World

Parts of China have been hit by “the heaviest rain in 1,000 years” – with footage showing underground train carriages filling with water. More than 20cm of rain fell on the city of Zhengzhou, Henan province, in a single hour on Tuesday. In the recent European floods, the worst-hit areas of Germany saw 18.2cm over

At least 35 people are dead after a suicide bomber struck a crowded market in the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad. The bombing in the Sadr City area on Monday also injured more than 60 people, with a number of them in critical condition, according to police. It happened on the eve of the Eid

Antibodies in COVID-19 patients remain high even nine months after infection, according to a landmark study which tested almost the entirety of a small Italian town. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, focused on the town of Vo which became the centre of the country’s coronavirus pandemic in February 2020 when it recorded

German officials have defended their anti-flooding measures after torrential downpours submerged towns and villages and killed at least 195 people across the country and Belgium. At least 117 people are confirmed to have died as a result of flooding in the worst-affected German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, 46 in North Rhine Westphalia, one in Bavaria, and

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has told her nation that a recovery plan will be in place within days, after visiting some of the areas that were worst affected by the country’s floods. Mrs Merkel, who will stand down as chancellor later this year, visited the village of Schuld, which was devastated, before moving on to

From a bridge in one the most severely flood-hit towns in Germany, we watched as the army moved heavy lifting equipment onto the bypass below. Cars and lorries were visible in the water that covered the road but after a dry, hot day the level had fallen enough for a search and clearance operation to

At least 170 people have now died following “historic” flooding across Germany and Belgium – with fears the death toll could keep rising. The search and rescue operation is continuing as the deadly flood waters recede and debris is cleared. Days of torrential downpours left rivers severely overflowing, leading to waters surging through streets –

Rescuers are searching for hundreds of missing people after “historic” flooding killed more than 120 people in Germany and Belgium. Thousands have also been left homeless after days of heavy rain hit some of Europe’s most prosperous regions. Cars were upended, power networks went down and buildings collapsed as floodwaters rushed through villages such as

An extraordinary scene greeted us in the small village of Arloff in western Germany. It looked like massive bulldozers had been in and torn the place apart. Roads had been lifted out of place, cars upended and there was mud and dirt everywhere. It was a depressing scene for the residents of what was a

At least 92 people have been killed and dozens are missing after catastrophic flooding across Germany and Belgium, which has left several villages cut off and sparked fears that a dam could burst. Officials have warned that communities in both countries “are still in danger” following Thursday’s catastrophe, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel expecting “many”

Laboratory accidents “happen” and are “common”, the head of the World Health Organisation has said as he called on China to be more transparent about the origins of COVID-19. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there had been a “premature push” to rule out a theory that the virus escaped from a Chinese government lab

This year’s Olympic Games are like no other in history. Delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, this is the first time since 1944 that the Games have been put on hold (back then because of the Second World War). After a furious debate, the Japanese and Olympic authorities decided to go ahead with the Games, but

More than 70 people have died and major infrastructure has been damaged after days of rioting and looting in parts of South Africa. The widespread disorder has affected thousands of businesses as people have been filling up their cars and trucks with stolen food and other goods in two of the country’s nine provinces –

The number of soldiers deployed on the streets of South Africa has doubled to 5,000 as the army and police struggle to quell days of looting and violence. President Cyril Ramaphosa is considering boosting troop numbers even more, as at least 72 people have been killed in the worst unrest in the country for years.

Four Iranians have been charged with plotting to kidnap a New York-based journalist and human rights activist critical of Iran and take her back to Tehran, the US Department of Justice says. Court papers did not name the target, but Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad said it was her. Authorities said the accused – alleged intelligence

Ten people have been killed in a stampede during a mass looting at a shopping centre in South Africa’s Gauteng province, officials have said. The fresh violence comes amid an escalation of rioting in Johannesburg, which broke out after the imprisonment of South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma. Shops and businesses have been looted and