Rosie O’Donnell question puzzles Taoiseach

Kevin Sharkey BBC News NI Dublin reporter Getty Images The Taoiseach seemed puzzled when a member of the White House press corps asked him about Rosie O’Donnell The Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) seemed puzzled when a member of the White House press corps asked him about Rosie O’Donnell. Rosie who? Micheál Martin didn’t quite say … Read more

‘Huawei lobbyists’ held in raids in Belgium over EU corruption

Belgian police have raided several locations in the country as part of an investigation into corruption within the European Parliament. Prosecutors said the alleged corruption was “under the guise of commercial lobbying”, and that several people had been detained for questioning. According to officials, an address in Portugal was also searched by local police in … Read more

SADC troops to pull out as M23 rebels gain ground

Southern African leaders have announced they will pull their troops out of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where they have been helping the government fight rebel forces. The decision to start a “phased withdrawal” was made during a virtual summit of the 16-member Southern African Development Community (Sadc) on Thursday. The troops were sent two … Read more

How the Pakistan train hijacking unfolded

AFP More than 400 people were on the train when it was attacked Mehboob Hussain was riding the train home on Tuesday when the tracks under the front car exploded. In the depths of central Pakistan’s Bolan Pass, a pocket of wilderness so remote that there is no internet or mobile network coverage, the nine-coach … Read more

German spy agency ‘believed Covid likely started in lab’

Germany’s foreign intelligence service believed there was a 80-90% chance that coronavirus accidentally leaked from a Chinese lab, German media say. Two German newspapers say they have uncovered details of an assessment carried out by spy agency BND in 2020 but never published. The intelligence service had indications that the Wuhan Institute of Virology had … Read more