World

A top-flight football game in Portugal was abandoned after one team ran out of players due to a COVID outbreak in the squad. The match saw league leaders Benfica face off against relegation candidates Belenenses – the latter of whom was only able to field nine players at kick-off, including a goalkeeper playing outfield. Belenenses’s

A mummy estimated to be around 800 years old has been discovered on Peru’s central coast. The mummified remains were said to be of a person from the culture that developed between the coast and mountains of the country, before the rise of the Inca Empire in the 1400s. The mummy’s gender is not yet

A young Kurdish woman who drowned on Wednesday in the English Channel didn’t tell her fiance she was about to board a boat to make the crossing, until the last minute. The 24-year-old – also known as Mariam – died along with 26 others, when their flimsy raft ran into difficulties mid-crossing. Image: Baran Nouri

The head of the group that runs women’s tennis worldwide has said he “remains deeply concerned” about Chinese player Peng Shuai, after she accused a powerful politician of sexual assault. A spokesperson for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) told the AFP news agency its chairman Steve Simon believes Peng’s responses to his emails to her

An Afghan woman who achieved international recognition after a striking photograph of her was featured on the cover of National Geographic is starting a new life in Italy. Sharbat Gulla was 12 years old when war photographer Steve McCurry took her photograph in a refugee camp in 1984 – her piercing green eyes staring into

An Afghan woman who achieved international recognition after a striking photograph of her was featured on the cover of National Geographic is starting a new life in Italy. Sharbat Gulla was 12 years old when war photographer Steve McCurry took her photograph in a refugee camp in 1984 – her piercing green eyes staring into

Four days after the Ethiopian prime minister said on social media that he would personally direct the country’s military at the front, a regional broadcaster has released pictures of Abiy Ahmed walking through the bush in army fatigues and speaking on a military radio. Appearing confident and relaxed, the 45-year-old leader also gave an interview

Air travel from Europe should be suspended to all countries where the new COVID variant has been detected, the European Commission president said. Ursula von der Leyen also said vaccine producers are obliged under their contracts to adapt their jabs as soon as a new variant emerges. She called for the new travel measures after

A council in Australia appears set to effectively ban cats from being outdoors unless they are on a lead. Planned changes to laws in Freemantle, Western Australia, would see felines prohibited from all council owned areas, including roads, verges and bushlands. Members of the council voted to approve proposals tabled by Councillor Adin Lang, on

Australia’s Tim Paine is to take a leave of absence from all forms of cricket for “the foreseeable future” after a scandal over sexually explicit text messages. Paine stood down as captain last week – with the Ashes just a few weeks away – following media revelations he had been investigated and cleared over the

Criminals with “advanced forging capabilities” are selling valid vaccine certificates on the dark web, according to new research, suggesting they may have compromised government systems. Academics from Aalborg University’s Cyber Security Group warn there are many scams among the dozens of listings for COVID-19 vaccine certificates on underground digital markets. The ability for unvaccinated people

French fishermen blocked off a boat in the port of St Malo this morning as they started a day of protests over post-Brexit fishing rights. According to Reuters, the Jersey-based vessel Normandy Trader was prevented from leaving the port in Brittany. There are also plans for fishermen to block the Channel Tunnel and the port

French ports – including Calais – have been blocked off by angry fishermen as the row over fishing rights escalates. The Jersey-based vessel Normandy Trader was prevented from docking at the port of St Malo in Brittany this morning, while ferries were later stopped from leaving Calais for the UK. There are also plans for

An Iraqi family fear one of their relatives could be among the twenty seven people who died crossing the English Channel. A man called Shalaw told Sky News his brother was on a boat mid-way to the UK at the same time as the incident on Wednesday. He said his brother sent a voicemail to

At least 52 people have died after an explosion in a Siberian coal mine. The blast was caused by a methane gas leak about 250m (820ft) underground. Flames and toxic fumes filled the Listvyazhnaya mine in the Kemerovo region, forcing the search for survivors to be abandoned. Image: Ambulances and fire trucks near the Listvyazhnaya

South Africa is racing to learn more about a new coronavirus variant that could be more transmissible and more resistant to vaccines. Just 53 cases related to the B.1.1.529 strain have been confirmed in the country so far, but there are fears the true number could be much higher. COVID-19 has been rapidly spreading among