British and EU negotiators will return to the negotiating table today in a “final throw of the dice” as they try to secure a post-Brexit trade deal. With time running out before the Brexit transition period ends at the end of the month, Britain’s chief negotiator Lord Frost will reconvene talks with his EU counterpart
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An RAF reconnaissance aircraft has captured images of the world’s largest iceberg as it heads towards the island of South Georgia. The 4,200-sq-km block, known as A68a, is currently travelling through the Southern Antarctic Front. The A400M captured details of the cracks and fissures within the main body of the iceberg as well as ice
Italy has unveiled tough new restrictions for Christmas after recording the highest number of daily coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began. Figures show there were 993 COVID-related deaths and 23,225 new cases on Thursday. The previous record of 919 deaths came in March at the peak of the first wave. Italy was the first Western
The Bangladesh government is moving thousands of Rohingya refugees to a remote island in the coming days – despite human rights groups’ calls to stop the process. Bhasan Char, which emerged from the sea less than 20 years ago, is exposed to annual flooding and cyclones during the monsoon season, which lasts for five months
A cyber espionage campaign targeted at companies vital to the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines has been detected. According to an alert issued by the US government and a research blog published by IBM, the hacking campaign started in September. It targeted a range of organisations, including in government and across the energy and IT sectors,
Former French president Valery Giscard d’Estaing has died aged 94 after contracting coronavirus, his office has said. He led the country from 1974 to 1981 and became a champion of European integration. Mr Giscard d’Estaing died at home in the Loir-et-Cher region and had recently been in hospital in the town of Tours. A foundation
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has faced a backlash after claiming Brexit helped the UK become the first country in the world to have a clinically authorised coronavirus vaccine. The Pfizer/ BioNTech jab has been approved by Britain’s medicines regulator – but the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has yet to do the same for the EU.
Officials looking for a British hiker who went missing while walking in the Pyrenees are investigating “other options beyond a mountain accident”, her partner has said. Esther Dingley had been travelling through Europe since 2014 with her partner, Dan Colegate, and had been expected to return from a solo trek last Wednesday. Local police say
At least two people have been killed and several are injured after a car drove into pedestrians in the German city of Trier, police say. Public broadcaster SWR reported that the driver had been detained by police, adding that details of the incident were unclear. Police said rescue crews were on the scene. Advertisement
Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has suffered its worst deforestation for 12 years. An area of 11,088 km2 (2.7 million acres) – seven times the size of London – was lost in a year. The official data from Brazil’s space research agency was released on Monday and showed a 9.5% annual increase. Satellite images from August 2019
An Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated by a remote-controlled machine gun mounted on a car, the country’s semi-official Fars news agency has reported. Al Alam, Iranian state TV’s Arabic language channel, has made a similar claim stating that weapons “controlled by satellite” were used in the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on Friday. However the channel
Australia has demanded a Chinese official take down a fake image posted on Twitter depicting an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child. In a media briefing condemning the image, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described it as “truly repugnant”. “It is utterly outrageous and cannot be justified on any
Formula 1 racing driver Romain Grosjean has survived a high-speed crash at the Bahrain Grand Prix, emerging from his car as it was engulfed in flames after smashing through a barrier. The 34-year-old hopped out of his car – which was ripped in two – managing to escape after being inside the car while it
Six explosions were reported in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, late on Saturday, according to the US State Department. “At 10.13pm on Nov 28 there were six explosions in Asmara,” the state department said on Twitter, although the cause and location were not clear. There has been no immediate comment from either Eritrean government officials or
Thousands of people have taken part in protests in France against a proposed new law that would ban the filming of police. The demonstrations, at numerous sites across the country, took on an additional significance as they came in the hours after President Emmanuel Macron said footage showing Paris police attacking a black man was
An Iranian nuclear scientist has died after an armed attack, according to state media. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh died in hospital on Friday from his injuries, Iranian state media reported. “Unfortunately, the medical team did not succeed in reviving him, and a few minutes ago, this manager and scientist achieved the high status of martyrdom after years