A man has been arrested in southern France over a plan to attack a football stadium which will be used during this summer’s Olympic Games, officials say. The 18-year-old of Chechen origin was apprehended in Saint-Etienne on 22 May after authorities found evidence of an Islamist-inspired attack, officials say. Interior Minister Gérard Darmanin praised the […]

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is under growing pressure after leading the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to its worst election result in 30 years, forcing it to share power. With votes in from most districts, the ANC is on 40% – down from 58% at the previous election.  This is lower than the party’s […]

The UK ambassador to Mexico reportedly left his post earlier this year after he pointed a gun at a local member of embassy staff. A video posted on social media, originally reported by the Financial Times, purports to show Jon Benjamin aiming a rifle at another man while looking down the weapon’s sights. It was […]

US President Joe Biden has urged Hamas to accept a new Israeli proposal to end the conflict in Gaza, saying that “it’s time for this war to end”. The three-part proposal would begin with a six-week ceasefire in which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would withdraw from populated areas of Gaza. There would also be […]

Several people have died due to heat-related ailments over the past 24 hours as temperatures continue to soar in northern and central India. Ten fatalities were recorded at the government hospital in Odisha’s Rourkela region on Thursday, authorities told Reuters news agency. Heat-stroke related deaths have also been reported from the states of Bihar, Rajasthan […]

South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), is on course to lose its majority in parliament for the first time since it came to power 30 years ago, partial results from Wednesday’s parliamentary election suggest. With results from more than 50% of voting districts counted so far, the ANC is leading with 42%, […]

The first results have been announced from what is seen as South Africa’s most closely fought elections since the African National Congress (ANC) came to power 30 years ago. With results from around 14% voting districts counted so far, the ANC is leading with 43%, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 26%. The radical […]

Law enforcement agencies from around the world have shut down a global malware network which stole $5.9bn (£4.65bn) and is linked to other crimes, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has said. The DOJ partnered with the FBI and other international agencies to take down what was “likely the world’s largest botnet ever”. Chinese national […]

Jurors in Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial have begun deliberations – the 12 New Yorkers must reach a unanimous verdict. A verdict could come at any time and the former president could be convicted, acquitted or there could be a mistrial. The court has heard from 22 witnesses over six weeks, including Stormy Daniels, whose […]

Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates announced Tuesday that she is committing $1 billion (£782.4m) over the next two years to women’s causes and gender equity around the world. About $200 million (£157m) will go to organisations fighting for gender and reproductive rights in the US. In a New York Times guest essay, Ms French Gates […]

Pope Francis has apologised following reports that he used extremely derogatory language towards gay men. A statement from the Vatican said the Pope did not mean to offend anyone and apologised to those who were “hurt by the use of a word”. At the Italian Bishops’ Conference, the pope reportedly said gay men should not […]

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana Whilst THE USA and its allies continue to hound Sri Lanka for defeating terrorism, finding flimsy excuses for their warped actions, they seem to be turning a blind eye to the atrocities committed by their ally, Israel which continues to massacre the innocent breaking all rules with impunity. Their hypocrisy seems […]

, local official Aminu Abdulhamid Najume told the BBC’s […]

At least 24 people have died in a “massive fire” at a games arcade in India, local officials say. Flames and a huge pall of smoke could be seen rising into the sky at the building in Rajkot, in the western state of Gujarat. “So far 24 bodies have been sent to the civil hospital, […]

A massive landslide is feared to have killed many after it struck six remote villages in Papua New Guinea, local officials and aid agencies said. The landslide buried more than 100 homes after it struck at around 03:00 local time Friday (17:00 GMT Thursday) in the highlands of Enga, north of the island nation in […]

Four people have died and 16 are injured after a two-storey building collapsed on the Spanish island of Majorca, local emergency services say. Several people are believed to be trapped at the site of the Medusa Beach Club, a beachside restaurant on Cartago Street in the regional capital Palma de Majorca. The incident reportedly happened […]

British Olympic swimming champion David Wilkie has died at the age of 70. The Scot won 200m breaststroke gold in Montreal in 1976, as well as two Olympic silver medals and three world titles. His family released a statement saying: “It is with great sadness that the family of David Wilkie MBE announce that he […]

At least five people have been killed and 50 more injured after a stage collapsed at an election campaign rally in Mexico’s northern Nuevo León state, the local governor has said. The incident occurred as centre-left presidential candidate Jorge Alvarez Maynez was delivering a speech in the city of San Pedro Garza Garcia, near Monterrey. […]

More than 140 travellers and crew members who were onboard a flight hit by severe turbulence landed in Singapore on a relief flight earlier this morning. Passengers onboard SQ321 which was heading from London to Singapore, recounted scenes of “absolute terror”, with one passenger saying he saw a woman with an “awful gash on her […]

Thousands of Iranians have gathered on the streets of Tabriz to mourn President Ebrahim Raisi after he was killed in a helicopter crash. Mourners followed a funeral procession through the city in north-west Iran while waving Iranian flags and portraits of the late president. Raisi and seven others were killed when a helicopter they were […]

One person has been killed and several others injured on a Singapore Airlines flight from London that was hit by severe turbulence. The Singapore-bound Boeing 777-300ER was diverted to Bangkok and landed at 15:45 local (08:00 GMT). Flight SQ 321 was carrying a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew, the airline said in a […]

Conspiracy theories have sprung to life Iran declares five days of mourning  Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber named successor Iranian State media yesterday confirmed the death of the country’s President, Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in a mountainous area of north-western Iran, along with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. They were killed after the helicopter they were […]

A helicopter in a convoy carrying the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in an accident yesterday, BBC has reported, quoting Iranian state media. It is currently unclear whether Iranian President was on board the helicopter that state media say experienced a hard landing, according