A least 14 people have been killed and dozens more injured after a giant billboard collapsed during a sudden storm in the Indian city of Mumbai. The billboard, measuring 70m by 50m according to the police, fell onto houses and a petrol station in the city on Monday. Emergency services say a few people are […]

One of Europe’s most notorious people-smugglers has been arrested in Iraq following a BBC investigation. Barzan Majeed was arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan on Sunday morning, a senior government official said. For several years, he and his gang were heavily involved in the people-smuggling trade – in boats and lorries – across the English Channel. The […]

A recent report in the U.S.-national daily, the Washington Post, alleges that a plot to kill Khalistani activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, wanted on terror charges in India, was ordered by the previous chief of the Indian Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), with official sanction from senior intelligence officials tied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s inner […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to replace his long-standing ally Sergei Shoigu as defence minister, the Kremlin has announced. The 68-year-old has been in the role since 2012 and is to be appointed the head of Russia’s Security Council. Papers published by the upper chamber of the Russian parliament said  Shoigu will be replaced […]

Swiss singer Nemo has won the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden, with their song The Code. A compelling hybrid of opera and hip-hop, it topped the jury vote, helping the 24-year-old gain an impressive score of 591 points. The singer becomes the first non-binary artist to win Eurovision. Fittingly, they wrote the song to explain […]

Large parts of the world got a rare glimpse of the Northern Lights on Friday night, after one of the strongest geomagnetic storms to hit Earth for years. These events increase chances of the lights being visible, and the last time there was such a strong storm was in 2003. Here are some of the […]

Stormy Daniels and Donald Trump have been locked in a years-long public battle over an alleged sexual encounter, a hush-money deal paid by the former president’s fixer, and their respective efforts to own the very public narrative. Those tensions – and the salacious details that surround them – spilled out in court on Tuesday when […]

For the fifth time Vladimir Putin will be taking the long walk through the Grand Kremlin Palace to the St Andrew’s Throne Hall. There he will take the oath of office and be sworn in as Russia’s president for a new six-year term The route may be familiar, but much has changed since Putin’s first […]

President Xi Jinping has hailed “new vistas” in China’s relationship with France on his first trip to Europe in five years – one that feels much like a charm offensive. Mr Xi will be looking to avert the trade war that is looming with Brussels, driven by fears of cheap Chinese electric vehicles entering the […]

Israel’s government has moved to shut down the operations of the Al Jazeera television network in the country, branding it a mouthpiece for Hamas. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the cabinet agreed to the closure while the war in Gaza is ongoing. Police raided the Qatari broadcaster’s office at the Ambassador hotel in Jerusalem on […]

Madonna put on a free concert in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night with throngs of fans flocking to see the pop idol on Brazil’s famous Copacabana beach. “Rio, here we are in the most beautiful place in the world,” she declared, as the performance got under way. The show was the final stop on […]

Actor Bernard Hill, best known for roles in Titanic and Lord of the Rings, has died aged 79. He played Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 Oscar-winning film and King Théoden in the Lord of the Rings. His breakout role was in 1982 BBC TV drama Boys from the Blackstuff, where he portrayed Yosser Hughes, […]

Cambodia has blamed factors including the heatwave gripping south-east Asia for a deadly ammunition warehouse explosion. Twenty soldiers were killed in the incident in Kampng Speu province, Cambodia on Saturday. Rejecting claims that rebellious soldiers were to blame, officials said the blast was caused by a combination of faulty munitions and extremely hot weather.  Temperatures […]

Looted artefacts from the Asante kingdom are finally on display in Ghana, 150 years after British colonisers took them. Ghanaians flocked to the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, the capital of Asante region, to welcome the 32 items home. “This is a day for Asante. A day for the Black African continent. The spirit we […]

Four law enforcement officers have been fatally shot and four others were wounded while serving an arrest warrant in Charlotte, North Carolina. A suspected attacker was found dead in the front yard of a barricaded home after a standoff that lasted three hours, police said. Two other persons of interest were taken into questioning, authorities […]

Australia’s newest budget airline has gone into voluntary administration, after abruptly cancelling all of its flights on Tuesday. Bonza’s financial woes have left thousands of passengers stranded around the country. Operating since last year, the carrier had been the first to launch in Australia since 2007. Aviation remains one of the nation’s most concentrated industries, [R...

The Pentagon says it will “rush” Patriot air defence missiles and artillery ammunition to Ukraine as part of its new military aid package. The US will utilise $6bn (£4.8bn) for this purpose, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin revealed on Friday. Patriot air defence batteries are not included. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Patriots were “urgently” needed […]

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has suspended public duties to “stop and reflect” on whether to remain in the job, after a court opened a preliminary inquiry into his wife. In a statement, the Spanish leader said he urgently needed to decide “whether I should continue to lead the government or renounce this honour”. The […]

A dramatic orange haze has descended over Athens as clouds of dust have blown in from the Sahara desert. It is one of the worst such episodes to hit Greece since 2018, according to officials. Greece had already been struck by similar clouds in late March and early April, which also covered areas of Switzerland […]