World

The EU could surpass two million coronavirus deaths by next March if further action isn’t taken to combat the virus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned. More protective measures are needed to “help avert unnecessary tragedy and loss of life”, according to experts who fear the region is on course to pass another landmark

Germany’s health minister has warned that by the end of this winter “pretty much everyone” in Germany “will have been vaccinated, recovered or died”. Jens Spahn urged Germans to get vaccinated amid a rapid rise in COVID cases. Official figures showed more than 30,000 new coronavirus cases in Germany in the last 24-hour period, an

Austria is beginning another COVID-19 lockdown, as the government seeks to limit the spread of the virus. The lockdown is the first since vaccines became widely available, but it comes as just 65% of the population is fully vaccinated. Most gathering places – such as restaurants, cafes, bars, theatres, non-essential shops, and hairdressers – will

Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, believed to have been missing for nearly three weeks, has held a video call with the president of the International Olympic Committee. In the 30-minute call, she told Thomas Bach that she was safe and well. “She explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing,

Missing Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has purportedly appeared in a video in which she is seen with friends in a restaurant. Peng, a former Wimbledon doubles champion, is seen smiling and is having fun in the apparently new footage released by state media. The video was posted on Twitter by Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of

Seven people have been arrested after rioters clashed with police in The Hague for a second night of violence in the Netherlands, sparked by protests over new COVID-19 restrictions. The unrest came a day after police opened fire on protesters in Rotterdam amid what the port city’s mayor called “an orgy of violence”, leaving three

Rotterdam’s mayor has condemned “an orgy of violence” at protests against COVID-19 restrictions in the Dutch port city, in which seven people were hurt and more than 20 arrested. The trouble flared as the Netherlands moved to curb a fourth wave of the coronavirus. Hundreds of rioters torched cars, set off fireworks and threw rocks

Austria is to become the first country in Europe to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory by law and has announced a full national lockdown from Monday, amid a fourth wave sweeping the continent. Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg said the coronavirus lockdown would run for a “maximum of 20 days”. He also announced it would be a “requirement

Across Europe, sweeping COVID-19 restrictions are being imposed in a bid to tackle a fourth wave of the virus currently surging across the continent. With Europe once again the epicenter of the pandemic, Germany, Austria, and Slovakia have reintroduced restrictions in the run-up Christmas, amid a debate over whether vaccines alone are enough to tame

More than 400 migrants, who have camped for weeks at Belarus’ borders with the EU, have boarded a deportation flight bound for Iraq. Some 430 people, mostly Iraqi Kurds, were booked onto a flight due to leave this afternoon from Minsk airport, the Iraqi foreign ministry said. They were due to board the flight at

“Take it from me, please don’t come… it’s bad here.” This is one of hundreds of messages sent by migrants on the Belarus border seen by Sky News. The texts warn others not to follow in their footsteps. “To those who are saying ‘the border is open’, it’s not open. It’s a lie,” another migrant

Authorities in New Delhi are considering a first-of-its-kind lockdown to combat worsening air pollution. Schools have already been closed indefinitely as severe smog choked people living in the Indian capital and neighbouring states on Wednesday. The number of dangerous pollution particles in New Delhi’s air was measured at seven times the safe level on Wednesday,

A teenager has been found not guilty of the murders of two men and the attempted murder of a third at a demonstration in Wisconsin. Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, had pleaded self-defence over the shootings in the city of Kenosha in August 2020. The deadly incident happened during protests sparked by the shooting of a black

Ireland is introducing new COVID-19 restrictions including a midnight closing time for pubs, nightclubs and restaurants as the country battles a fourth wave of infections. The measures, which come into effect from Friday, will also see household contacts of those with COVID required to restrict their movements for five days, even if they have been

A family of four, who were left stranded in the Australian outback when their campervan got bogged down following heavy rain, have been rescued. Perth couple Orios and Lindsey Zavros, and their two young children Zane and Zoe, were trapped in the Simpson Desert for four days, facing searing temperatures before police were able to

A “reckless and irresponsible” Russian weapons test has created more than 1,500 pieces of debris now endangering the seven crew aboard the International Space Station, US officials have said. Crew members were forced to take emergency measures on Monday after debris floated dangerously close by – and took cover in their docked capsules amid fears

Swedish police have arrested a man and a woman on suspicion of murder after two children fell “from a great height” and one of them died. One of those detained was reportedly injured and is being treated in hospital before they are questioned. The children, who were reportedly siblings and both under the age of

Austria is placing millions of people not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in lockdown as of today as Europe becomes the epicentre of the pandemic once again. Anyone over the age of 12 who has not been double-jabbed is now only allowed to leave their homes for work, school, exercise and buying essential supplies – with

Austria is putting all unvaccinated residents into lockdown from midnight on Sunday, the government has said. Anyone over the age of 12 who has not been double-jabbed will only be allowed to leave their homes for work, school, exercise and buying essential supplies. The lockdown will affect around two million of Austria’s 8.9 million population.

A new draft climate deal has been published in Glasgow this morning as COP26 talks spill over and could last well into Saturday after passing the original deadline. Negotiators were given a new draft of the final agreement early on Saturday, which kept controversial phrasing on fossil fuel commitments. It calls on countries to accelerate