World

Emma Raducanu has revealed she refused to use an antiseptic spray to treat insect bites for fear of failing a drug test before the Australian Open. The 22-year-old British tennis star said her hand and ankle swelled up but she refused the treatment in case contamination led to a positive doping test. Raducanu told reporters

They laughed, chatted like friends and agreed on just about everything. If there was any doubt that Elon Musk’s heart lies on the far right of German politics, that disappeared during this conversation. Musk was unequivocal in his support. “I am strongly recommending that the people of Germany vote for AfD,” he said. “This is

People in Belgium have been warned not to eat their Christmas trees. Authorities issued the warning in response to a suggestion people could reuse pine needles in recipes as a way to avoid waste. Belgium‘s food agency has now issued a health warning and said people should not eat their Christmas trees. Ghent’s local council

So can you stop people smugglers by lumbering them with sanctions? That is the government’s latest idea, and it is bold and innovative. It will certainly get attention, even if that doesn’t mean it will work. But it is another effort by this government to differentiate itself from the leaders who came before. In a

US president-elect Donald Trump’s threat to turn the world’s second-largest country, Canada, into part of the United States by means of “economic force” represents the most serious threat to Canadian sovereignty since the War of 1812. That conflict, fought over the course of three years, saw the Americans mount 10 separate land incursions into Canada

The public articulation by Donald Trump of a new desired target for NATO allies to spend 5% of national income on defence will surely plunge governments across Europe into crisis mode – not least here in the UK. Britain presents itself to the world and in particular to the United States as the biggest defence

Jean-Marie Le Pen was variously loved and loathed – but he changed the shape of modern French politics. His youth was shaped by war and he then lived a life of constant battles. Mr Le Pen’s political career, which was a very long one, was all about belligerence, anger, regret and scapegoats. In his world,

Donald Trump Jr is set to visit Greenland – days after his father Donald Trump floated taking control of the Arctic island. Greenland’s head of foreign affairs Mininnguaq Kleist said Mr Trump Jr would be arriving for a private visit on Tuesday, Danish broadcaster DR reported. He added that there were no inquiries about a

Around 425,000 names of people suspected of collaborating with the Nazis in the Netherlands during the Second World War have been released for the first time. A Dutch project, called War In Court, released the list after the expiry of a law which had restricted public access to the archive. It consists of 32 million

The world’s oldest living person has been revealed – and she is a 116-year-old nun from Brazil. Sister Inah Canabarro, who was born on 8 June 1908, became the world’s oldest person following the death of a woman from Japan on 29 December. LongeviQuest, an organisation that tracks supercentenarians around the globe, said the wheelchair-bound

Hamas has released a video of a 19-year-old Israeli hostage amid a renewed push for a ceasefire in Gaza. In an undated recording, Liri Albag – one of five female soldiers kidnapped in Hamas’s October 7 attack – speaks under duress and shares her anguish at having been held for 450 days. Speaking in Hebrew,

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has announced he will resign in the coming days after talks on forming a new government failed for a second time. His declaration on Saturday came after the People’s Party and the Social Democratic Party continued coalition talks, a day after the liberal NEOS party’s surprise withdrawal from discussions. “Unfortunately I

More than 6,000 prisoners have been released in Myanmar as part of an amnesty to mark the 77th anniversary of the country’s independence from Britain. The head of Myanmar’s military government has granted amnesties for 5,864 prisoners from the Southeast Asian country, as well as 180 foreigners who will now be deported, state-run media said.

Israel has confirmed it is holding the director of one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza following reports of his arrest last week. Dr Hussam Abu Safiya was held along with dozens of other staff and taken to an interrogation centre during a raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital on 27 December. The

A surfer who went missing off the coast of South Australia is believed to have died in a shark attack, authorities have said. Lance Appleby, 28, was in the sea at popular surfing site Granites beach, near the coastal town of Streaky Bay, on Thursday evening when witnesses reported seeing him being attacked. One witness

The man who drove a pick-up truck into people celebrating the New Year in New Orleans is believed to have acted alone, according to the FBI – as new information was revealed about the two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) recovered near the scene. There is also “no definitive link” between the attack and the Cybertruck