World

A crematorium is a sobering place to visit during a pandemic. Especially the one in the town of Meissen, eastern Germany, where coffins are stacked on top of each other in every available space. Attached to each simple wooden casket is a small piece of paper giving the basic details about the body inside. The

At least 32 people have died and dozens more are wounded after a double suicide attack in Iraq’s capital. According to police in Baghdad, the explosions hit a commercial area in the centre of the city. Many of the wounded – of which there are at least 73 – are reported to be in a

A stolen copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s 16th century Salvator Mundi painting has been found by Italian police, despite priests not realising it was missing. Officers arrested a 36-year-old apartment owner on suspicion of receiving stolen goods after the 500-year-old oil painting was discovered in his bedroom cupboard. The duplicate, attributed to the Leonardo school

Tennis star Novak Djokovic has insisted he was not being “selfish, difficult and ungrateful” after making a list of requests for players in quarantine ahead of the Australian Open. The men’s world number one reportedly sent a letter to Australian officials asking for a reduction in the time players spend in isolation, permission to see

At least two people have died following an “extremely loud” explosion in Madrid’s city centre – with rescue teams, firefighters and police sent to the scene. Spanish media reports said the blast took place in a residential building near a nursing home and a school – and videos and images shared on social media showed

Italian designer Prada has cut ties with a popular Chinese actress engulfed in a surrogacy scandal. Prada announced it was parting ways with 30-year-old Zheng Shuang on Tuesday – a week after appointing her as a brand ambassador. The company had been heavily criticised for working with Ms Zheng, whose former partner Zhang Heng has

Chinese tycoon Jack Ma has appeared in public for the first time in nearly three months – after speculation about his whereabouts following a clampdown by Beijing on his business empire. The founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba was seen on Wednesday speaking by video in an online ceremony for an annual event for rural teachers.

The US State Department has declared that China is committing genocide and crimes against humanity in a campaign targeting Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.  In a statement, outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uighurs by the

He may be behind bars, but the Kremlin has not succeeded in silencing Alexei Navalny. On his first full day in Moscow’s Matrosskaya-Tishina prison, Mr Navalny’s team have released a huge video investigation into the construction and alleged slush fund behind what is known as “Putin’s palace”, a £1bn private residence on Russia’s Black Sea

The first real-world analysis of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine suggests it is matching its performance in clinical trials, but raises serious questions about the UK’s decision to delay the second dose. Scientists in Israel – which is leading the COVID-19 vaccination race – have told Sky News that they are “very hopeful” having studied preliminary

A snowstorm caused a 134-car pile-up which killed one person and left a dozen others injured in Japan. At least 134 cars were involved in a series of crashes on a 1km stretch of the Tohoku Expressway, in the northern prefecture of Miyagi. Authorities had imposed a speed limit of 50kph (31mph) after blizzard snow

A British man has been killed in an avalanche while skiing in the Swiss Alps. The 38-year-old was among 10 people swept away from the slopes at the popular alpine resort of Verbier, to the east of Geneva, on Monday morning. Eight of the people escaped uninjured, local police said, while one was flown to

A Thai ex-civil servant has been jailed for a “record-breaking” 43 years and 6 months for sharing audio clips on social media said to defame the country’s monarchy. The 65-year-old woman – identified as Anchan – pleaded guilty at Bangkok Criminal Court to 29 counts of posting audio clips to Facebook and YouTube under different

A new electric car battery that can be fully charged in five minutes has been manufactured for the first time on a normal production line in China, based on designs by Israeli company StoreDot. The breakthrough could address a significant concern for electric car drivers – the fear of running out of power during a

Snow has fallen in the Sahara desert after temperatures dropped to -3C (27F). Karim Bouchetata recorded the rare event in Ain Sefra, Algeria, with thawing ice creating beautiful patterns on the sand. The Sahara desert, which covers most of Northern Africa, has gone through shifts in temperature over the past few hundred thousand years –

There is a road north of the capital, Kampala, that few Ugandans wish to follow. It is a rough, potholed track which leads to the home of the opposition leader, Bobi Wine. The 38-year old has not left his home since last Thursday, when he cast his vote in the general election. He came second