World

Children in French state schools will no longer be allowed to wear the abaya, a long loose-fitting dress worn by some Muslim women. The French education minister announced the ban on Sunday ahead of the school term starting at the start of September. France has a strict ban on religious symbols in state schools and

Spain’s women’s football coach has described the World Cup kissing row as “a real nonsense” that has “tarnished a well-deserved victory” for the players and the country. Jorge Vilda told Spanish sports site La Marca: “The events that have taken place since Spain won the Women’s World Cup for the first time in its history

The president of Spain’s football federation has refused to resign after he kissed a Women’s World Cup champion after the final last weekend. Luis Rubiales, 46, grabbed player Jennifer Hermoso and kissed her on the lips during the awards ceremony following Spain’s 1-0 victory over England on Sunday in Sydney, Australia. Ms Hermoso, a 33-year-old

More than two months have passed since Yevgeny Prigozhin’s ill-fated rebellion against Moscow. Despite President Putin surviving the biggest challenge to his authority to date, Prigozhin had defied expectations and survived the immediate post-coup purge. However, it now appears that Yevgeny Prigozhin was living on borrowed time. Read more: Ukraine war latest Has Prigozhin’s demise

Vladimir Putin says he has sent his condolences to the family of Yevgeny Prigozhin after the Wagner Group leader was presumed killed in a plane crash. The Russian president said Prigozhin was a talented businessman who he had known since the 1990s. This is the first time Mr Putin has commented on the plane crash,

Ukraine claims it has raised its national flag in Crimea after conducting a “special operation” in the Russian-occupied territory overnight. The raid was carried out by Ukrainian navy and military intelligence with the country saying “all goals and tasks have been completed”, Ukrainian intelligence said in a Telegram statement on Thursday. Ukraine has not made

A private jet with 10 people on board has crashed in Russia – with the man who led a short-lived mutiny against the country’s top brass on the passenger list. Yevgeny Prigozhin’s fate is currently unknown, with reports suggesting that eight bodies have been found at the crash site. Footage from the scene – about

India has become the first country to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon’s south pole. Chandrayaan-3 was aiming to become the first spacecraft to touch down in a region of the lunar surface thought to contain deep craters with water ice. It touched down six weeks after launching on board a rocket from a

Japan is set to start releasing huge amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea – despite criticism from China.  The Japanese government has said the move is safe and the UN’s nuclear watchdog has given the plan the greenlight, saying the impact on the environment would be “negligible”.

Spain began their reign as Women’s World Cup champions by arriving home to a hero’s welcome on the streets of Madrid. Fans packed the streets of the Spanish capital on Monday night as the victorious La Roja paraded through with the trophy on an open-top bus. The players later got off the bus and took

India could be about to take one giant leap ahead of Russia in the space race – with its latest lunar mission just days away from attempting to land. India’s space agency ISRO announced via X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday that it will attempt to land its Vikram robotic lander on Wednesday. The

The Spanish star who scored the match-winning goal against England in Sunday’s World Cup final found out her father had died after the game. Olga Carmona’s 29th minute strike was all that separated the sides in Sydney, securing a 1-0 win. The Spanish FA has announced she found out about the death of her father

Russia has reported that its Luna-25 spacecraft which launched earlier this month has crashed into the moon. The unmanned robot lander crashed after it spun into uncontrolled orbit, Russia’s space corporation Roskosmos reported on Sunday. It comes after the country reported an “abnormal situation” that its specialists were analysing on Saturday. The mission was the

West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta has been withdrawn from the Brazilian World Cup qualifiers squad amid concerns surrounding an FA and FIFA betting investigation. The investigation is believed to centre around Paqueta getting booked in games, with the bets being placed in Brazil, and the 25-year-old will now miss World Cup qualifiers against Peru and

Soldiers from 11 West African nations are “ready” to be sent into coup-hit Niger to restore ousted president Mohamed Bazoum, officials have said. It comes after leaders of the countries agreed to commit troops for a military operation in Niger, led by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). “We are ready to go

Ukraine’s much-anticipated spring counteroffensive is now in its 10th week, with limited evidence of any significant breakthrough of the formidable Russian defences. President Zelenskyy remains laser-focused on his objective of liberating all Ukrainian territory, but if Ukraine’s military fails to gain momentum in the coming weeks, what next? In September last year, Ukrainian forces mounted

Russia has accused Ukraine of targeting Moscow in a drone attack after one smashed into a building causing a “powerful explosion”. It hit the Expo Center complex in central Moscow, which hosts conventions and conferences, in the early hours of Friday. Image: The damaged Expo Center complex in central Moscow Russia’s defence ministry and city

Sweden’s prime minister says planned attacks against his country have been averted, as the security service raised the terror threat level to its second highest. The move to increase it from three to four, with five being the maximum, means there is a “high threat” of an attack. The Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson told a

The world’s longest rail tunnel has closed for repairs after a freight train derailed – and it is not expected to open for months. The Gotthard railway tunnel in Switzerland will be shut until the end of 2023, much longer than was initially anticipated. The 16 cars that derailed last Thursday caused considerable damage to

Being in possession of small amounts of cannabis is on its way to becoming legal in Germany after the country’s cabinet approved a plan to begin decriminalising the drug. A bill that lets people have 25 grams (nearly one ounce) of cannabis for recreational purposes, grow up to three plants, or acquire marijuana at “cannabis