A British woman detained in Iran has had her ankle tag removed but faces a further court date, her local MP says. Amid reports in Iran that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been “freed”, Tulip Siddiq MP said she had been in touch with the mother’s family. Ms Siddiq posted on Twitter: “Thankfully her ankle tag has
World
The Pope has performed Mass in a Baghdad cathedral after earlier holding a historic meeting with Iraq’s top Shia cleric. Francis was greeted by enthusiastic well-wishers at the Chaldean Cathedral of Saint Joseph on the second day of his visit to the country. Only 100 or so people were allowed in because of COVID restrictions
Pope Francis has met Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani – Iraq’s top Shia cleric – at the Islamic scholar’s home in the Iraqi city of Najaf. The Pope arrived at the cleric’s small home in a bullet-proof vehicle. As he entered the house, white doves were released, reflecting the themes of this four-day visit to
A nun who knelt in front of armed security forces in Myanmar to stop them firing on civilians has said she was prepared to die to save protestors’ lives. In extraordinary scenes in Myitkyina, Kachin State, Sister Ann Roza Nu Tawng can be seen pleading with police and soldiers not to shoot. The intervention has
The Pope has arrived in Iraq for an historic weekend visit which carries both symbolism and risk. With a message of inter-faith tolerance, Francis will spend four days in Iraq in what is his first foreign trip in more than a year and the first-ever papal pilgrimage to the war-hit nation. The Pope will visit
Australia has hit back at the EU’s move to block a shipment of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine – suggesting the bloc was trying to “tear up the rule book”. Italy earlier said it would block the export of about 250,000 vaccine doses from its Anagni plant, a decision that was later approved by the EU, after
German health officials have U-turned on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and recommended it is safe for use on over-65s. The German health ministry said on Thursday that its independent vaccine committee has now formally approved the COVID-19 jab for use in that age group. It comes after disproved claims in Europe that the jab was as
Dozens of scientists and doctors are demanding the release of Kathleen Folbigg, who is serving 30 years in jail after being convicted of killing her four children. Folbigg, 53, was jailed in 2003 for the murders of her children Patrick, Sarah and Laura – aged between eight months and 19 months – between 1991 and
A coronavirus testing location close to the Dutch capital of Amsterdam appears to have been intentionally targeted after an explosion before the site opened, police have said. The blast in the town of Bovenkarspel, north of the capital, caused no injuries but shattered windows. The explosive “must have been placed” there, a police spokesman said.
School pupils from an all-girls’ boarding school in the town of Jangebe were required to attend a different sort of assembly this morning. Instead of the classroom, they sat in a building that government officials in the Nigerian state of Zamfara use to speak to the media. They were given a little food, then filmed
“Repentant bandits” helped secure the release of 279 girls kidnapped from a Nigerian boarding school, it has emerged – as the students open up about the horrors of their ordeal. A group of about 100 gunmen burst into the Girls Science Secondary School in the northwestern state of Zamfara on Friday and abducted the students.
The UK will discuss with the EU the bloc’s proposals to create a vaccine passport that could allow people to travel more freely in time for the summer holidays. The EU-wide “digital green pass” would provide proof a person has been vaccinated, as well as test results for those not yet inoculated and information on
The UK government is being condemned for reports it is about to cut aid to Yemen by millions of pounds. Conservative MPs and aid agencies are reacting angrily to the news. The expected move comes despite an urgent appeal from the United Nations for more funding for aid in Yemen to avert a looming famine
Police in Myanmar have fired tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades at pro-democracy protestors, killing at least four and leaving several wounded. Violence erupted in the major city Yangon when a woman died after police broke up a teachers’ protest with stun grenades, though the cause of her death might have been a heart
Violence has returned to the streets of Spain after a few days of tense calm following the arrest of a rapper. Bank windows were smashed in Barcelona and at least 10 people were arrested after peaceful marches turned violent, with similar scenes in other parts of the Catalonia region. Officers also said they apprehended a
Pupils kidnapped from a boarding school in Nigeria alongside members of their family and teachers have been released, an official has confirmed. All 42 people, including 27 teenage boys, 12 of their relatives and three staff members were freed on Saturday by gunmen who had been holding them hostage since 17 February. Niger state governor