The submarine internet cable connecting Tonga to the rest of the world has been repaired, five weeks after an underwater volcanic eruption hit the tiny Pacific island nation. The 15 January eruption and tsunami caused wide destruction, killing three people and damaging hundreds of homes. In the immediate aftermath, the country was cut off from global reach because the underwater cable had been severed. Makeshift satellite services provided only limited communication links. While some low-grade internet services were set up about a week after the explosion, a fast connection was still lacking as aid and other supplies began to arrive at the islands. The 840km (520-mile) undersea cable connecting Tonga to Fiji had been its sole source of reliable internet.(BBC)…[+]

Oil and gas prices are climbing on fears that the Ukraine-Russia crisis will disrupt supplies across the world. The price of Brent crude oil, an international benchmark, reached a seven-year high of $99.38 (£73) a barrel on Tuesday. The RAC warned the crisis would push up UK petrol prices further, after they hit a record 149.12p a litre on Sunday. Russia ordered troops into two rebel-held regions in Ukraine’s east after it recognised them as independent states. In London, the FTSE 100 share index opened more than 1.4% lower before regaining ground and turning positive. But Asian stock markets closed lower, and US stock exchanges were braced for losses.Western powers have imposed or threatened sanctions against Russia, which is the second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia. Russia is also the world’s top producer of natural gas. On Tuesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took the significant step of blocking the certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that would have supplied gas directly from Russia to Germany. Wholesale gas prices jumped in response, with the UK price for April delivery up 9% and the cost for May up 10% to 191p per therm. However, this is still considerably lower than the highs seen in December last year, when it peaked at over 400p per therm. (BBC)…[+]

Australia has reopened its international border for the first time in nearly two years, bringing joyful family reunions and a boost to tourism. The country imposed some of the world’s strictest travel bans after shutting itself off in March 2020 due to Covid. Australians and some others were allowed to return from late last year, but most foreigners have had to wait. There were tearful reunions at Sydney Airport on Monday as hundreds of people began arriving on flights. One young girl, Charlotte, shared an emotional hug with her grandfather. She told the local Nine Network: “I’ve missed him so much and I’ve looked forward to this trip for so long.” Double-jabbed visitors do not need to quarantine, but unvaccinated travellers must do so in a hotel for up to 14 days at their own expense.(BBC)…[+]

US President Joe Biden has agreed “in principle” to hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the crisis over Ukraine. The talks proposed by France will only take place if Russia does not invade its neighbour, the White House said. The Kremlin, meanwhile, said there were no “concrete plans” for a summit. It is hoped that such talks could offer a possible diplomatic solution to one of the worst security crises in Europe in decades. US officials say intelligence suggests Russia is ready to launch a military operation, which Moscow denies.  The proposed summit was announced by the French presidency after two phone calls between President Emmanuel Macron and Mr Putin, which went on for almost three hours in total.(BBC)…[+]

This announcement from Buckingham Palace that the Queen has tested positive for Covid is a careful balancing act between telling the public about the Queen getting the virus – while at the same time playing down any sense of alarm. So the concern about the 95-year-old monarch has been countered by the assurance that the symptoms are mild and she is well enough to carry on working. Emphasising this business-as-usual approach, the Queen was back at work on Sunday to sign off a message of congratulations to the Winter Olympics curling teams. Like for the curlers, the royal brushers have smoothed a path for what might otherwise be a worrying message. In terms of what happens  next – the Queen is clearly going to be very carefully monitored by her personal medical team.(BBC)…[+]

