Israeli ground forces are bombarding the Gaza Strip with artillery, escalating a conflict that has already brought Israeli airstrikes, Palestinian rocket attacks and sectarian violence to the streets.

The IOC, the body that runs the Olympic movement, is resisting calls to cancel the Tokyo Olympics, despite surging Covid-19 cases in Japan.

Coercive policies in China’s region of Xinjiang have led to a sharp decline in birth rates for Uyghurs and other minorities, which could add to evidence of genocide, according to an Australian think tank.

Global forest cover has declined by one million square kilometres since 1960, while cropland and pasture have increased by roughly the same extent.

Sotheby's has sold its first piece of art accepting cryptocurrency as payment. “Love is in the Air” by Banksy sold for $12.9 million in an auction that lasted 14 minutes.

After 75,600km and 39 dives, the Five Deeps Expedition has completed the first manned descent to the bottom of the world’s five oceans.

Israeli airstrikes have struck militant targets in the Gaza Strip after rockets were fired from the territory towards Jersualam, as tensions between Israel and the Palestinians continue to spiral.

The four front-running vaccine-makers have seen their profits surge since the rollout of coronavirus shots, boosted by some $18.5 billion from government, public and private funding.

A gunman has opened fire in a school in the Russian city of Kazan, killing nine people and injuring at least 21 others, some seriously. The assailant has been arrested.

More than 700 people have been killed in Myanmar since the military seized power on February 1, according to a local monitoring group, as security forces have sought to suppress near-daily protests.

A double-extortion attack that has shut down the Colonial Pipeline -- America’s most extensive refined fuel network -- is the most successful cyberattack to date on critical U.S. infrastructure.

China’s out-of-control rocket core draws attention to how agencies can safely dispose of unwanted spacecraft using Earth’s “Point Nemo”.

The U.S. has joined India and South Africa in calling for a waiver on COVID vaccine patents, to allow any manufacturer in the world to produce their own copies without fear of infringing intellectual property rights.

China emits more greenhouse gas than the entire developed world combined, a new report from the U.S.-based Rhodium Group claims.

Two Royal Navy ships and two French vessels are patrolling the waters off the British Channel Island of Jersey, as a dispute over post-Brexit fishing rights escalates.

The birth rate in the United States fell 4% last year – to the lowest since 1979 – dropping “below replacement levels”, a government report finds.

Archaeologists have found the remains of a child buried at a cave in Kenya 78,000 years ago, which provide new insights into the origin of mortuary practices on the continent of our species’ birth.

Politically motivated crime is emerging as an issue ahead of Germany’s national elections in September, with offences surging to more than 44,600 and far-right criminality accounting for more than half.

In 2020, 93 U.S. law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty, 46 of them a result of intentional crime – overall a slight increase on the previous year.

Britain’s HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier will lead Carrier Strike Group 21 – a flotilla of Royal Navy ships – on its 28-week maiden deployment to East Asia.

At least 23 people have been killed and dozens injured in Mexico City, after a metro overpass collapsed while a train was travelling on it.

Germany’s Greens are making their first bid for the country’s most prestigious post, with party co-leader Annalena Baerbock seen as a serious contender for the German chancellor in September’s elections.

A pioneering design to bore a train tunnel between Helsinki and Tallinn is gaining ground after Finland and Estonia signed a letter of intent.

Trillions of cicadas are set to emerge, after 17 years underground across large parts of the eastern United States, bringing their distinctive, high-volume mating calls to towns and cities.

China has launched Tianhe -- a module containing what will be living quarters for three astronauts. Tianhe is the first part of its permanent Tiangong Space Station that Beijing plans to complete in 2022.

China could soon reveal census data that shows its population is falling – its first decline since the Great Chinese Famine 60 years ago that saw tens of millions of people starve to death.

Australia will invest A$747 million ($580 million) to upgrade four northern military bases and expand joint exercises with the United States, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday.

