The 35-year hunt for a serial killer in France may finally have come to an end after a former police officer left a posthumous confession saying he was “the pockmarked killer”. The corpse of a 59-year-old man identified only as Francois V was found in the southern town of Grau-du-Roi near Montpellier on Wednesday, French
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At least 116 people have been killed and 80 injured during a battle between gangs in a jail in what has been described as the worst prison massacre in Ecuador’s history. President Guillermo Lasso decreed a state of emergency in the country’s prison system, allowing the government to deploy the police and soldiers to jails.
People on the Spanish island of La Palma have been urged to stay indoors due to toxic gas fears after lava from an erupting volcano reached the Atlantic Ocean. Scientists have warned of breathing difficulties and irritation to eyes and skin due to the chemical reaction caused by the lava from the Cumbre Vieja volcano
North Korea has claimed it has developed a new hypersonic missile following a test flight on Tuesday. If true it would represent a significant step forward in Pyongyang’s military technology. The North’s announcement came a day after the South Korean and Japanese militaries said they detected North Korea firing a ballistic missile into sea. Hypersonic
Lava flowing from an erupting volcano in the Canary Islands – that could create clouds of toxic hydrochloric acid vapour – is now within 800m of the ocean. While one of two lava rivers has slowed on La Palma, the other has picked up pace on its way to the shoreline, officials said on Tuesday.
Germany’s Social Democrats (SDP) will seek to start the process of trying to form a three-way alliance and lead the government for the first time in 16 years after Sunday’s tight election results. The SDP narrowly beat Angela Merkel’s Union bloc and the party’s leader, Olaf Scholz, hopes to strike a coalition deal before Christmas.
Preliminary results in the German election show the centre-left social democrats have beaten outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right bloc. SPD won 25.8% to the CDU/CSU’s 24.1%, according to figures from German broadcaster ARD and Reuters. The greens were next with 14.6%, followed by the FDP on 11.5%. The two parties have signalled they are willing
Polls have opened in the German election that will decide who succeeds Chancellor Angela Merkel after 16 years in charge of Europe’s biggest economy. Polls point to a very close race between Mrs Merkel’s centre-right union bloc, with state governor Armin Laschet running for chancellor, and the centre-left Social Democrats, for whom outgoing finance minister
The world of 2005 feels a long way away. We had president George W Bush and prime minister Tony Blair; Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles. Bombs in London and a hurricane battering New Orleans. Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France yet again, despite those rumours; London winning the right to host the Olympic
The Hofbrauhaus in the heart of Munich is a huge building dedicated to the art of beer. It’s been welcoming drinkers for 432 years, during which time Bavaria has been ruled variously by princes, emperors, kings, dukes, dictators and, latterly, a load of democrats. The walls here have heard every grumble and every political aspiration.
The advance of lava from a volcanic eruption in Spain’s Canary Islands has slowed, rising in some places up to 50 feet as it thickens. One giant river of lava on the island of La Palma slowed to 13 feet (4m) per hour on Wednesday – on Monday, a day after the eruption, it was
After 16 years of Angela Merkel in the chancellorship, Germany can be said to value leaders who are regarded as strong and steady. It is something the leading contender in Sunday’s election, Olaf Scholz, is counting on as he bids to become the natural successor to the outgoing leader – despite being from a different
The UK must suspend funding for rainforest protection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) until the country drops contentious plans to increase logging, more than 40 NGOs have urged. The DRC is about to lift a 19 year moratorium on new industrial logging in the Congo Basin, the second largest rainforest in the
A volcanic eruption in Spain’s Canary Islands could last three months, experts have said. The Canary Islands Volcanology Institute said on Wednesday that the eruption on the island of La Palma and its aftermath could last for up to 84 days. The institute said it had looked at calculations of the length of previous eruptions
Authorities have warned people on the island of La Palma of fresh dangers after a new volcanic vent blew open and rivers of unstoppable lava flowed towards more densely populated areas and the sea. Residents were cautioned on Tuesday about earthquakes, toxic gases, volcanic ash and acid rain after several small earthquakes shook the Spanish
The US will again double the money it gives to help developing nations respond to climate change, President Biden has announced. Mr Biden said in April that America would double its contribution to $5.7bn (£4.2bn), but speaking at the United Nations General Assembly he said it would increase again to over $11bn (£8bn). In his
Boris Johnson has criticised other world leaders over their efforts to tackle climate change, telling them he is growing “increasingly frustrated” that their commitments are “nowhere near enough”. Speaking during a meeting at the United Nations in New York, the prime minister said the gap between what has been promised by industrialised nations and what
At least eight people have been killed and dozens injured after a gunman opened fire at a university in the Russian city of Perm, officials have said. The gunman at Perm State University was “neutralised”, according to the independent Russian news agency Interfax. The Russian Investigative Committee said the suspect had been identified as a
Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party is expected to secure an emphatic win as polls close in the country’s parliamentary election. Preliminary results from the Central Election Committee, based on just 9% of ballots counted, showed that United Russia had won 38.57% of the vote. Initial results also showed the Communist Party finishing in second place
China’s Xi Jinping is yet to commit to attending this year’s climate change summit in Glasgow, COP26 President Alok Sharma has admitted. Earlier this month, Mr Sharma held two days of talks in China ahead of the international summit being hosted by the UK in November. But, asked on Sky News’ Trevor Phillips On Sunday