A German coach has been kicked out of the Olympics after she was filmed appearing to punch a horse after it refused to jump. Kim Raisner was filmed leaning over a fence to strike the horse Saint Boy during the women’s modern pentathlon competition. German athlete Annika Schleu had been struggling to control the horse
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A former Afghan interpreter has described how he ignored a Taliban demand to quit his job with British forces, so the “killing machines” murdered his brother. The 35-year-old, who has just arrived on a rescue flight from Afghanistan to the UK with his family, said he was also attacked in a separate ambush and had
A volunteer firefighter has died in and thousands of people have been evacuated from an island near Athens as wildfires rage in Greece. Civil Protection chief Nikos Hardalias said firefighters faced “exceptionally dangerous, unprecedented conditions” as they battled 154 wildfires on Friday, with 64 still burning into the night. “Over the past few days we
British nationals in Afghanistan are being told to leave immediately as the country moves into what the UN has described as a “deadlier and more destructive phase”. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Friday evening issued an advisory against all travel to Afghanistan. It added: “If you are still in Afghanistan, you are advised
Security forces in Lebanon have fired water cannon and tear gas at anti-government protesters calling for justice on the one-year anniversary of the Beirut explosion. Demonstrators in the city had been throwing stones at the parliament building, with some trying to climb its gate. Earlier, thousands of people gathered to hold a moment of silence
More than 300 people have died after disastrous flooding hit central China, including 14 who perished after getting trapped in a flooded subway line. Chinese authorities in the Henan province announced a total of 302 people had been killed, more than three times the previous toll of 99 reported last week Another 50 people are
The UK has reported a “potential hijack” of a ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates as a security source said a tanker appears to have been seized. UK Maritime Trade Operations, a part of the Ministry of Defence, described the incident as a “potential hijack”. A group of eight or nine armed
The ferocity of the fires in Turkey is quite something to behold. We watched, along with the residents of the pretty seaside town of Cokertme on the Aegean coast, as the crackling dry forests around the community were devoured within minutes. The village appeared to be surrounded. We watched as fire engines reversed and screeched
Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has arrived at the Polish embassy in Tokyo after refusing to board a flight back to Minsk. The 24-year-old was seen entering the building after spending the night at an airport hotel. She said she was seized by officials from her own country on Sunday after she publicly complained about
Tourists staying at the Turkish holiday resort of Bodrum were evacuated and told to wait for rescue boats on Saturday evening as fresh wildfires erupted nearby, according to local media. Panicked holidaymakers reportedly rushed to the seashore following the evacuation of several hotels in the coastal city. Fires across Turkey have been raging since Wednesday,
Police fired tear gas at protesters in Paris amid fierce clashes at demonstrations against COVID vaccine passports. Protesters marched on the French capital to voice their displeasure at the introduction of vaccine passes starting on 9 August. Legislation was passed on Wednesday to require a proof of vaccination, recent recovery from the disease, or a
Tokyo is hot in the summer. That’s why back in the 1964 Olympics they shifted events into October and the athletes enjoyed pretty much perfect temperatures. The average was about 20C (68F). The warmest day was 23.3C (73.9F). Ideal for almost everyone. These Games have been different in so many ways and are on track
A crew member from the UK was among two workers killed in an attack on an oil tanker off Oman, the firm managing the vessel has said. Zodiac Maritime said the incident, which it said was “suspected piracy”, had also resulted in the death of a crew member from Romania. “We are not aware of
Kenya’s president has told Sky News that vaccine nationalism “has really shown how unequal this world is” – and has vowed to fight “day and night” to ensure that developing countries are treated equally. Uhuru Kenyatta is calling for intellectual property rights relating to coronavirus jabs to be released so his country can manufacture its
Hundreds of military personnel have been called up to help enforce a COVID lockdown in Australia’s biggest city. Sydney has remained under stay-at-home orders since late June as the country – which has largely kept infections under control during the pandemic – struggles to contain an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant. Live COVID
Dominic Raab has said it is “unlikely” that he will attend the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, amid growing calls for British dignitaries to boycott the event over alleged human rights abuses in China. The foreign secretary told Kay Burley on Sky News he doubts he will attend the sporting event, but that individuals should
If you do what Simone Biles does, if you take the awe-inspiring risks that she takes, you really have to believe that you can pull them off. In short, she stopped believing in herself and didn’t want to harm herself or her team’s chances of doing well. At the start of the week she posted
Five people are missing following an explosion at a German industrial park for chemical companies. The blast in Leverkusen has been declared an “extreme threat” by authorities and left several people injured. The explosion happened at 9.40am local time (7.40am GMT) and caused a fire at a fuel depot at Chempark, an industrial park for
Long considered one of the few success stories that sprang from the Arab Spring, Tunisia has seen its president accused of staging a coup after he sacked his prime minister and suspended parliament with the help of the army. President Kais Saied’s dismissal of Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi on Sunday followed violent demonstrations across the
Troops have surrounded Tunisia’s parliament building as supporters and opponents of the president clashed with each other following his dismissal of the prime minister. The violence in the capital Tunis comes after President Kais Saied ousted the government and froze parliament, with help from the army. Officers used tear gas to disperse some demonstrators throwing projectiles at