World

French President Emmanuel Macron is safe following reports of explosions in central Damascus on Tuesday morning, the Elysee Palace has said. Macron is in the capital for talks with his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa at the presidential palace. A security source told the BBC the blasts were caused by two …

A series of explosions have been heard near the hotel where President Emmanuel Macron is due to stay in Syria. Roads ⁠have been sealed ⁠off and security measures ‌implemented after the blasts, that were heard in Damascus. A witness told Reuters news agency explosions went off in the vicinity of …

At least 11 people have died after severe thunderstorms swept cities in central China’s Hubei province, state media reported. Tornado videos have been circulating online, taken from the neighbouring cities of Ezhou and Huanggang. A student in Huanggang city told the BBC that he had thought it was “just an …

The US called China’s ballistic missile test in the south Pacific a “great concern” for the world. Washington warned China that while it “is working harder than ever to prevent nuclear proliferation”, the government in Beijing was “doing the opposite”. China carried out the long-range missile test on Monday, also …

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust – an independent trust which manages the shrine – held its first meeting on Monday after allegations of donation thefts surfaced last month. The trust had earlier denied any wrongdoing. But the state government set up a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to …

The campaign targets have been high profile. St Petersburg was hit with drones ahead of Putin’s showpiece economic forum in June. Then there were strikes on Moscow itself, creating explosion videos that went viral. Now there’s a confirmed hit on an oil refinery in Omsk, Siberia, 2,500 km from Ukraine’s …

A reservoir wall broke in Nanning, China, sending out a torrent of water after rivers swelled from the passage of a typhoon. At least two people have been killed by flooding due to Typhoon Maysak, officials have said. The city’s emergency flood control response has been raised to its highest …

“I want to say one sentence to President Trump and the world,” declared a grey-haired man named Mojtaba, who came to us saying he had a message. “Soon, very soon you will see signs of revenge at the top of the White House, and soon the colour of the White …

A Kenyan court initially suspended the country’s deal after legal challenges demanding protection of patient privacy. Arnold Kavaarpuo, executive director of Ghana’s Data Protection Commission, told the BBC the government in Accra had objected to the deal it was offered for similar reasons. “We had concerns around the scope and …

The prisons these men helped run are part of a detention system in which the UN’s human rights office (OHCHR) says the torture and ill-treatment of civilians is “systematic and widespread”. It says former detainees describe beatings, electric shocks, mock executions and sexual violence, with civilians often detained arbitrarily and …

Cuba has suffered a nationwide blackout after the country’s national electricity grid collapsed. The blackout in the country of some 10 million people was reported on Monday by the state-run Electric Union, which said the cause was under investigation. Cuba’s ministry of energy and mines reported it had activated protocols …

The film has had an unusually long and difficult journey to release. It was originally titled, external Ghallughara, a Punjabi term associated with some of the darkest episodes in Sikh history. It refers to the mass killings of Sikhs by Mughal forces in 1746 and by the forces of Afghan …

French president Emmanuel Macron has become the first major western leader to visit Syria since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad. Mr Macron arrived in Damascus on Monday and will meet Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa at the presidential palace. The visit underscores Syria’s geopolitical transformation under Mr al Sharaa, a …

The family of Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two, released a statement to local media in advance of Monday’s proceedings, which are scheduled to last through Friday. “Charlie was a beloved husband, son, brother, friend, and father,” said Kirk’s widow, Erika, his parents, Robert and Kathryn, and sister, Mary. “Every …

It also said two Bolivian child victims who were forced to work in a grocery store were rescued by Argentinian police, with arrests made. Separately, Belgian authorities arrested 17 suspects after dismantling a trafficking network that allegedly held victims recruited via social media captive, and forced them into prostitution rings …

Mexico’s World Cup campaign ended with a 3-2 defeat to England in Mexico City. BBC News

The streets of Tehran have been lined with huge crowds as Iran continued its public mourning for the late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei was killed at the start of the US-Israel war in February this year. The funeral procession that passed through the capital’s landmark Enghelab Square, where …

The son of a Scottish woman who was murdered in Crete 17 years ago has vowed the fight for justice is “not over” as the killer remains free pending an appeal. The body of Jean Hanlon, 53, was discovered in water off Heraklion in March 2009. Greek authorities initially ruled …

China carried out a long-range ballistic missile test in the south Pacific on Monday, sparking criticism from New Zealand and Australia. An announcement by state news agency Xinhua said the test launch was carried out using a nuclear-powered submarine at 12.01pm (5.01am in the UK). The Chinese military used a …

Days after the law was passed, the Akal Takht raised objections – not to the tougher punishments, but to provisions on terminology, the registration and custody of physical forms of the Guru Granth Sahib, and its administration. It argued these were matters of Sikh religious practice that should be decided …