World

Ukraine is expecting a possible major Russian offensive launched for “symbolic” reasons around the anniversary of its invasion later this month, the country’s defence minister has said. Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine has the reserves to hold back Moscow’s forces even though not all of the latest Western military supplies will have arrived in time for

Tens of thousands of prisoners detained in Iran amid vast anti-government protests will be pardoned, state media reports. The country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is said to have ordered amnesties or reductions in jail terms, although there are several exceptions. Nobody accused of “corruption on earth” – a charge which brings the death penalty

“Balloongate” is a compelling story for a number of reasons, not least the balloon itself. The American public is locked onto commentary of its journey as it proceeds over the continent. The Pentagon described it as “manouvreable”, indicating it was under someone’s control. If the Chinese are steering it, where will they fly it, where

Ford will return to Formula One in 2026, the US carmaker has said. The company last participated in F1 in 2004 with Jordan, but it is still the sport’s third most successful engine manufacturer of all time. The new announcement came ahead of a launch in New York by world champions Red Bull. Ford will

In an era of orbital satellites so advanced that they are able to make out objects half the size of cars from space, a spy balloon might seem like a bit of a relic. They were a prominent tool for reconnaissance during the Cold War and were even used in a more basic form for

Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, shocked hi-tech professionals at a major cybersecurity convention in Tel Aviv on Wednesday when he revealed that the opening part of his speech was written by artificial intelligence software. In a recorded video greeting for Cybertech Global Tel Aviv 2023, Mr Herzog said: “I am truly proud to be the president

A Romanian court has upheld the decision to extend the detention of controversial influencer Andrew Tate to 30 days. The British-American national and his brother Tristan have been in custody since 29 December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group. Andrew Tate, a professional kickboxer turned influencer, has lost his

Pakistan is in talks to release of $1.1bn (£890m) of cash from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help ease its financial crisis. Pakistan’s economic woes are a culmination of years of political turmoil, a financial crisis and last year’s catastrophic floods, with its reserves only able to cover three weeks – rather than the

Arriving in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, the sheer scale of the poverty takes your breath away. The streets are teeming with people but everywhere is shrouded in acrid smoke from piles of burning rubbish. From the hills above Port-au-Prince, the city at times disappears in a fog of polluted air. Wherever you walk people ask for

Germany had to make “painful choices” when it evicted activists from a village to make way for the expansion of a coal mine, its climate envoy has told Sky News. Footage of German riot police in Lutzerath clashing with protesters against the nearby Garzweiler lignite mine made headlines worldwide. Some found the decision to press

New Zealand-bound passengers endured a 13-hour flight to nowhere after the plane they were on was forced to return to Dubai when Auckland Airport closed due to flooding.  Emirates flight EK448 had to turn around halfway through its journey after torrential rain and flooding in Auckland meant the airport had to close. The flight took

The King and Queen Consort have lit candles on Holocaust Memorial Day in remembrance of the six million Jewish people deliberately murdered by the Nazis in German-occupied Europe during World War Two. Holocaust victims are remembered each year on 27 January – the anniversary of the liberation of the concentration and extermination camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau. The

On 26 January, after weeks of pleading, Germany finally agreed to send advanced battle tanks to Ukraine. Click to subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries wherever you get your podcasts Both the UK and the US have also pledged more heavy weapons, despite fears such a move might escalate the war. Either way, Vladimir Putin is

A number of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip have been intercepted by Israel’s missile defences. The cross-border fire came after an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank on Thursday that led to the largest single death toll in years of fighting in the area. The overnight rockets triggered sirens in Israeli communities near

Police in Spain have raided the home of a Moroccan man who was arrested over machete attacks at two churches that left a church worker dead and a priest seriously injured in the southern city of Algeciras. Officers are still looking into the motive of the attack, but a National Court judge is investigating it

When protests broke out across Iran in September, 26-year-old Mohammed Hassan Torkaman’s message was one of defiance. “Personally, if I see even one symbolic protest in Babol, I will support it,” he wrote on Twitter. The nature-loving student was shot dead by security forces during a demonstration just two days later – protests had broken

Faced with accusations it has lost vital time dithering over tanks for Ukraine, Germany put on a military show and fought back against its critics. Puma armoured fighting vehicles raced through the freezing fog of the Altengrabow training base in eastern Germany and fired 30mm live rounds at imaginary enemies. From the back of one

Kawa adjusts his baseball cap and sips some hot tea. He is a slight, softly spoken young man with few distinguishing features. His friends roar with laughter when he asks us not to show his ears on camera. It’s a moment of levity, but Kawa is deadly serious. As one of Iran’s protest leaders, he

Germany has said it would not object if Poland decides to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine. French TV channel LCI posted clips from an interview with foreign minister Annalena Baerbock on Sunday, in which she said her government has not received a formal request for approval from Warsaw, but added “if we were

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