World

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

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab and the country’s entire government has resigned after the deadly Beirut blast that killed at least 160 people. In a brief televised speech, Mr Diab said he is taking “a step back” so he can stand with the people “and fight the battle for change alongside them”. He said: “I

Police and protesters have clashed in the capital of Belarus and other cities after a contested presidential election. Authoritarian Alexander Lukashenko, who is seeking a sixth term in office, was on track to win the election on Sunday night, with the country’s elections commission saying partial results showed him with more than 90% in some

A Lebanese government minister has quit following the devastating explosion in Beirut that killed more than 150 people, as protesters called for a sustained uprising to topple the country’s leaders. Information minister Manal Abdel-Samad said she was resigning “given the magnitude of the catastrophe” and “in response to the public will for change”. Another minister

Seething with anger, Beirut is a traumatised city that is in danger of tearing itself apart. Tens of thousands of people came from all over the country to the capital to show their utter disgust for the political class that they blame for the explosion that has wrecked the capital. The protests were the biggest

Tear gas has been fired in Beirut as people protesting against the government’s handling of this week’s explosion tried to reach the parliament building. Riot police took action as about 5,000 people gathered in the central Martyrs’ Square and attempted to break through a barrier. More than 100 were injured and 32 taken to hospital,

This is not the election that the long-time leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, had planned. The last five were not hard fought. No need when the entire apparatus of the state is busily engaged engineering a slam-dunk majority for the incumbent. This Sunday was set to be one more token polling day that would see

At least 14 people are dead after an Air India Express flight carrying 191 passengers skidded off the runway at Calicut Airport in Kerala. The plane, which had 10 infants on board, was coming in from Dubai when it overshot the runway and split into two as it landed in heavy rain on Friday, police

India has reported a record daily jump in coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections in the country above two million. On Friday, officials confirmed that 62,538 new cases had been identified. India is the third worst-affected country in the world behind the US and Brazil. Image: Health workers during a check-up campaign in

Lebanon needs a new “political initiative” as part of its rebuilding process because of corruption in the country, the French president has told Sky News. Emmanuel Macron became the first foreign leader to visit the site of the Beirut explosion on Thursday. The French leader arrived in the country with aid as international search teams