopter crashed at sea during a rescue mission. Police Minister Serge Gelle had been part of a team searching the northeast coast of the country after a cargo ship illegally carrying 130 passengers sank, killing at least 19 people. A further 66 are
Vladimir Putin has threatened a “military-technical response” if Western countries continue with what he calls “unfriendly” actions over Ukraine. Speaking to military officials, Mr Putin said there was no room to retreat in the standoff currently centred on the former Soviet state. Concerns are growing that Russia is planning to invade its neighbour with thousands
Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has been ordered to pay around £550m to his former wife and their two children in what is thought to be the largest award of its kind ordered by an English court. Judge Philip Moor said most of the money awarded to Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, who
With record numbers of daily infections in recent days, the UK is currently a hotspot for Omicron – but the latest COVID-19 variant has hit other countries around the world, too. The US government’s chief medical officer Dr Anthony Fauci has called on Americans to get vaccinated, as densely populated areas such as New York
“What if you’re married… but your husband dies? Who is going to come in and feed you? Who is going to help you look after yourself?” This is how Evangelista Apelis and her team convinced some communities in Papua New Guinea that women, so far banned from diving, should be allowed to take it up
The sound of the distant rumble of sporadic artillery, in positions a few miles away from us, only adds to the tension. We approach Ukrainian army positions through an icy fog that portends to the inevitable snowstorms that will soon envelop the east of the country. The army unit we are with is dug in
An 11-year-old boy has been named as the sixth child to be killed in a bouncy castle accident four days ago in Australia’s island state Tasmania, police have confirmed. The children fell 10 metres (33 feet) to the ground as they were left trapped inside an inflated bouncy castle that was lifted into the air
The Netherlands will enter into a tough lockdown from tomorrow morning to curb the spread of Omicron, with non-essential shops, bars, restaurants, and other public places to close. Schools will also shut from Monday, and the lockdown will run until at least 14 January, Prime Minister Mark Rutte has announced. He added it was “unavoidable
Ukraine faces “a dozen tonnes” of pro-Russian disinformation aimed at justifying Moscow’s false claims to the territory and to soften the ground ahead of a possible new invasion, the Ukrainian information minister has said. With international concern growing over the threat of a large-scale Russian military offensive, Oleksandr Tkachenko said his country is already under
The Kurdish travel agent, responsible for 10 of the people who died crossing the Channel last month, has told Sky News he thinks about the dead every day and defended his role in the network. “Even if we don’t participate, the process will still happen,” he said. “As an agency in Kurdistan and Iraq, we