As President Joe Biden marks his first 100 days in office, he has delivered on a number of his biggest campaign pledges focused on Covid-19 response, but in some other issues he is grappling with how to enact promised reforms.

With drones increasingly important in 21st century warfare, a U.S. startup has developed a portable and powerful microwave energy weapon that can disable enemy drones with pinpoint accuracy.

Despite the economic effects of Covid-19, total global military spending rose to nearly $2 trillion in 2020 – an increase of 2.6 percent from 2019 – according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Ethnic minority Karen insurgents have seized a military outpost near the Thai border, a sign that civil conflict will continue despite a recent pledge by the junta to end the violence.

Just over half of Americans approve of the job President Joe Biden is doing as he marks 100 days in office, thanks mainly to the way he is handling the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to formally recognise the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War One as an act of genocide, a move likely to infuriate Turkey.

Russian police have arrested key supporters of opposition leader Alexei Navalny to disrupt their plans for nationwide protests on Wednesday - the day of a state-of-the-nation speech by President Putin.

During its first video broadcast of 2021, Apple unveiled a slew of new hi-tech gadgetry including AirTags, colourful new iMacs and a revamped Apple TV 4K with redesigned Siri remote.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are forecast to rise by the second largest annual amount on record, as global economies pour stimulus cash into fossil fuels to aid recovery from the Covid-19 recession.

Nearly 1,800 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in the first three months of 2021, a 29% rise compared with the same period last year. The spike comes as the U.S. is to pull out all its troops by September.

After reports of rare blood clotting, the U.S., EU and South Africa have paused the rollout of Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine. The move follows similar cases after doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine.

Fifty-five of America’s largest corporations – including Nike and FedEx – paid no federal income tax on more than $40 billion in profits last year, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

President Joe Biden unveils his administration’s first steps to curb U.S. gun violence after a slew of mass shootings have put pressure on him to act.

Europe’s drug regulator has reported 222 cases of rare blood clotting among 34 million adults vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s Covid shot -- but says the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.

NASA is to explore a giant asteroid which, unlike most other asteroids that are rocky or icy bodies, appears to be the exposed metal core of a planet from the early days of our solar system.

G20 finance ministers will discuss a global minimum tax to stop companies from evading taxes by establishing headquarters in countries with low corporation tax rates -- a practice prevalent among tech companies which drains receipts from governments.

Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s extreme right Rassemblement National party, is neck-and-neck in the polls with incumbent Emmanuel Macron ahead of the presidential vote in April 2022.

France is to open its archives on its role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide to the public. The timing coincides with the 27th anniversary of the start of the massacres, in which ethnic Hutu extremists killed around 800,000 people in 100 days.

President Joe Biden has unveiled his plan to plough $2.3 trillion in government spending into U.S. infrastructure -- to reshape the world’s largest economy -- paid for by higher corporate taxes.

Jailed Fatah party activist Marwan Barghouti is to field his own list of candidates in a direct challenge to Fatah President Mahmoud Abbas in forthcoming elections to the Palestinian parliament.

Over 80% of the world’s semiconductors originate in Taiwan or South Korea and in the wake of the pandemic this dependence has led to a global shortage and rising tensions between the world’s biggest economies to obtain the valuable microchips.

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on two of Myanmar’s military cartels, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC). Britain has also targeted MEHL.

Public confidence in AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine is falling sharply in many European countries, according to a survey conducted by YouGov UK. The data follows reports of the shot being linked to blood clots.

The U.S. Air Force is preparing to test its first hypersonic missile. The AGM-183A can fly at 20 times the speed of sound, making it impossible for enemy defences to shoot down.

The U.S. is planning a network of long-range, land-based missiles along the First Island Chain – the string of islands enclosing China’s coastal seas – to boost its deterrence against Beijing.

A tech startup is tackling climate change by turning carbon dioxide into salt crystals and storing the greenhouse gas permanently, up to 2 kilometres deep underground in basalt rock.

