World

Several loud explosions have been heard in Iran’s capital Tehran and Israel has confirmed it has launched strikes on military targets. The Israeli military said it is conducting “precise strikes” on military targets in Iran in response to what it called “the continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against Israel”. An Israeli Defence Forces (IDF)

This set-piece speech was the most important moment of the King’s trip. It is his first meeting of Commonwealth leaders as head of the Commonwealth. But although the theme of this year’s meeting in Samoa talks of a “common future”, there are deepening divisions within the Commonwealth. Reparations for the slave trade remain an issue

Turkey has launched a second day of successive strikes in Iraq and Syria after five people were killed, and 22 injured, in an apparent terror attack in Ankara. Interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said the two attackers – a man and a woman – were killed after the alleged terror incident at a defence and aerospace

The King has been confronted by indigenous Australian activists the day after he was accused of “genocide” by a senator in the Australian parliament. The monarch met elders during a visit to the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) in Sydney and one told him their goal was “sovereignty”. Charles faced heckles of “you are

Patio heaters and giant fans have been used to help prepare a cricket pitch that Pakistan hope will help them beat England in the Third Test in Rawalpindi. Pictures have been published of the unusual equipment – where cricket is concerned at least – standing at either end of the proposed pitch for the match,

Moldova’s president has accused “criminal groups” of undermining a referendum on European Union membership. The EU referendum asked voters to choose whether to enshrine in the country’s constitution a path toward the EU. After around 95% of votes were counted, approximately 52% voted no, while 47% voted yes. However, ballots cast among the country’s large

Authorities in Cuba have suffered a third major setback to restoring power, leaving millions in the dark. The country’s national grid crashed around midday Friday after the Antonio Guiteras power plant, the island’s largest, shut down, causing the biggest blackout in at least two years. Despite the best efforts of authorities, the grid collapsed again

Moldovans head to the polls today in a vote which could decide if the country moves closer to Europe or back towards Russia. Around 2.7 million people are eligible to participate in both a presidential election and a referendum on joining the EU according to figures from the president’s office. The referendum asks people to

The King will attend a Sydney church service to begin the monarch’s first tour of Australia since his accession to the throne. Charles and Camilla’s official engagements in the country will start with a trip to St Thomas’ Anglican Church for a service led by Archbishop Most Reverend Kanishka Raffel. Security arrangements for Sunday suggest

Cuba’s national power grid shut down on Friday, leaving around 10 million people on the island without electricity. Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said officials were giving “absolute priority” to fixing the problem. “There will be no rest until it is restored,” he added. Image: A man at his home in Matanzas, Cuba, during a power

The Israeli military says it is “checking the possibility” it has killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Sinwar has led Hamas within Gaza since 2017, having joined its ranks in the early 1980s. He is believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks. The 62-year-old took over full leadership of Hamas after the killing

Italy has made it illegal for couples to travel abroad to have a baby via surrogacy. A bill, passed on Wednesday, extends a ban that forbids surrogacy within Italy to include those who travel to countries such as the United States or Canada where the practice is legal. Those who break the law could face

Israel has launched a round of airstrikes on Beirut for the first time in six days as it continues to target Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The attack comes just a day after Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati said the US government had given him some assurances Israel would ease its strikes in the capital. In

Microsoft users face more than 600 million cyber attacks every day, partly fuelled by a growing trend of cyber crime gangs working with nation states, according to a new report by the company. In this year’s Digital Defence report, Microsoft said countries like Russia, Iran and North Korea have changed how they worked in the

A woman turns up at the entrance of the tented cholera quarantine ward in Kassala Teaching Hospital. She has a small baby in her arms. “Does your baby have cholera?” an anxious health worker asks. The woman says no. “Then move away from here,” he yells. These are extreme conditions that require a stern tone.

Israel has named the four teenage victims of a Hezbollah drone strike on a military base – as at least 23 people were reportedly killed in an attack on a central Gaza school. Local hospitals said the school in Nuseirat was sheltering people displaced by the war when it was hit on Sunday night. Israel

A high noon is coming in Israel’s conflict with Iran, a ballistic missile showdown may be in the offing or perhaps something more asymmetrical and covert. Israel‘s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is deciding how to retaliate for Iran‘s multiple rocket attack on 1 October this year. But the plan is shrouded in secrecy. In a

Ratan Tata, the former chair of India’s oldest conglomerate, and of Tata Steel and Jaguar Land Rover, has died aged 86. Tata Sons chair Natarajan Chandrasekaran confirmed Mr Tata had died and described him as his “friend, mentor, and guide” in a statement. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Mr Tata was “a visionary business

Donald Trump sent Vladimir Putin COVID test machines for his personal use back in 2020, a new book has claimed. US author and famed Watergate reporter Bob Woodward also claimed in his latest book “War” that Mr Trump and Mr Putin shared as many as seven private phone calls since the former president left office.

Barrages of rockets have been fired into Israel throughout the day as Israelis mark the anniversary of the 7 October attack.  Hundreds of relatives of hostages and people killed in the attack gathered for a memorial service in a central Tel Aviv park, although the event had to be scaled back because of threats of