World

Australia has ordered 25 million doses of Oxford University’s potential COVID-19 vaccine, the country’s prime minister said. “Under the deal, every single Australian will be able to receive the University of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for free, should trials prove successful, safe and effective,” Scott Morrison said on Wednesday. The vaccine, called AZD1222, is being developed

Three men on trial for the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 have been acquitted in a surprise judgement. Hassan Merhi, Assad Sabra and Hussein Oneissi were all being tried, in their absence, along with a fourth man, Salam Ayyash, who was found guilty for his part in the assassination plot.

The US is to increase restrictions on Huawei to try to cut off all access to American technology for the Chinese company. Huawei’s access to US components and technology, including Google’s music and other smartphone services, was cut off last year. Those penalties were tightened in May when the White House barred vendors worldwide from

Lithuania is concerned at the possibility of Russia using the crisis in Belarus to intervene with military forces, its foreign minister has told Sky News. Linas Linkevicius said he personally doubted it would happen, but as military assistance had openly been discussed by embattled Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin, such a

Dominic Raab has said Britain does not accept the results of the “fraudulent” election in Belarus. The UK’s foreign secretary has called for an urgent investigation into the ballot’s “serious flaws”. Mr Raab also condemned acts of violence by the Belarusian authorities to suppress peaceful protests following the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko. He said

Wearing a face mask is to become mandatory in public places in Italy overnight while nightclubs have been ordered to close due to a spike in coronavirus cases, according to reports. Masks will need to be worn where social distancing is not possible between 6pm and 6am, while the closure of nightclubs and dance halls

There is no escaping from the trauma in Beirut. Hospitals inundated with victims of the explosion are now filling with protesters injured by the security forces.  Firas Hamdan told me he was out on the streets protesting last Saturday, and while filming a live broadcast on Facebook he was almost killed. You can see the

Two men on death row in Thailand for the murders of two British backpackers have had their sentences commuted to life in prison. Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin, migrant workers from Myanmar, were sentenced to death in 2015 after being found guilty of murdering David Miller, 24, and murdering and raping Hannah Witheridge, 23. Their

The young man smiled as he recalled three days of brutal beatings by riot police in Belarus detention after protesters rejected the re-election of longstanding leader Alexander Lukashenko. He said it is his way of coping with the terror and injustice. So, too, is speaking out. Igor Kviatko, 23, told Sky News he was hauled

For the first time in months, South Africans have sighed with something like relief as the number of coronavirus infections seem to have finally reached the ceiling. However, with nearly 600,000 COVID-19 cases – the fifth highest total in the world – no one will be celebrating for this country that has been pushed to

The president of Lithuania said his embattled counterpart in Belarus is no longer the legitimate leader and time is running out for him to agree to dialogue with his opponents. Gitanas Nauseda – who has offered to act as a mediator along with the presidents of Latvia, Estonia and Poland – said there cannot be

The Trump administration wants to change the rules around showerheads and water pressure in order to keep the president’s hair “perfect”. It has proposed changes to increase the amount of water that can pass through showerheads after a 1992 ruling restricted the flow to 2.5 gallons a minute. The proposals come after the most powerful

A human rights activist from Belarus has claimed the security forces once threatened to kidnap her son when he was a month old. Olga Karatch also alleged that children have been used as leverage in an attempt to coerce other female campaigners, politicians and journalists in the country. “This is unbelievable pressure, using children and

New Zealand is investigating the possibility that its first coronavirus cases in 102 days were caused by imported freight. The city of Auckland has been put back into strict lockdown by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern after four members of the same family tested positive there. But the reason behind the outbreak has baffled health officials

It’s often difficult to truly convey what people go through when a disaster strikes. But we now live in an age when lives are constantly recorded. The Saint George Hospital in Beirut has 230 security cameras – they recorded the moments of Beirut‘s tragedy as a blast rocked the city. The Chief Medical Officer, Alexander

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