World

The city of Bakhmut is almost under siege. As you approach, the rumbling percussion of artillery echoes all around – it’s the sound of a coming storm. The first thing that draws your eye is the smoke from shelling in the centre, spiralling up against a bruised skyline. Russia‘s advance is choking routes into this

Ghislaine Maxwell has repeated claims that a photograph showing Prince Andrew with his arm around Virginia Giuffre is “fake”. The 61-year-old was speaking from a Florida prison, where she is serving a 20-year sentence after being found guilty of luring young girls to massage rooms for disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein to molest between 1994 and

Brazil’s president has sacked the country’s army chief over concerns the country’s democracy is under threat following an uprising of far-right protesters. The official website of the Brazilian armed forces said General Julio Cesar de Arruda had been removed as head of the army. He has been replaced by General Tomas Miguel Ribeiro Paiva, who

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fought back tears as he met with the families of those killed in a helicopter crash in a Kyiv suburb earlier this week. At the sombre service in Kyiv, Mr Zelenskyy and his wife, first lady Olena Zelenska, laid flowers on seven coffins draped in the blue and yellow flag of

Western nations have failed to agree on a deal to send much-wanted Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, despite holding a summit in Germany. The US and its allies had hoped to convince Berlin to allow the powerful battle tanks to be used by Kyiv to aid in Ukraine’s fightback against Russia. The UK has already

Thousands of protesters descended on Peru’s capital and clashed with police as they demanded President Dina Boluarte leave office. The South American country has seen its worst political violence for more than two decades, with 55 people killed in unrest since the country’s first president from a rural Andean background was removed from office last

The graves are all fresh. Row after row of them, almost identical. The same mound of sandy soil, the same black, red and yellow wreath mounted with a golden star. The same wooden, orthodox cross to mark the grave, though there are some Muslim headstones too. Just the names and the dates on a small

A country that operates German-made Leopard tanks has asked for permission from Berlin to give the heavy armour to Ukraine, Britain’s defence secretary has revealed. Ben Wallace did not say which nation he was referring to but it is likely to be Poland, which has made clear it would like to send some of its

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is resigning. Her final day in office will be on 7 February – and a general election has been called for 14 October. The 42-year-old, who became New Zealand’s prime minister in 2017, choked back tears during an emotional news conference. “I know what this job takes, and I

“Go to hell” was the message that Ukraine’s war-time interior minister had at the mention of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Denys Monastyrskyi was speaking to Sky News last April as he visited the site of a suspected Russian war crime in the town of Bucha, outside Kyiv. He had just been shown the charred remains

The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine is among 18 people who have died after a helicopter crashed by a nursery in a Kyiv suburb, authorities have said. Images from the scene show huge flames and a plume of smoke going into the sky in Brovary, which is located northeast of the capital. Minister Denys

Greta Thunberg has been detained by police during a demonstration in Germany. The environmental activist, 20, has been taking part in protests against the demolition of a village to make way for the expansion of a nearby coal mine. Luetzerath has become the frontline for Germany’s climate debate. It is the second time that the

The co-pilot of Nepal’s fatal plane crash had lost her husband who was a pilot in another Yeti Airlines accident 16 years ago. Anju Khatiwada, 44, was the co-pilot on Sunday’s fatal flight from Kathmandu which crashed into a gorge in clear weather near Pokhara airport killing at least 70 people. Ms Khatiwada’s career in

At least five people have died and another eight are missing after a massive explosion at a chemical plant in north-eastern China, according to state TV in the country. The blast occurred at 3.13pm local time (7.13am GMT) on Sunday, just outside the city of Panjin in Liaoning province, east of Beijing. A further 30

The black box and cockpit voice recorder of the plane that crashed in Nepal have been found, a Kathmandu Airport official has said. The ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Yeti Airlines, was carrying 72 people when it crashed. Rescuers have so far recovered 68 bodies and searches continue for those missing. Yeti Airlines said 69

A plane carrying 72 people has crashed in Nepal, killing at least 68, officials have said. Video on local media showed thick black smoke billowing from the crash site as rescue workers and crowds gathered around the wreckage of the aircraft. Footage on social media showed the plane flying low before beginning to spin. At

At least 30 people have been killed in a Russian missile strike on a residential block in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, as part of a massive wave of attacks targeting civilians and energy infrastructure alike. A further 30 to 40 people could still be trapped under debris. Rescue teams worked through the night in

The nephew of a British-Iranian national who was put to death by hanging in Iran has spoken of his shock, describing the execution as a “political game”. Official Iranian news sources reported on Saturday that Alireza Akbari, the country’s former deputy defence minister, had been executed on charges of spying for Britain, but did not

China has reported almost 60,000 COVID-related deaths since early December. The announcement follows complaints that the Chinese government was failing to release data about the status of the pandemic. China dropped its strict zero COVID policy on 7 December, unleashing the virus on the nation’s 1.4 billion people. It led to a surge in infections

An explosion has hit a gas pipeline connecting Lithuania and Latvia. The blast happened in the Panevezys county, northern Lithuania, said the country’s gas transmission operator Amber Grid. Lithuanian broadcaster LRT said the village of Valakeliai, with about 250 inhabitants, was being evacuated as a precaution. Nemunas Biknius, general director of Amber Grid, told Sky