World

Dissident journalist Roman Protasevich has been filmed appearing to praise Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in a new video. In the clip, recorded for Belarusian state-controlled TV, Mr Protasevich was asked whether he respected the president, to which he replied: “Absolutely.” Mr Protasevich, 26, said Mr Lukashenko has “acted like a man with balls of steel”,

Did the Middle East’s only democracy prove last night that, however messy it may be, democracy prevails? Or will it prove, over the coming days, that it is the most dysfunctional of democracies? Benjamin Netanyahu is still Israel‘s prime minister. He will remain so until the new coalition passes a vote of confidence in the

Israel appears to be on the brink of a new political era after an awkward coalition of parties from across the political spectrum announced it had formed a government. Taking negotiations up to the wire, opposition leader Yair Lapid informed the country’s president late on Wednesday that he had struck a power-sharing deal with a

Iran’s largest navy warship has sunk in the Gulf of Oman after catching fire. Iranian media did not give an explanation for the fire but said it had started at 2.25am local time on Wednesday. Photos on social media showed sailors in life jackets evacuating the ship as it sank near the port of Jask,

In a safe house in Myanmar, resistance is growing. Quietly, in the gloomy light, a group of men raise their hands in a three-finger salute. Traditionally a sign of defiance and support for pro-democracy protesters, for these men it symbolises so much more. Once police or soldiers, they now plan to fight the forces they

Peru’s COVID-19 death toll has more than doubled following an official review of deaths. A new analysis of the number of fatalities found there have been 180,764 in a population of about 32.6 million, compared to recent data indicating that 69,342 people had died from coronavirus. The new figure makes Peru the country with the

Coronavirus variants have been renamed with letters of the Greek alphabet following criticism of the way they have been labelled up until now. Under a new system revealed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Kent variant will now be known as Alpha, the Indian variant as Delta, and the South African variant as Beta.

China’s ruling Communist Party will now allow couples to have three children instead of two in a drive to reverse its ageing population. According to state-run news agency Xinhua, the change in policy was approved during a politburo meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping. For decades, China had a one-child policy – initially imposed to

Israel’s opposition parties are moving closer to reaching an agreement that could mean the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12 years in power. Naftali Bennett, leader of the small Yamina party and a kingmaker following elections held in March, said he would join a diverse collection of opponents to form a unity government and

Thousands of people have gathered across Brazil to protest at President Bolsonaro’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic. People turned out in at least 16 Brazilian cities on Saturday, including the capital Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro, calling for his impeachment and demanding more coronavirus jabs. Mr Bolsonaro‘s popularity has plummeted in the past year, with

Novoshakhtinsk is a nondescript former mining city on Russia’s border with Ukraine. It is not the place for a day-trip.   But six days a week, two or three buses pull up to the local community centre and passengers pile out clutching documents. They are all residents of the separatist republics of Eastern Ukraine and they

Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo over warnings that a volcano could erupt again – with some families struggling to find enough food and water. At least 31 people died when Mount Nyiragongo sent a wall of lava spreading towards the city of Goma last Saturday,

The Irish government has set out its plans for re-opening the country over the summer – including the adoption of a COVID-19 certificate so that people can travel abroad more freely. Taoiseach Micheal Martin confirmed the details on Friday evening following a cabinet meeting to sign-off on the proposals. Live COVID updates from the UK

Russia has denied entry to two European airline planes because they planned to avoid flying over Belarus to reach Moscow. Air France and Austrian Airlines both had to cancel flights after Russia refused to let them change their routes, fuelling speculation the Kremlin might be looking at a blanket ban in support of its ex-Soviet

Israel and Hamas will be investigated for potential war crimes after the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution in favour of action. The resolution was passed by 29 votes to four at a special session in Geneva; the UK, France and Japan were among those who voted against it. A commission of inquiry will

There is a 40% chance that global temperatures will reach 1.5C above pre-industrial levels in the next five years – and the odds are rising. The 2015 Paris climate accord set a goal of keeping temperature rises under that threshold to prevent the worst effects of global warming. Last year the UN World Meteorological Organisation