World

Joe Biden’s claim there could be an imminent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was “wishful thinking”, a spokesperson for the Palestinian group has told Sky News. The US president has said he hoped a ceasefire could be secured by the end of this weekend. Negotiators are working on a weeks-long ceasefire between the two sides

Oleg Orlov has spent his life documenting repression. He is co-chair of Russia’s oldest human rights group, Memorial, which was shut down and forced out of Russia shortly before the Ukraine war and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. Mr Orlov vowed to continue his human rights work inside the country, holding single

Hungary’s parliament has voted to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO, clearing the way for the Nordic country to finally join the organisation almost two years after applying. Overcoming the last obstacle for Stockholm on Monday following months of delays, 188 Hungarian politicians voted to back Sweden’s membership while six voted against. Follow latest: Last

Japan’s first moon lander has responded to a signal from Earth in what has been hailed as a “miracle” by the country’s space agency. The response, received late on Sunday, suggests the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) craft survived a second freezing weeks-long lunar night, when temperatures can plunge to -170C. The Japan Aerospace

Donald Trump has defeated Nikki Haley in the South Carolina Republican primary, NBC News has projected. The result will further cement his grip on the race to be his party’s nominee for president. Mr Trump claimed his fourth straight primary win on Saturday, handing an embarrassing loss to his last remaining major rival in her

The German parliament has approved controversial plans to legalise the personal use of cannabis. The measure was passed by Germany’s lower house, the Bundestag, on Friday. From 1 April, adults will be able to buy up to 25 grams (one ounce) of the drug a day, or up to 50 grams (two ounces) per month

A police officer has been charged with murdering a missing Australian TV personality and his boyfriend. Constable Beau Lamarre-Condon handed himself in at a Sydney police station on Friday, two days after the bloodied belongings of his ex-partner Jesse Baird, 26, and Luke Davies, 29, were found dumped in a skip in the beachside suburb

The Odysseus moon lander has successfully touched down. The privately-owned Intuitive Machines’ lander is the first US lander to successfully touch down on the moon’s surface in more than 50 years – since the last of NASA’s Apollo programme in 1972. It is also the first ever private craft to land on the moon. There

Joe Biden has sparked a war of words with the Kremlin after he called Vladimir Putin a “crazy SOB” at a fundraiser. Speaking at an event in San Francisco, the president fired a barb at his Russian counterpart while discussing the effects of climate change. “This is the last existential threat. It is climate,” Mr

Citizen soldiers on an Estonian island are dubbed “the SAS” because they train with weapons and war paint on Saturdays and Sundays. The volunteers – many of them middle-aged dads and the odd mum – said British civilians should also consider getting off their sofas and learning how to fight as the threat from Russia

Russian authorities have detained a ballerina from Los Angeles who they say is suspected of treason, over claims she took part in fundraising for Ukraine. Kseniya Karelina, a Russian-American ballerina, is being held by Russia, a senior US official told to Sky News’ US partner NBC News. The 33-year-old became a US citizen in 2021,

One of the world’s most prolific cyber crime gangs has been taken down by law enforcement agencies including the FBI, Europol and the UK’s National Crime Agency. Lockbit is an extortion website that held its victims’ data for ransom – some of the biggest UK bodies affected were the Royal Mail and the NHS. Five

The widow of former Russian Federal Security Service agent, Alexander Litvinenko, has said Vladimir Putin critics in Russia need support from the West. Marina Litvinenko’s husband, a prominent Putin critic, died in 2006 after being poisoned in London with Polonium 210, a rare and very potent radioactive isotope. The former FSB agent’s murder was suspected

A member of Israel’s war cabinet has indicated a ground invasion of Rafah may begin around Ramadan, which is expected to start on 10 March. Retired general Benny Gantz, part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s three-member war cabinet, told a conference of Jewish American leaders: “If by Ramadan our hostages are not home, the fighting

The boss of a mining company, which runs a gold mine where nine miners are missing after a massive landslide, has been detained by authorities in Turkey. Cengiz Demirci, Turkey director and senior vice-president of operations at the Denver-based SSR Mining, was detained on Sunday morning. Hundreds of rescue workers are searching for those trapped

Russian forces have taken complete control of the Ukrainian city of Avdiivka after months of intense fighting, the defence ministry has said. President Vladimir Putin congratulated troops on the development, labelling it a “success” and “important victory” just days away from the second anniversary of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence

Police in Russia have cracked down on people gathered to mark the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny – with one human rights group claiming that at least 100 people have been arrested. Footage and pictures from Russia’s two largest cities – Moscow and St Petersburg – showed officers ripping away placards from protesters and

The head of Ukraine’s army has announced his forces are retreating from the frontline city of Avdiivka. Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s newly appointed commander-in-chief, says military bosses have taken the decision to “avoid encirclement” and “preserve the lives and health of servicemen”. “Based on the operational situation around Avdiivka, in order to avoid encirclement and preserve

The Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny – a vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin – has died, according to the prison service. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet

Greece has legalised same-sex marriage – becoming the first Orthodox Christian-majority country to do so. The landmark bill, drafted by prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ centre-right government, passed on Thursday night with a cross-party majority of 176–76 votes. It also allows same-sex couples to legally adopt children, but will not allow gay men to acquire biological