World

Brazil has entered three days of mourning following the death of football superstar Pele. The 82-year-old – the only man to win the World Cup three times as a player – died on Thursday after a long battle with cancer. A 24-hour wake will be held on Monday in the centre of the field at

At least seven people are dead and dozens injured in a fire at a casino and hotel in western Cambodia. The fire at the Grand Diamond City Casino in the city of Poipet, started at about midnight on Wednesday, the General Commissariat of National Police said. Just after 4am UK time (11am local time), police

Brazilian football star Pele has died at the age of 82, his agent has confirmed. The former Santos FC star, widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, had been at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Sao Paulo since 29 November. A medical report just before Christmas showed that he needed

Doctors in China have described the chaos unfolding within hospitals as COVID-19 infections sweep the country. Three health care professionals spoke anonymously to Sky News, painting a picture of emergency departments “packed” with patients, “ventilators and oxygen machines everywhere” and “not enough IV beds”. Strict zero-COVID restrictions were lifted just three weeks ago in China

Two teenage boys have been charged with the murder of a British mother-of-two who was killed while defending her home in Australia on Boxing Day. The 17-year-olds have appeared in court charged with the murder of Emma Lovell, 41, and the attempted murder of her husband Lee Lovell, 43. The couple, originally from Ipswich, Suffolk,

Serbian security forces on the border with Kosovo have been placed on a state of “full combat readiness”. The order was given by Serbia’s interior minister Bratislav Gasic, who said he was acting on instructions from President Aleksandar Vucic so that “all measures be taken to protect the Serbian people in Kosovo”. Kosovo has not

South Korea says it has scrambled fighter jets and attack helicopters, firing warning shots, after North Korean drones “violated” its airspace. The country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, a group of chiefs from each major branch of the armed services, said several unmanned North Korean drones crossed the border and were detected in the South’s territory

Ukraine has said Vladimir Putin “needs to come back to reality” in response to the Russian president’s claim that he is ready to negotiate. On a day which saw Russia launch rocket attacks on dozens of frontline towns, Mr Putin had told state broadcaster Rossiya 1 that the Kremlin was “ready to negotiate with everyone

About 10 people are feared to have been buried by an avalanche in western Austria, local media has reported. The disaster struck at about 3pm local time on a face on the Trittkopf mountain between Lech and Zürs, with released snow tumbling as far as nearby ski runs, the Austrian Press Agency (APA) said. It

Pele’s family are spending Christmas Day in hospital after the Brazilian football legend’s cancer progressed. A medical report earlier this week showed that the 82-year-old now needed care for cardiac and renal dysfunction, having been battling colon cancer since September 2021. He has been at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paul since 29 November.

The Taliban have banned Afghan women from working at non-governmental organisations in the country. It was not clear if the ban, announced in a letter and confirmed by the economy ministry, also applied to foreign women or those working for the United Nations, which has a significant presence in the country. The economy ministry said

Tragedy has once again struck Paris with three people dead and three others injured following a shooting. Here’s what we know so far about the incident in the French capital. Who is the suspect? A 69-year-old suspect, who was also injured, has been arrested after the incident and the Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an

Three people have been killed and three others injured after a gunman opened fire in Paris. A man, 69, has been arrested in connection with the shooting at a local Kurdish cultural centre, the prosecutor’s department in the French capital said. The French government asked police to reinforce the protection of Kurdish community sites in

In a bunker below the fiercely contested city of Bakhmut, a jihadi commander with a half a million-dollar Russian bounty on his head, joins his men in prayer. Of the allies Ukraine has gathered in its war with Russia, among the most shadowy and deadly are the Chechens. They are some of Vladimir Putin’s oldest

Into a buttoned-up, power-dressed chamber of US politicians entered the man of war. Wearing khaki and a look of polite exhaustion, Volodymyr Zelenskyy received the adulation of a man fighting their fight as much as his own. That was certainly the message he carried into the well of the House chamber, an appeal from the

Sky News has unearthed evidence Russia has been abducting Ukrainian orphans and children in care. Allegations that the Russian military has been deporting children have been some of the most disturbing aspects of this nasty war. Sky News investigated reports Russians took children from two orphanages in Kherson. Our investigation found evidence supporting the claims

Female students have been banned from universities in Afghanistan with immediate effect, the Taliban has said. A letter, confirmed by a spokesperson for the higher education ministry, instructed Afghan public and private universities to suspend access to female students until further notice in accordance with a cabinet decision. The United States and Britain have both

A former teammate of Iranian footballer Amir Nasr-Azadani, who faces the death penalty for participating in nationwide protests, has told Sky News that his friend is a “shy person” and “really kind”. Speaking from Finland where he now captains top flight side VPS Vaasa, Sebastian Strandvall said: “Amir was one of the young guys on

The committee investigating the January 6 storming of the US Capitol is recommending criminal charges against former President Donald Trump. They include conspiracy to defraud the United States; obstructing an official proceeding (the certification of Joe Biden‘s election victory); conspiracy to make a false statement and inciting or assisting an insurrection. The recommendation is mainly

Even first thing in the morning the crematoriums were burning in Beijing. Plumes of smoke against the cold blue sky. Dongjiao crematorium to the east of the city was busy. Ambulances arriving, grieving relatives gathered round and a queue of vans carrying the coffins. It’s been reported that this crematorium has been specifically designated for