More than 170 individuals are being investigated over their involvement in last week’s riot at the US Capitol – and 70 have been charged. Washington DC’s top federal prosecutor says investigators are working towards charging people with assault and seditious conspiracy. The number of people who are charged over the deadly unrest is expected to
World
Unmarried mothers in Ireland faced a “brutally misogynistic culture” for decades, a minister has said after the publication of a report into the deaths of 9,000 children and babies. A five-year investigation by a judicial commission of investigation details how the children died at institutions for unmarried mothers and their babies between 1922 and 1998.
The Trump administration has re-designated Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism” – hitting the country with new sanctions just days before Joe Biden takes office. Barack Obama had removed the communist island from the list in 2015, in what was regarded as one of his biggest foreign policy achievements – helping to restore diplomatic
Pakistan has started a five-day vaccination campaign to try to protect tens of millions of children against polio. The coronavirus threat will make things more challenging than previous efforts, with workers having to wear masks and gloves as they go door to door around the country. It’s hoped 40 million children can be vaccinated and
Israel’s health minister has urged countries simply to “get out there” if they want to replicate his country’s vaccination success. Speaking to Sky News, Yuli Edelstein said that expert logistics, early procurement, close co-operation with the manufacturer and Israeli innovation had all been combined to make the country a clear leader in the global vaccination
A desperate relative hoping survivors will be found following a plane crash in Indonesia has urged people to pray for his family as he awaits news. Irfansyah Riyanto’s mother and father, as well as his sister and her two children, were all on the Sriwijaya Air flight SJ 182 which disappeared on Saturday. The Boeing
Pakistan’s national power grid has experienced a major breakdown, leaving millions of people in darkness, government officials have said. “A countrywide blackout has been caused by a sudden plunge in the frequency in the power transmission system,” Power Minister Omar Ayub Khan said on Twitter. According to Mr Khan, the power breakdown was caused after
A search and rescue operation is under way in Indonesia after contact was lost with a Boeing 737-500 plane on a local flight. An Indonesian Transport Ministry spokesman said the Sriwijaya Air flight SJ 182 was flying from from the capital Jakarta to Pontianak City in West Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo. The
Kim Jong Un has threatened to expand North Korea’s arsenal of nuclear weapons and develop more sophisticated atomic weapons systems unless the US ends what he calls its “hostility” to his regime. The North Korean leader ordered officials to develop missiles with multiple warheads, underwater-launched nuclear missiles, spy satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, the Korean Central
Brisbane has entered a three-day lockdown after a cleaner at a quarantine hotel was diagnosed with the COVID-19 variant first identified in the UK. Australia’s third largest city – and its surrounding areas – will also see the introduction of compulsory face masks for the first time, the Queensland state government said. Queensland chief health
For the Speaker of the House of Representatives – the third in line of succession to power in the United States – to call for the immediate removal of the president was a breathtaking statement on the crisis of democracy in America. In the congressional TV studio where Nancy Pelosi made her announcement, it was
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has been arrested in jail on a new charge, while a detained American lawyer has been granted bail. Mr Wong, 24, was arrested on Thursday morning on suspicion of violating the controversial national security law imposed on Hong Kong last June, his friends and family said. The leading activist,
US President Donald Trump has turned on his deputy, accusing him of lacking courage after Mike Pence said he would not intervene in the election result. In a tweet, the president wrote: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a
Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use by the EU’s drug regulator. The decision by the European Medicines Agency came on the same day as the Netherland’s began administering its first doses against coronavirus. EMA executive director Emer Cooke said: “This vaccine provides us with another tool to overcome the current emergency.” The decision,
Olympic athletes should be given priority access to coronavirus vaccines to save the Tokyo Games from cancellation, according to a prominent International Olympic Committee (IOC) member. Sky News understands conversations are underway between government and the British Olympic Association (BOA) about securing athletes a COVID-19 vaccination by July, when the delayed Tokyo Olympics are due
A dog has been found alive in the rubble of a deadly landslide in Norway, boosting hopes among rescuers who are still searching for missing people. The landslide, which carried away homes in the Norwegian village of Ask, took place on 30 December. Seven people have died, and three others remain missing. The dog was