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All WTA tournaments have been suspended in China over concerns for the safety of player Peng Shuai. The head of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) said it was taking the step after Shuai, a Grand Slam doubles champion, accused a former high-ranking government official in China of sexual assault. Peng dropped out of public view

NASA has called off a spacewalk due to the threat of dangerous space debris. Two US astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron, were due to replace an external antenna on Tuesday. However, the expedition was cancelled when Mission Control found pieces of orbiting space junk had come dangerously close

China has for the first time become the single greatest focus for MI6, with its chief warning the risk “is real” of a miscalculation by Beijing through underestimating western resolve to push back. Pointing to Taiwan, Richard Moore said a desire by the ruling Chinese Communist Party – backed by an increasingly powerful military –

The Prince of Wales has formally acknowledged “the appalling atrocity of slavery” in the Caribbean, saying “it forever stains our history” at an event to mark Barbados becoming a republic. Prince Charles was invited to speak at the transition ceremony formalising the Caribbean island’s decision to remove the Queen as its head of state. Speaking

The speed with which new variants of the COVID-19 virus spread around the world can leave government’s scrambling to catch up. What is sometimes more remarkable is the speed with which those new variants are detected. It has taken barely two weeks from the initial testing of ‘patient zero’, before potentially the entire globe is

The Prince of Wales will reaffirm the “myriad connections between the people of our countries” as he flies to Barbados for a ceremony to remove the Queen as head of state and transition to a republic. Prince Charles, who said he believes it is “important” for him to attend the ceremony, arrived in Barbados late

Authorities in the Netherlands have detected 13 cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant among passengers from South Africa. Health officials said the infected people were on flights from the southern African nation earlier this week. A total of 61 people on the planes tested positive for the virus – and 21% of those had Omicron.

Global concern about the coronavirus pandemic is growing, with a number of countries detecting confirmed cases of the Omicron variant for the first time. Travel restrictions are also being imposed once again as governments suspend flights from southern Africa, the region where this strain was first detected. Here is a look at the latest COVID-19

Vaccine manufacturers have expressed confidence that they will be able to rapidly adapt their jabs if the Omicron variant spreads. The new strain – previously known as B.1.1.529 – features some “concerning” mutations, and early evidence suggests it brings an increased risk of reinfection. There are also fears that the variant could be more resistant

So the new variant has a name, but we’ve no idea about its reputation. On paper at least the Omicron variant looks terrifying. It has more mutations than any previously observed strain of COVID. And the mutations aren’t just a random jumble of genetic changes. A worrying number of them are in parts of the

The first victim of Wednesday’s tragedy in the Channel has been named as Mariam Nouri Hamadameen, a 21-year-old Kurdish woman from northern Iraq. She had travelled to Germany and on to France, hoping to join her fiance who already lives in Britain. Mariam was a student and recently engaged – she left her studies early

South Africa is racing to learn more about a new coronavirus variant that could be more transmissible and more resistant to vaccines. Just 53 cases related to the B.1.1.529 strain have been confirmed in the country so far, but there are fears the true number could be much higher. COVID-19 has been rapidly spreading among

A mayday call by French coastguard requesting urgent help from “all ships” during yesterday’s Channel boat emergency has been obtained by Sky News. Twenty-seven people – 17 men, seven women and two teenage boys and a girl – died while trying to cross to the UK in a flimsy boat, which capsized near Calais. Two

At least 24 migrants have drowned while trying to get to the UK across the Channel in an inflatable dinghy, a French official has said. Several others are thought to be injured after their boat capsized off Calais this afternoon, as they tried to cross the world’s busiest shipping lane. “Strong emotion in the face

The World Health Organisation has said it is “alarmed” about the surge in COVID-19 infections across Europe as the continent battles a fresh wave of the virus. Cases are rising again in much of Europe – sharply in the case of countries like Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, with the latter going back into a

Fully vaccinated travellers will finally be able to enter New Zealand from 30 April 2022, easing border restrictions that have been in place since March last year. Meanwhile, fully vaccinated New Zealanders and residence visa holders in neighbouring Australia will be able to enter the country from 16 January. Fully vaccinated residents and visa holders

A man convicted of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher in Italy in 2007 has been freed early from jail. Rudy Guede served about 13 years of a 16-year sentence, said his lawyer, Fabrizio Ballarini. He was convicted in 2008 and had been due to be freed on 4 January next year, but a

Germany’s health minister has warned that by the end of this winter “pretty much everyone” in Germany “will have been vaccinated, recovered or died”. Jens Spahn urged Germans to get vaccinated amid a rapid rise in COVID cases. Official figures showed more than 30,000 new coronavirus cases in Germany in the last 24-hour period, an

The teenager acquitted after killing two people and wounding a third at a racial justice protest in the US has claimed he is “not racist” and supports the Black Lives Matter movement. Kyle Rittenhouse was speaking to Fox News following his acquittal on Friday which has led to a wave of protests over the American

Austria is beginning another COVID-19 lockdown, as the government seeks to limit the spread of the virus. The lockdown is the first since vaccines became widely available, but it comes as just 65% of the population is fully vaccinated. Most gathering places – such as restaurants, cafes, bars, theatres, non-essential shops, and hairdressers – will