World

Israel has rejected a ceasefire proposal accepted by Hamas and announced it is pushing ahead with an assault on the town of Rafah in southern Gaza. The Israeli military said it was conducting “targeted strikes” against Hamas in the east of the city, which is the group’s final stronghold in Gaza. Soon after Israeli tanks

The term “inauguration” may feel slightly misleading. After all, this is not his first time. Today’s ceremony will be the fifth occasion Vladimir Putin has been sworn in as Russia’s president, and it marks the start of another six years at the top. He is already the Kremlin’s longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin, having been

Senior Israeli officials have been threatening a major military operation into the city of Rafah and surrounding areas in southern Gaza for weeks. On Sunday, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant warned it could take place “imminently” as talks on a ceasefire with Hamas fizzled-out in Cairo. Now, they have taken a major step towards it.

A week that started with cautious optimism for a breakthrough in negotiations between Israel and Hamas has ended, perhaps unsurprisingly, with the prospect of peace in Gaza looking as distant as ever. It has taken two days of talks in Cairo, with a delegation from Hamas – and intermediaries from Egypt, Qatar and the United

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected ceasefire proposals because he says Hamas’s call for a withdrawal of all troops from Gaza and an end to the war is unacceptable. Mr Netanyahu said agreeing to such proposals would “leave Hamas intact” and leave the possibility of another attack in future. “Surrendering to the demands of

Diplomatic relations between India and Canada have been at their lowest since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to the killing of a Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist leader saying there were “credible allegations” India was involved. India’s government rejected the allegations as absurd and motivated and accused the Canadian government of providing shelter to Khalistan

Countries in South and Southeast Asia have been coping with a weeks-long heatwave which has seen record temperatures sweep parts of the region. Pupils in the Philippines, India and Bangladesh have been told to stay at home and learn remotely due to a severe health risk. Schools in Cambodia have also cut back on their

Three suspects have been charged by Canadian police over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Vancouver last June, in an incident that sparked a diplomatic spat between Ottawa and New Delhi. Three suspects have been arrested and charged over the killing of 45-year-old Hardeep Singh Nijjar by masked gunmen in Surrey, outside Vancouver.

The UK will appoint a new envoy to oversee a plan to ramp up the production of weapons and ammunition, which is now a “national priority”, the foreign secretary has revealed. Lord Cameron, speaking on a visit to Ukraine, also underlined the importance of supporting the Ukrainian war effort against Russia, warning that the world

David Cameron has backed Ukrainian strikes against targets inside Russia using British-supplied weapons. Speaking in the Ukrainian capital, the foreign secretary said it was Ukraine’s decision on how to use the supplied equipment and Kyiv “absolutely has the right” to strike back. Britain has supplied billions of pounds worth of equipment, and on a visit

Russia has denied allegations of breaching the international chemical weapons ban by deploying chocking agents against Ukrainian troops. The Kremlin on Thursday responded to claims by the United States that it had used choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops – the same agent used by German forces against Allied troops during the First World War.

Another night of violence has unfolded in Georgia as police have fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters opposing a so-called “Russian law”. The “foreign agents” bill would require organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence. Georgian critics say the bill is inspired

The murder trial of a former senior politician in Kazakhstan who has been accused of beating his wife to death has attracted the attention of the nation, sparking calls for new legislation tackling domestic violence.  Shocking footage showing businessman Kuandyk Bishimbayev, Kazakhstan’s former economy minister, beating his wife at a family restaurant has been streamed

An Israeli ground offensive in Rafah is “on the immediate horizon”, the UN’s aid chief has warned, as Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed that his forces “will enter” the southern Gaza city. Martin Griffiths said in a statement on X on Tuesday the threatened attack would “spell even more trauma and death” for those in the city

Spain’s prime minister has decided not to resign despite his wife being investigated over corruption claims. Pedro Sanchez said he was pausing public duties and considering his future last week, but confirmed on Monday he would continue as leader. “I have decided to go on, if possible even stronger as prime minister. This is not

A Russian man has been arrested after two Ukrainian men were stabbed to death in southern Germany. The two Ukrainians were killed at a shopping centre in the village of Murnau in Upper Bavaria. They were 23 and 36 years old and lived in the southern German county of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Shortly after the killings on

Ireland is pledging emergency legislation enabling it to send asylum seekers back to the UK. More than 80% of recent arrivals in the republic came via the land border with Northern Ireland, Irish justice minister Helen McEntee told a parliamentary committee last week. Rishi Sunak told Sky News it showed the UK’s Rwanda scheme was

Britain plans to equip its armed forces with a homegrown hypersonic cruise missile by the end of the decade, according to a report. Military chiefs are under pressure to catch up with China, Russia and the US by developing a weapon capable of flying at speeds higher than Mach 5 – five times the speed

Hamas has released a new video that appears to show two hostages who have been held in Gaza since the 7 October assault on southern Israel. The two men, Keith Siegel, 64, and Omri Miran, 47, speak in the video against an empty background, sending their love to relatives and asking to be released. The

A well-known Iraqi social media influencer has reportedly been shot dead in her car by a gunman on a motorbike. Om Fahad, whose real name is Ghufran Sawadi, was killed outside her home in Baghdad’s Zayouna district on Friday, according to the AFP news agency, citing security officials. It appears the unidentified attacker pretended to