World

The man believed to be al Qaeda’s second-in-command has been killed, Afghan security forces have said. Abu Muhsin al-Masri was on the FBI’s most wanted list and was charged with conspiracy to kill US nationals. He was killed in a special operation in Ghazni province in eastern Afghanistan, the country’s national directorate of security said

At least 18 people have been killed including teenage students following a suicide bombing at an education centre in Afghanistan. Another 57 people were wounded in the blast which struck in a heavily Shia neighbourhood of western Kabul on Saturday. Interior ministry spokesman Tariq Adrian said the attacker was trying to get into the centre

The president has cast his ballot in the US election, telling reporters: “I voted for a guy named Trump.” After voting in West Palm Beach, Florida, Mr Trump also took the opportunity to attack mail-in ballots – warning that they can never be as secure as voting in person. Describing his experience at the polling

Police in Ireland have searched a suspected illicit pub, or “shebeen”, on suspicion of breaching coronavirus measures. The property near Athy in County Kildare was targeted by Gardai officers on Friday evening. The force had launched an investigation after they became aware of the premises, and the fact people were congregating in a breach of

A police officer in the US has been fired after shooting a black couple inside a car – killing a 19-year-old man and injuring his girlfriend. The Chicago officer shot dead Marcellis Stinnette and wounded Tafara Williams after what authorities described as a traffic stop on Tuesday. The officer – whose name has not been

Scientists have discovered the first nest of so-called “murder hornets” in the US. Asian giant hornets can deliver painful stings to people and spit venom – but they are a bigger threat to honeybees that farmers rely on to pollinate their crops. Experts hunted down the nest in Blaine, a city north of Seattle, by

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has tested positive for COVID-19. His spokesperson Blazej Spychalski tweeted that the conservative leader received the result after taking a test on Friday. Mr Spychalski says the president feels well and will be in quarantine. Image: Polish president Andrzej Duda with US president Donald Trump Mr Duda’s diagnosis follows a sharp

Cannabis worth an estimated €7m (£6.4m) has been found in a shipping container in Dublin. The container had 352kg of herbal cannabis and had arrived in the Irish city port from Spain. Three men, aged 31, 47 and 49, have been arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking offences. They were taken to Garda stations across

An attempt by Donald Trump to secure an election endorsement from the Israeli prime minister has backfired during a White House photo call. With reporters gathered in the Oval Office to mark the signing of a historic US-brokered peace deal between Israel and Sudan, the US president asked Benjamin Netanyahu, who was on speakerphone, if

Irish donations to a Native American community battling COVID-19 with limited resources have now topped $1m (£768,000). Flooded with responses from one place, organisers of the Navajo and Hopi Families Relief Fund feared their online appeal had been hacked. But messages being posted with each pledge revealed the Irish were repaying a debt from the

The number of coronavirus deaths in the US may reach half a million by the end of February – but universal mask wearing could save nearly 130,000 lives, according to a study. Researchers from the University of Washington looked at non-pharmaceutical ways of minimising COVID-19 fatalities. Their analysis examined how the disease has spread in

Notorious Irish criminal John Gilligan has been arrested in Spain after an international drug trafficking investigation. The crime boss was one of six people arrested during the raid on a residence in Alicante on Friday following an operation by Spanish, Irish and UK authorities. Police seized four kilograms of cannabis, 15,000 pills, cash, documents and

The steaks were high in the European Parliament as it decided meatless and plant-based products can still be called sausages, burgers and other words traditionally associated with meat. During votes on issues relating to agricultural products, politicians decided that so-called veggie burgers, soy steaks, and vegan sausages can be sold as such in restaurants and

Australia is slowly beginning to remove a cap on its citizens and permanent residents returning to the country, as it looks to ease COVID travel restrictions. From November, a total of 5,865 people will be allowed to return to the country each week – 290 more than currently allowed – after Western Australia and Queensland

Russia has blamed toxic algae for the mass death of marine life in a remote volcanic area of northeastern Russia, rather than it being a man-made disaster. Greenpeace said there had been a “massive die-off” or organisms in the Kamchatka region earlier this month. It said carcasses of animals were washing up on the beaches

The coronavirus second wave is spreading more quickly than the first outbreak in spring, a top French scientist has warned, amid a growing resurgence of the virus across Europe. “The virus is circulating more quickly… the resurgence of the pandemic started in August,” French government scientific adviser Arnaud Fontanet told BFM TV on Friday. He