World

China has banned footballers who play for the country’s national team from getting tattoos – with those already inked told to get them removed or cover them up to set a “good example for society”. Zhang Linpeng, a defender for the Chinese national team, is one of a growing number of high profile players in

A vocal pro-democracy website in Hong Kong has been shut down after police raided its office, froze its assets and arrested senior staff. Stand News said in a statement that its website and social media were no longer being updated and would be taken down. It said all employees have been dismissed. The outlet was

An unusually warm spell in what is usually the coldest state in the United States has seen temperature records broken. Experts say the mercury in some parts of Alaska was 11C (20F) higher than ever before for the time of year. Daytime temperatures have soared past 15C (60F) when there would normally be intensely bitter

Two Save the Children staff members were among at least 35 people, including children, who were killed in Myanmar on Christmas Eve during an attack blamed on government forces. The charity said both men were new fathers who were “caught up” in the rampage in Kayah state while on their way back to their office

The year began with a promise.  “America is back,” proclaimed Joe Biden, taking its rightful place at the vanguard of the free world, making up for the sins of his predecessor. The Trump presidency had ended with a desecration. Americans had turned on their holy of holies, the high temple of their democracy on Capitol

The Taliban has said women in Afghanistan should not be offered long distance taxi services unless they are accompanied by a male chaperone. The Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice told drivers they should not admit women who do not follow a strict Islamic dress code by wearing the hijab. Women travelling

A week of memorial services has been planned to pay tribute to Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The 90-year-old anti-apartheid veteran died at the Oasis Frail Care Centre in Cape Town on Boxing Day. His funeral is set to take place in Cape Town on Saturday 1 January but plans are still in their “infancy”, a statement

South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of the leaders of the anti-apartheid movement, has died at the age of 90, the President’s Office has said. He was an outspoken critic of the country’s previous brutal system of oppression against the country’s Black majority. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his campaign

More than 30 people, including children, have been shot dead and their bodies burnt by government forces in Myanmar, according to a local human rights group and media reports. The Karenni Human Rights Group said they discovered the charred bodies near Mo So village in the Hpruso township in the eastern state of Kayah on

A $10bn (£7.5bn) space telescope has left Earth on a mission to give humankind its first glimpse of the infant universe. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is the world’s most powerful, set off attached to an Ariane rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana at 12.20pm on Christmas Day. It is designed

A maskless Pope Francis has urged people to look “beyond all the lights and decorations” this festive season. Celebrating Christmas Eve Mass at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the 85-year-old pontiff was the only one among a 2,000-strong congregation not wearing a face covering. A rise in COVID-19 infections in Italy has led to a

A fire on-board a ferry has killed at least 39 people and injured 72 in Bangladesh, officials have said. The blaze broke out at about 3am local time on Friday. It tore through the MV Avijan-10 ferry sailing off the coast of Bangladesh‘s Jhalokati district in the Sugandha River. The boat was carrying 800 passengers

Ireland’s president has commended the “courage, resilience, patience and deep commitment to others” in response to the global pandemic. In his annual Christmas and New Year message, Michael D Higgins extended his sympathies to those who had lost loved ones to COVID-19 in 2021. Ireland has recorded a total of 5,890 coronavirus-related deaths and 673,000

Russia doesn’t want conflict with the Ukraine but Western powers must provide Moscow with “unconditional security” guarantees, President Vladimir Putin says. Speaking at his annual news conference, Mr Putin said the US has missiles at “Russia’s doorstep” and the “ball is in the West’s court” in relation to security in the region. The conference comes

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that “blanket” COVID-19 vaccine booster programmes were “likely to prolong the pandemic”. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the widespread distribution of boosters risked diverting supply to countries that had high levels of their populations already jabbed and away from those that need it most. That

A Madagascan government minister said he swam for 12 hours after his helicopter crashed at sea during a rescue mission. Police Minister Serge Gelle had been part of a team searching the northeast coast of the country after a cargo ship illegally carrying 130 passengers sank, killing at least 19 people. A further 66 are

Vladimir Putin has threatened a “military-technical response” if Western countries continue with what he calls “unfriendly” actions over Ukraine. Speaking to military officials, Mr Putin said there was no room to retreat in the standoff currently centred on the former Soviet state. Concerns are growing that Russia is planning to invade its neighbour with thousands

Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has been ordered to pay around £550m to his former wife and their two children in what is thought to be the largest award of its kind ordered by an English court. Judge Philip Moor said most of the money awarded to Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, who

With record numbers of daily infections in recent days, the UK is currently a hotspot for Omicron – but the latest COVID-19 variant has hit other countries around the world, too. The US government’s chief medical officer Dr Anthony Fauci has called on Americans to get vaccinated, as densely populated areas such as New York

“What if you’re married… but your husband dies? Who is going to come in and feed you? Who is going to help you look after yourself?” This is how Evangelista Apelis and her team convinced some communities in Papua New Guinea that women, so far banned from diving, should be allowed to take it up