A coroner in Malaysia has ruled the death of British teenager Nora Quoirin was most likely a misadventure that did not involve other people. The 15-year-old from Balham, southwest London, vanished from a hotel in August 2019. Rescue teams searched for 10 days before her body was found by a stream just over a mile
World
At least 100 people are now known to have been killed in attacks by suspected jihadists on two villages in Niger, the country’s prime minister has said. Brigi Rafini said 70 people were killed in the village of Tchombangou and 30 others in Zaroumdareye, both near Niger’s western border with Mali, on Saturday. During remarks
Donald Trump’s hour-long call urging Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to “find 11,780 votes” sounded desperate and deluded. The recording was a worrying insight into the president’s state of mind – seemingly convinced by the many conspiracy theories about why he lost the election, and unwilling to listen to the facts from members of his
Three bodies have been recovered and seven people are still missing after a landslide in Norway. Rescue teams in the village of Ask, near Oslo, have yet to find any signs of life after the disaster tore down buildings in the area on Wednesday. Two bodies were recovered from the rubble on Saturday after the
On the quayside in Boulogne-sur-Mer, a small crowd is gathering. As they watch, a boat ties up and starts to unload its haul. In this fishing town, they know the significance of this. The tradition is that nobody goes to sea on New Year’s Day, so this is the first catch of 2021 – crabs,
More than 2,500 people have attended an illegal rave in France, clashing with police who attempted to stop the event. The rave, held in a disused warehouse at Lieuron near Rennes in Brittany, started on New Year’s Eve and came to an end on Saturday morning. Mass gatherings are not allowed under French COVID-19 restrictions
The Australian national anthem has been changed to reflect the nation’s “spirit of unity” and its indigenous population, the country’s prime minister has said. The one-word change to Advance Australia Fair, from “For we are young and free” to “For we are one and free” takes effect on Friday. Speaking on New Year’s Eve, Scott
New Year’s Eve celebrations were muted by coronavirus restrictions in London and New York, while countries including Australia and New Zealand welcomed in 2021 with impressive firework displays. Big Ben ushered in 2021 with its chimes in an eerily subdued London, which would typically be packed with swathes of people waiting to watch a dazzling
Britain and Spain have reached an initial agreement over Gibraltar’s post-Brexit status, Spain’s foreign minister has said. Under the deal the territory will remain part of European Union agreements such as the Schengen free movement area, Arancha Gonzalez Laya told reporters. London and Madrid had been negotiating how to police the land border between Spain
The Pacific Island of Tonga has become the first country to mark the start of 2021, with millions around the world celebrating the New Year at home because of COVID-19. Many New Year celebrations have been disrupted by the pandemic as officials seek to limit crowds that can spread COVID-19. France has mobilised 100,000 police
Ireland will return to Level 5 restrictions for a least one month in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus, the prime minister Micheal Martin has said. Addressing the nation, he described the situation as “extremely serious”, saying the new variant of the virus is “spreading at a rate that has surpassed the
Ten people have been wounded and 26 are missing after a landslide in southern Norway, police said. One of the victims was critically injured and more than a dozen buildings were swept away early on Wednesday in the municipality of Gjerdrum, about 19 miles north of Oslo. The missing people were from homes in Ask
Bangladesh has sent a second group of Rohingya refugees to a remote island, despite concern from human rights groups. About 1,800 refugees were moved from crowded camps in Cox’s Bazar and housed overnight at a transit centre. They then boarded naval ships at Chittagong and set off for the Bay of Bengal on the island
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake has hit Croatia, with reports of injuries and damaged buildings near Zagreb. The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said the tremor hit 28 miles southeast of the capital city. The same area was struck by a 5.2 magnitude quake on Monday. Croatia’s PM Andrej Plenkovic tweeted to say he was on his
Thailand has brought in a range of new restrictions after the country’s first coronavirus death in nearly two months. Bangkok betting businesses will be shut, while bars, nightclubs and music venues in the capital will be forced to close at midnight until 4 January. It comes as the government tries to contain an outbreak that
A Chinese citizen journalist who reported on the outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan has been jailed for four years. A Chinese court handed the term to Zhang Zhan, 37, on grounds of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”, her lawyer said. Zhan, the first person known to have been tried on those charges, was among a