Alarms rang out across the Brazilian city of Petrópolis on Thursday, warning of more heavy rain to come after floods and landslides killed at least 117 people with more than 100 missing.  The rescue mission has been temporarily called off and some people, fearing more destruction, are fleeing the city. One volunteer rescuer said that finding survivors under the rubble was now “practically impossible”. This week’s rainfall in Petrópolis was the heaviest in nearly a century. The downpours on Tuesday alone exceeded the average for the whole of February, triggering landslides and floods in the city north of Rio and turning streets into rivers of mud. Homes were engulfed and vehicles swept away. The first funerals took place on Thursday for the victims who had been formally identified, with the stories of those who died starting to come to light – like that of Helena, who had started at nursery just a few days before the landslide destroyed the home she shared with her family. “I enjoyed my baby’s company for little more than one year,” her mother Giselli Carvalho, who also lost her mother and niece in the disaster, told Brazilian news channel Globo TV. (BBC)…[+]

Malawi has declared a wild polio outbreak after a case was identified in a three-year-old girl – the first of its kind in Africa for more than five years. The continent was declared free of all forms of wild polio in 2020. The Malawian authorities are now working to contain any possible spread including by boosting immunisation. Wild polio remains endemic in only two countries in the world – Afghanistan and Pakistan. The strain that was identified in Malawi was linked to one found in Pakistan, but it is not clear how or when it arrived in the southern African country. The case was confirmed after tests were carried out on samples from the infected child who was suffering from paralysis, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Polio usually affects children under five, sometimes leading to irreversible paralysis. Death can occur when breathing muscles are affected.

A court in India has sentenced 38 people to death for their role in a series of bomb blasts in 2008 in the western state of Gujarat. Fifty-seven people were killed and hundreds injured in the bombings, which took place in Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Gujarat. The court in Ahmedabad also sentenced 11 other convicts to life in prison until death. The accused can challenge their sentences in a higher court. On 26 July 2008, around 20 bombs exploded in the space of an hour across residential areas, market places, public transport and hospitals in Ahmedabad. Several unexploded bombs were also found. The Indian Mujahideen – then an unknown Islamic militant group – had claimed responsibility for the attacks in an email sent to some media outlets. The Indian government declared the group a terrorist organisation and banned it in 2010 after it was accused of an attack on a German bakery in Pune in which 17 people were killed and scores injured. In the Ahmedabad blasts, 78 people had faced trial – one of the accused, Ayaz Saiyed, later helped investigating agencies. The remaining 28 have been acquitted. The prosecution examined 1,163 witnesses over the course of the trial, according to The Indian Express. Special Judge AR Patel also ordered to give compensation of 100,000 rupees (£982; $1,337) each to families of the victims.(BBC)…[+]

The search for survivors from a Spanish fishing trawler that sank off Canada’s eastern coast on Monday has ended, rescuers say. Three members of the crew were rescued but nine are confirmed dead and 12 are still missing. The crew included 16 Spaniards, five Peruvians and three Ghanaians. The trawler, based in Spain’s north-west region of Galicia, sank off Newfoundland, in Spain’s worst fishing tragedy for almost 40 years. It is as yet unclear what caused it to sink. “The active search for the missing crew has been ended. The case is now turned over to law enforcement as a missing persons at sea case,” Brian Owens of Canada’s Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre told the BBC. In Madrid, parliament observed a minute of silence.The Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Luis Planas, said it was the biggest tragedy in the fishing industry since Islamar III, a sardine boat, sank off the Canary Islands in 1984, claiming 26 lives. (BBC)…[+]

At least 13 people have died after falling into a well during a wedding ceremony in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Police said the victims – all women and children – were sitting on a metal slab covering the well when it collapsed under their weight. Two more people have been injured in the accident, which took place in Kushinagar district. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the deaths “heart-wrenching”. The tragedy took place on Wednesday evening during the traditional “haldi” ceremony, in which relatives apply turmeric paste to the faces of the bride and groom as a marker of prosperity. When the slab broke, other guests ran to rescue the victims and took them to a nearby hospital. While 11 people were declared dead immediately, two others died later during treatment, police said.Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has asked district authorities to assist the families of the victims, while district magistrate S Rajalingam said they will be paid compensation.(BBC)…[+]