The UEFA European Championships take place across Europe, with Wembley Stadium set to host an extra Last 16 tie – England could play six of seven matches on home turf if they progress to the final on July 11.

The UEFA Women’s Champions League final takes place between English Women’s Super League champions Chelsea and Spanish Primera Division league leaders Barcelona at the Gamla Ullevi stadium, in Gothenburg.

The 2020 UEFA European Championships marks 60 years of agony and ecstasy, individual brilliance and triumphant teamwork, stunning goals and impossible saves, creating a showpiece of the very best footballing talent on the continent.

The 103rd PGA Championship will be contested with a limited number of spectators at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina. The course will play as the longest in major championship history, at 7,875 yards.

World Champion Lewis Hamilton claims to have learned more about rival Max Verstappen in the Spanish GP than in all their previous races, knowledge which could prove essential in Monte Carlo.

The final of England’s FA Cup, the world’s oldest Association Football competition, will be contested by Premier League rivals Chelsea and Leicester City.

The UEFA Champions League 2020/21 season reaches climax, only four months after joining Chelsea, coach Thomas Tuchel has led the Blues to their first Champions League final since 2012 -- dispatching Real Madrid to set up an all-English showpiece against Manchester City.

The 2021 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship is scheduled to take place in the Latvian capital of Riga. Latvia was confirmed as the sole host following the decision to withdraw the tournament from Minsk, Belarus.

Pep Guardiola has guided English Premier League champions-elect Manchester City to their first ever UEFA Champions League final, after securing a commanding victory over 2020 finalists Paris Saint-Germain. The final takes place in Istanbul on May 29.

The UEFA European Championships will be hosted in 11 cities across Europe, with Turkey and Italy contesting the opening match in Rome. This Sportlive interactive graphic shows fixtures, live results, league table, team details and matchtrackers of every match in the European Championship.

The 2021 French MotoGP, officially known as the SHARK Grand Prix de France, is the fifth race of the 2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship, staged at the Circuit Bugatti, Le Mans, France

The Giro d’Italia – one of cycling’s prestigious Grand Tours – first set out from Milan in 1909, inspired by the success of the Tour de France. The 2021 race begins in Turin and will celebrate a cultural, historical, touristic and sporting narrative as it passes through Italy

The 104th edition of the Giro d’Italia starts with a time trial in the former royal capital, Turin, for the third time in the race’s history, and finishes in Milan after a gruelling 21 days and 3,480km, with an altitude gain of 47,000m.

This is the second time that Tokyo has hosted the Summer Olympic Games – the first being in 1964. Athens, Paris and Los Angeles have also hosted two Olympics while only London has been a host city three times.

The countdown to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is on with the Torch Relay setting off from Fukushima, visiting all 47 of Japan's prefectures. The Olympic torch design is inspired by traditional cherry blossoms.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games medals are made from 72,000 tonnes of recycled small electronic devices and around six million old and unwanted mobile phones, collected across Japan over two years.

The world's top surfers will compete on Japan's spectacular Pacific coastline. Men and women will take part in Shortboard tournaments, striving to perform the most impressive aerials and tube rides.

Sport Climbing is making its Olympic debut, with athletes scaling devious wall courses, often times holding on by just their finger tips. Climbers will participate in three disciplines – Speed, Bouldering and Lead.

With its humble roots in the youthful energy of 1940s America, skateboarding has finally reached the heady heights of the Olympic Games. Two disciplines will be contested by men and women – Park and Street.

The partial WTA schedule – reflecting the ongoing uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic – features 31 tournaments, including the first three Grand Slam showpieces of the year and four WTA 1000 events in Dubai, Miami, Madrid and Rome.

The new ATP Tour season continues to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with the first major showpiece of the year -- the Australian Open -- delayed until February.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) season continues. The NBA has been dominated by a fierce rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, each winning 17 titles.

Starting in in the north-west city of Brest, Brittany, the defining characteristic of the 2021 Tour de France is the inclusion of a double ascent of the iconic Mont Ventoux and a visit to Andorra.