World

Elon Musk’s X is being investigated by the EU over its efforts to combat disinformation and harmful content. The social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, is the first to be probed under the bloc’s Digital Services Act. It came into force in November 2022 and requires large online companies to do more to tackle

Israeli forces battling Hamas claim to have uncovered the largest Hamas tunnel found in Gaza, designed to carry carloads of Hamas fighters up to the border with Israel. Neutralising the hundreds of kilometres of underground tunnels and bunkers in Gaza is among the aims of the Israeli offensive, launched after Hamas fighters went on a killing and

Donald Trump has said undocumented immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country” during a speech in New Hampshire. The Republican presidential frontrunner repeated language that had previously been criticised as xenophobic and echoing Nazi rhetoric. Mr Trump made the comments during a campaign event where he railed against the record number of migrants attempting

Israel’s ambassador to the UK has insisted there will be no Palestinian state and that Israel believes there is no prospect of a two-state solution. Although it has been evident for some time that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government were no advocates for such a post-war peace, this is the first time the

It had all the makings of one of those nightmare EU summits. A crucially important meeting that would drag on rancorously late beyond the end of the week. The villain of the piece, Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban – whose critics call him Putin’s puppet – had arrived looking up for a fight. There was

The Philippines has said it is contingency planning for an escalation of hostilities with China. The two nations have been in a series of confrontations in the South China Sea, one involving a crew being forced to stave off Chinese forces that attempting to board Philippine vessels. Relations have significantly deteriorated this year after several

Mainland Spain has recorded its hottest December day, putting the nation’s ski season at risk. The country is nearing the end of its hottest year on record after a summer that has produced four heatwaves, part of a global pattern of rising temperatures that scientists say is down to human caused climate change. A mass

A review into a massive police data breach in Northern Ireland has blamed a force-wide lack of prioritisation of data security. A report from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) found the data breach, which saw details of all employees of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) accidentally published online, was not the result

Russia has become stronger as a result of the conflict in Ukraine – just as it did by defeating Hitler and Napoleon – its foreign minister has claimed. In a wide-ranging series of assertions, Sergei Lavrov said the “hybrid war” that the West is supposedly waging against Russia is based on “cancel culture”. He also

As the United Nations vote showed last night, Israel still has the backing of its most powerful ally, the United States, and the UK who chose to abstain. However, with 13 of the 15 members of the Security Council voting in favour of a ceasefire, and more than eighty other countries supporting it, the US

Despite overwhelming military superiority, Israel is struggling to develop an effective strategy to tackle the tunnel network under Gaza. This “underworld” has provided Hamas with a degree of sanctuary beyond the gaze of satellites, drones and military forces. How will Israel defeat Hamas without destroying the tunnel network? Please use Chrome browser for a more

Russian President Vladimir Putin will run for office again in 2024. The 71-year-old – whose power has been questioned like never before over the costly war in Ukraine – will be widely expected to win and secure another six years in the Kremlin, taking him to 2030. He made the announcement during a medal ceremony

France has ordered a third round of bird flu vaccines for at-risk ducks. Citing “new scientific evidence”, France’s farm ministry said on Wednesday that the shots are to avoid a surge in outbreaks. On Tuesday, Paris raised the risk level of bird flu to high after new cases were detected, forcing poultry farms to keep

China has accused Britain of violating international law after the UK announced new sanctions targeting “individuals and groups supporting and funding Putin’s war machine”. China’s embassy said it firmly opposes the sanctions and has warned that any action harming China’s interests “will be met with a firm response”. In a statement, the embassy insisted that

Benjamin Netanyahu has accused human rights groups of turning a blind eye to rapes that Israel says were committed by Hamas during the 7 October massacre. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, the Israeli prime minister accused the international community of playing down the attacks and even ignoring them. He said he expects “all

Munich Airport has been forced to close again after being hit by extreme wintry weather, making safe flights “impossible”. Freezing rain hit the German city, forcing the airport to temporarily cancel or postpone all flights on Tuesday morning. It said there would be no take-offs or landings from 6am until midday in its announcement on

Munich Airport has reopened with a severely reduced flight schedule after it was forced to close following a barrage of extreme wintry weather. Freezing rain hit the German city, forcing the airport to temporarily cancel or postpone all flights on Tuesday morning. The airport, which resumed operations at midday, told Sky News a total of

A man has died and another two people have been injured after being attacked in Paris on Saturday evening. The deceased is a German national who was among tourists targeted around the Quai de Grenelle, located about 15 minutes from the Eiffel Tower in the French capital. The suspect was on the French security services

Israel’s determination to completely dismantle Hamas means that takeover of the south is an absolute military necessity. The southern campaign has already started, with air raids in and around the city of Khan Younis fully underway. The problem is that, to all intents and purposes, most of the surviving Gazan population is now crowded into

Israel knew about plans for a Hamas attack on its soil more than a year before the 7 October assault that killed more than a thousand people, according to the New York Times. The paper said officials in Israel had a 40-page battle plan, which they called “Jericho Wall”, which set out a hypothetical attack