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The European Space Agency’s Proba satellite caught this view of the eclipse Millions of people in the UK and northern Europe have glimpsed the best solar eclipse in years.A great swathe of the Earth’s surface was plunged into darkness as the Moon came between us and the Sun.From an aeroplane above the Faroe Islands, a BBC camera captured startling footage ...

A world virtually free of tobacco and its devastating health consequences could be a reality within 30 years if governments showed political will and took stronger action against cigarette companies, health experts said. The international group of public health and policy specialists, writing in The Lancet medical journal, said on Friday sale of tobacco should be phased out worldwide by ...

Vanuatu’s President Baldwin Lonsdale has called for international help after Cyclone Pam ripped through the Pacific archipelago. Describing it as a “calamity”, he said he spoke with a “heavy heart”. Aid agencies say the cyclone, which veered off its expected course on Saturday and struck populated areas, has caused “complete devastation”. Save the Children says eight people are confirmed dead ...

A crowded double-decker passenger ferry capsised in northwestern Myanmar after being slammed by huge waves, killing 33 people and leaving at least a dozen missing, officials said on Saturday. Rescuers pulled 167 survivors from the sea and brought them to safety after the Aung Tagun 3 went down near Myebon in Rakhine state late on Friday, said Myanmar Red Cross ...

Pakistan is to resume executions for all death penalty offences, months after a moratorium was partially lifted to allow executions of terror convicts. All condemned prisoners who have exhausted the appeals process and whose pleas for clemency are rejected now face execution, officials say. Executions were suspended for seven years until some resumed after the Peshawar school massacre in December. ...

Events are being held to remember thousands of Indian soldiers who fought alongside the British in a key battle in France in World War One. Prime Minister Narendra Modi placed a wreath at the India Gate memorial in Delhi on Tuesday, marking the centenary of the battle of Neuve Chapelle. The army is holding an exhibition, recreating scenes from the ...

New Zealand authorities say a national farming body and dairy giant Fonterra have been sent letters threatening to poison milk formula. Federated Farmers and Fonterra received the anonymous letters in November, said officials, along with sachets of contaminated product. The letters appeared to be a protest over the use of the pesticide 1080 in agriculture. PM John Key said milk ...

Hundreds of baton-wielding police in Myanmar have broken up a demonstration by students who say a new law stifles academic freedom. A BBC Burmese reporter at the scene said dozens of protesters were injured and at least 30 people arrested. The clashes took place in Letpadan, 140km (90 miles) north of Yangon. The BBC’s correspondent in Myanmar (also known as ...

A senior US diplomat has warned of a “dangerous” gulf emerging between US and European defence spending. Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the United Nations, has appealed to European governments to spend more. She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that cuts to defence budgets in Europe were “concerning”. Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK already met the ...

Under a twinkling chandelier in a gilded room at the Irish embassy in London, Binti Ali Kiza walked slowly to the podium. She looked nervous and cold, despite the blanket over her shoulders and the woollen cap on her head, but her voice was firm as she said: “This is the voice of a grassroots woman.” The Kenyan activist had ...