World

Russia has returned five Ukrainian children to Kyiv with thousands still believed to be held by Moscow. A report from Russian news agency TASS said that six children were reunited with their families after mediation at the Qatari embassy in Moscow. Five of the children were sent to Ukraine, and one was returned to relatives

Delhi has been named 2023’s the most polluted capital city in the world, as India – and the whole of South Asia – continues to grapple with smog and toxic air. A report into the most polluted cities around the world by IQAir, a Swiss-based air-quality monitoring group, found nine of the top 10 were

Ireland’s Leo Varadkar has announced he is stepping down as prime minister. In a statement delivered this afternoon in Dublin, Mr Varadkar said his reasons for leaving were “both personal and political”. He said he believed a new leader “will be better placed than me” to gain seats for his party Fine Gael in the

US President Joe Biden and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu have held their first phone call in a month, amid warnings of an “imminent famine” in northern Gaza. It comes as a group of aid agencies warned that an estimated 70% of the population in northern Gaza faced catastrophic hunger, and that virtually everyone in

Vladimir Putin has claimed victory in an election he said showed the people had “trust” and “hope” in him. Sunday was the last day of a presidential election that offered Russians no real alternatives to Mr Putin after he ruthlessly cracked down on dissent. Early returns after the polls closed showed he is poised to

Sudan could be just weeks away from a catastrophic famine, aid workers have warned, as community volunteers struggle to feed the hungry amid security restrictions and armed violence. War between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its former security partners the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in Sudan’s capital Khartoum during the final days of

A volcano in Iceland erupted on Saturday for the fourth time since December after previous eruptions destroyed roads and forced a town to evacuate. Livestreams from the area showed fountains of molten rock soaring from fissures in the ground. Authorities had warned for weeks that an eruption was imminent on the Reykjanes peninsula, just south

As Russians go to the polls, the outcome is certainly already written as Vladimir Putin runs pretty much uncontested in his bid for a fifth term in office. Opposition candidates were banned from standing, fled the country or are dead – like Mr Putin’s most prominent critic, Alexei Navalny. So, what will another six years of rule

Around 2,000 Nepali men have been recruited by Russia to fight in its war against Ukraine, Sky News understands. Driven by poverty, many of the Nepali mercenaries are now desperate to return. Ganesh, 35, is one of the few recruits lucky enough to have made it home. He spent four and a half months fighting

Russia embarks this Friday on three days of voting to reconfirm the inevitable, which is another six-year presidential term for Vladimir Putin. Given the fact this is simply a matter of going through the motions for Putin and for the public, why does it matter and why does his administration go to such lengths to

Josh Cavallo, who in 2021 became the first openly gay male professional footballer, is engaged after an on-pitch proposal to his partner, Leighton Morrell, at Adelaide United’s home ground. The 24-year-old made international headlines when he came out publicly in an emotional video, announcing: “There’s something personal that I need to share with everyone: I’m

Joe Biden has become the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News projects. The sitting president is widely expected to face Donald Trump in the election later this year – a re-run of the 2020 vote. This will be the first time since 1956 that two presidents will go head-to-head.

Google is restricting its AI chatbot from answering election-related questions in countries where voting is taking place this year, as the company tries to avoid spreading disinformation. Now, when you ask Gemini an election-related question, it responds with: “I’m still learning how to answer this. In the meantime, try Google Search.” The response appears for

Powerful Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier has been out in the streets of Port-au-Prince calling for the international community to “give a Haiti a chance” – as he drew a rifle and fired his pistol in a show of force. Cherizier, a former police officer who is known as Barbecue among Haiti’s people, made the

Donald Trump said Adolf Hitler “did some good things” and praised Vladimir Putin on more than one occasion during his time in the White House, his former chief of staff has claimed. Mr Trump, who is currently on the campaign trail and hoping to land a second stint as president, also repeatedly admired North Korea’s

Israel has unveiled its new entry for the Eurovision Song Contest after its original track was criticised for lyrics that were thought to reference the Hamas attacks on 7 October. The new song, titled Hurricane, will be performed by singer Eden Golan during the international song competition in Malmo, Sweden, in May. Israel agreed to

Joe Biden has issued his toughest criticism yet of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – but until he backs his words with firm action, they are in danger of ringing hollow. The US president is accusing Netanyahu of “hurting Israel more than helping it” – criticism that adds to more colourful comments he’s said to

With Israel still refusing to open up more aid routes into Gaza, and the situation on the ground deteriorating rapidly, the US and Western partners have lost patience and are looking at options to bypass Israel.  The US proposal to build a pier off Gaza is an imperfect, risky option but would be one way

Joe Biden has declared freedom and democracy are “under attack” both in the US and abroad as he delivered one of the most important speeches of his presidency. In his State of the Union address, the US president appealed to Congress to continue supporting Ukraine in its war effort against Russia, as he said: “History

In a hospital in northern Gaza, it’s been claimed 13 babies died of malnutrition in a single day last week. A Sky News camera team has filmed inside the hospital, where treatments are being carried out by the torchlight from mobile phones because the electricity isn’t working. Mothers being treated there are said to be