World

Pope Francis has rejected the resignation of German Cardinal Reinhard Marx over the Catholic Church’s sex abuse crisis. Cardinal Marx wrote a letter to the Pope last week offering to resign as the archbishop of Munich and Freising over the Church’s mishandling of abuse cases. He is not under investigation himself, either for abuse or

India has recorded the world’s highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in a single day. It announced a further 6,148 fatalities on Thursday – after the state of Bihar discovered 3,929 unreported deaths. Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, revised its death toll after being directed to by Patna High Court. Live COVID updates from the

There is an old, corrugated hanger in the centre of Maseru, the diminutive capital of the kingdom of Lesotho and through the doors we could hear the words of prayer. Inside, amongst the wings and tails of several brightly coloured aeroplanes, there were medics and mechanics getting themselves ready for the day ahead. Lesotho’s Flying

Europe is gearing up to enjoy one of its most eagerly awaited football tournaments in years, as it attempts to shrug off the impact of the pandemic on organised sports. But the countries where the delayed Euro 2020 matches will be played vary significantly in terms of how badly hit they currently are by the

A number of major websites have gone down around the world, including the UK government web pages. Those logging into to gov.uk have been faced with a message saying “503 Service Unavailable”. Other sites affected include news outlets The Guardian, Financial Times, Independent, New York Times, Evening Standard, Bloomberg and Le Monde as well as

The last surviving Soviet soldier involved in liberating the Auschwitz concentration camp has died aged 98 in a Munich hospital. David Dushman was a young Red Army serviceman when he flattened the site’s electric fence with his tank on 27 January 1945. More than a million people, mostly Jews sent there from all over Europe,

Banjo musician Anthony Ward takes a long draught of Guinness and looks like he is savouring every drop. The Dubliner can’t go back to gigging yet, but he can at least enjoy a proper pint. “I’ve had one jab myself now so far”, he tells us. “My next one isn’t until the end of July,

Google has vowed to make changes to its global advertising business following a settlement with the French competition watchdog, which found it had abused its market dominance. The tech company, which makes most of its revenues through adverts on its search engine and YouTube video platform, was fined €220m (£189m) under the deal. But it

World Ocean Day is celebrated every 8 June as a reminder of how integral our seas are to life on Earth. A United Nations initiative, Oceans Day was first declared in 1992 following the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, also known as the Earth Summit, which led to important climate

Police say a toddler’s body that washed up on the Norwegian coast on New Year’s Day is that of a boy who died along with his family as they attempted to cross the Channel. The child has been identified as Artin Irannezhad, who was 15 months old when he drowned with his parents and two

India is easing lockdown in several states after COVID case levels dropped to their lowest in two months. Shops, restaurants and other businesses are allowed to reopen with limited hours in New Delhi and Mumbai, with some restrictions also lifted in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The Delhi metro, which serves the city

Jeff Bezos – one of the world’s richest men and the chief executive of Amazon – has said he will travel into space next month. The US business tycoon has invited his brother along for the journey, with the winner of an auction set up by his aerospace company Blue Origin. In a video posted

Australia’s most decorated living war veteran is suing three newspapers for libel over claims about his time fighting in Afghanistan. Ben Roberts-Smith, 42, has begun legal proceedings against The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times over articles they published in 2018. The defamation trial against Nine Entertainment, who owned all three papers

At least 30 people have been killed after two express trains collided in southern Pakistan. Rescuers and villagers have been working to pull injured people and bodies from the wreckage, and as many as 20 passengers are feared to be trapped. Railway officials said about 1,100 people were on board the two trains at the

The leader of Nigerian militant Islamist group Boko Haram is dead, according to reports. News agency Reuters said it had heard an audio recording made by Boko Haram’s rivals The Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP), which said Abubakar Shekau died around 18 May. He died after detonating an explosive device, according to a person

In a safe house in Myanmar, resistance is growing. Quietly, in the gloomy light, a group of men raise their hands in a three-finger salute. Traditionally a sign of defiance and support for pro-democracy protesters, for these men it symbolises so much more. Once police or soldiers, they now plan to fight the forces they

Boris Johnson is being urged to give more COVID-19 vaccines to poorer countries ahead of the G7 summit. More than 100 cross-party MPs and peers want the prime minister to show “global leadership” and commit to a one in, one out policy when it comes to jabs. The prime minister is set to chair a

China has been accused of oppressing and breaching the human rights of the Uyghur people in its western Xinjiang province. There have been widespread reports of Uyghur people being held against their will in “re-education” centres, undergoing forced contraception and being subjected to a range of other restrictions. China says the claims are “baseless” and