A series of tsunami warnings have been issued after a powerful earthquake off New Zealand’s North Island prompted a major evacuation. Thousands of people on the island’s east coast fled to higher ground following the third and strongest quake within hours. Workers, students and residents were told to leave their homes in areas like Northland
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German health officials have U-turned on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and recommended it is safe for use on over-65s. The German health ministry said on Thursday that its independent vaccine committee has now formally approved the COVID-19 jab for use in that age group. It comes after disproved claims in Europe that the jab was as
An “incel” who admitted using a van to kill 10 pedestrians in Toronto has been found guilty of their murder. Alek Minassian faced 10 counts of first-degree murder and 16 counts of attempted murder in connection with the attack on 23 April 2018 that drew attention to an online world of sexual loneliness, rage and
A coronavirus testing location close to the Dutch capital of Amsterdam appears to have been intentionally targeted after an explosion before the site opened, police have said. The blast in the town of Bovenkarspel, north of the capital, caused no injuries but shattered windows. The explosive “must have been placed” there, a police spokesman said.
School pupils from an all-girls’ boarding school in the town of Jangebe were required to attend a different sort of assembly this morning. Instead of the classroom, they sat in a building that government officials in the Nigerian state of Zamfara use to speak to the media. They were given a little food, then filmed
More than 300 girls who were abducted from a boarding school in Nigeria have been released and are “safe”, reports say. Gunmen abducted 317 students from the Girls Science Secondary School in Jangebe town, Zamfara state, on Friday. But Dr Bello Matawalle, the state’s governor, says the girls are “now safe”. Alhamdulillah! It gladdens my
The UK will discuss with the EU the bloc’s proposals to create a vaccine passport that could allow people to travel more freely in time for the summer holidays. The EU-wide “digital green pass” would provide proof a person has been vaccinated, as well as test results for those not yet inoculated and information on
The world could face more chemical attacks in the wake of the Salisbury poisonings as people can now learn to make such weapons online, the defence secretary has warned. Ben Wallace said access to such knowledge “can turn what might be ambitions into realities” for a whole range of attacks by non-state actors. Mr Wallace
Police in Myanmar have fired tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades at pro-democracy protestors, killing at least four and leaving several wounded. Violence erupted in the major city Yangon when a woman died after police broke up a teachers’ protest with stun grenades, though the cause of her death might have been a heart
Violence has returned to the streets of Spain after a few days of tense calm following the arrest of a rapper. Bank windows were smashed in Barcelona and at least 10 people were arrested after peaceful marches turned violent, with similar scenes in other parts of the Catalonia region. Officers also said they apprehended a
Pupils kidnapped from a boarding school in Nigeria alongside members of their family and teachers have been released, an official has confirmed. All 42 people, including 27 teenage boys, 12 of their relatives and three staff members were freed on Saturday by gunmen who had been holding them hostage since 17 February. Niger state governor
Axum is a historical city – an ancient site of pilgrimage in the Ethiopian region of Tigray. But a vicious conflict arrived in this community on the morning of 28 November, and it was signalled by the crack of gunfire from the surrounding hills. These shots would mark the beginning of 24 hours of unspeakable
A UN climate change report has found that global efforts to reduce CO2 emissions “fall far short of what is required” and that nations must “step up” to fulfil promises made under the Paris agreement. In a stark warning ahead of a make or break COP26 climate conference in Glasgow later this year, countries were
A massacre in which Eritrean soldiers killed “many hundreds” of people in the Ethiopian city of Axum may amount to crimes against humanity, an Amnesty International report has said. The report describes what could be the deadliest massacre in the ongoing crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, with soldiers in late November gunning down civilians as
European Union leaders are divided over developing vaccine passports to open the continent up to tourism this summer. Some countries want an EU-wide approach instead of individual nations having their own certificates, while others are concerned such documentation could result in discrimination. Leaders of the EU’s 27 countries met online on Thursday to start a
The US government is expected to release a declassified intelligence report that finds the Saudi crown prince responsible for approving the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Three officials familiar with the matter told NBC News that in the report – contributed to mostly by the CIA – an assessment is thought to find Crown Prince