World

Hooded gunmen have burst onto a live TV set in Ecuador. Live television images broadcast on Tuesday showed hooded people – some waving guns – inside Ecuador’s TC Television station in Guayaquil. They were seen telling staff to lie down on the floor and shouted that they had “bombs”, while shouting and noises similar to

Israel is defending itself at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) today against claims it is committing genocide in Gaza. South Africa filed the case, arguing that Israel is breaching the UN convention on genocide by “killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated

A school teacher who found the missing chunk of plane that blew off mid-flight on Friday has described the “unbelievable” moment he found the panel intact in his garden. Alaska Airlines was forced to perform an emergency landing after a door plug was torn off of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane flying 171 passengers

German and World Cup football legend Franz Beckenbauer has died aged 78. The German defender – nicknamed “Der Kaiser” because of his sublime talent – was regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. He was also famed for carving out his own role as a sweeper – now often known as a

Russia has launched a large-scale missile attack across Ukraine, with at least three people dead after residential and industrial buildings were hit, Ukrainian authorities said. Two people were killed after a Russian missile hit critical infrastructure in the western Ukraine region of Khmelnytskyi, regional officials said. At least six blasts have been reported there but

Vladimir Putin has vowed to back soldiers who defend Russia’s interests and ordered his government to give greater support to those who fight – after two people were killed in the latest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine. Speaking on the eve of Orthodox Christmas, the Russian president said on Saturday while meeting families of

A passenger on board the plane where part of the fuselage blew off in mid-air has said the experience was “jarring” and “disorienting”. Nicholas Hoch said he heard a “big boom” after a hole was ripped in the side of the Boeing 737-9 MAX jet, and each minute felt like an hour. “That was followed

Alaska Airlines has grounded all Boeing 737-9 MAX passenger planes hours after a window and chunk of fuselage blew out of a flight in mid-air shortly after take-off in the US state of Oregon. Photos and videos from passengers showed a gaping hole in the side of the plane next to passenger seats, with oxygen

Despite Russia having significantly greater firepower, its illegal invasion of Ukraine has not gone according to plan. Although Ukraine was not a member of NATO, the West responded to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s appeal for help with a mass of hi-tech weapons and ammunition. However, following nearly two years of high-intensity conflict, both sides are running

The third and fourth batches of documents with details on Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of teenage girls have been unsealed by a US court. A total of 73 exhibits have been released, with the third tranche consisting of 411 pages and the fourth totalling 649. The papers were part of a lawsuit filed by one

Oscar Pistorius has been freed on parole nearly 11 years after murdering his girlfriend in a case that made global headlines. The former Paralympic champion – once celebrated as the ‘blade runner’ – was granted parole in November and today left a South African jail and is now at home, South Africa’s correctional services department

A full transcript detailing air traffic control conversations moments before the fatal plane crash at Tokyo’s Haneda airport has been released by authorities in Japan. The transcript shows the discussions between the airport’s control tower and the two planes – one a Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger jet and the other a smaller coastguard plane –

The leader of Hezbollah has condemned the “dangerous” killing of Hamas’s deputy leader, and warned Israel there will be “no ceiling and no rules” if it wages war on Lebanon. Hassan Nasrallah vowed Hezbollah “will not be silent” following the killing of Saleh al Arouri in a drone strike in southern Beirut yesterday. Hezbollah has

At least 20 people have been killed at a cemetery in Iran where a ceremony was being held to mark the 2020 killing of Iran’s top commander Qassem Soleimani, state media has reported. The reports added there were two explosions at the site in the city of Kerman where the former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

A father who was on board a plane that burst into flames after it collided with a coastguard aircraft in Tokyo has said he and his family are “still in shock” following the ordeal. William Manzione was with his wife and children when a Japan Airlines Airbus A350 aircraft hit a Bombardier Dash-8 on arrival

Hamas has said one of its top officials, Saleh al Arouri, has been killed in an explosion in Beirut – blaming the “cowardly assassination” on Israel. Al Arouri was one of the founders of Hamas’s military wing and the deputy leader of the group’s political bureau. He also headed Hamas’s presence in the West Bank.

The number of people killed after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Japan has risen to at least 30. A series of quakes struck Ishikawa prefecture on Monday afternoon, triggering a now-cancelled tsunami alert that caused some to flee to higher ground. Buildings collapsed, cracks opened in roads and fires broke out – with Japan‘s prime minister

Israel’s Supreme Court has struck down a controversial law passed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government that rolled back some of the high court’s power and sparked nationwide protests. The new legislation had removed one of the methods by which the Supreme Court can quash government and ministers’ decisions. The law would have stripped

A tsunami warning has been issued after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 hit Japan. The warning, issued by the country’s meteorological agency, covers western coastal regions of Ishikawa, Niigata and Toyama. Hokuriku Electric Power said it was checking for any irregularities at its nuclear power plants, Japanese broadcaster NHK said. Waves of

Denmark’s queen has unexpectedly announced her abdication in her traditional New Year’s Eve speech. Margrethe II will formally step down from the throne on 14 January – exactly 52 years to the day of her ascension to the throne in 1972. She will be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik. This breaking news