World

Saudi Arabia has been confirmed as the host nation for the 2034 football World Cup. Also confirmed were the hosts for the 2030 World Cup, which was awarded to six countries and will take place across three continents to celebrate 100 years of the tournament. Saudi Arabia was the sole bidder for the 2034 competition.

Football has never seen a stadium as audacious and outlandish before. A futuristic cliff-top venue will be built 350m above ground when the $1.5trn NEOM megaproject springs up from the Saudi Arabian desert. There are no limits on ambition or spending to bring the World Cup to the kingdom in 2034 – and no need

Benjamin Netanyahu has started giving evidence in his corruption trial, calling the case “absurd” and saying he hates champagne in response to claims he accepted gifts of alcohol and cigars. The Israeli prime minister told a fortified, underground court in Tel Aviv he would refute the allegations and called them a “drop in the sea”

Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to appear in court later for the first time in his long-running corruption trial. The Israeli prime minister has been charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Judges have ruled he must testify three times a week, despite the ongoing war in Gaza war and new threats in the Middle

Syrian rebels have brought 24 years of Bashar al Assad’s dictatorship to an end in a single week. Led by the former al Qaeda affiliate group Hayat Tahrir al Sham, the uprising was also supported by US-backed Kurdish forces, Turkish-backed militias, and dozens of smaller fighter groups. Russia ‘surprised’ at Assad ousting – Syria latest

Syria’s ousted President Bashar al Assad has arrived in Moscow, Russian state media has confirmed. Mr Assad and members of his family arrived in the city on Sunday, a Kremlin source told the TASS news agency. The source said: “Assad and his family members have arrived in Moscow. Russia, for humanitarian reasons, has granted them

Seizing military bases, toppling regime statues, freeing prisoners and capturing major cities – this is just a fraction of what Syrian rebel forces have achieved in just over a week. Sky News has tracked the shock offensive that has ousted President Bashar al Assad, using over 60 geolocated videos that show how they advanced through

The Syrian government appears to have fallen after a lightning offensive by rebels. President Bashar al Assad fled Damascus on a plane for an unknown destination, according to two senior Syrian army officers speaking to the Reuters news agency and Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, speaking to AP. Syria’s army command

Prince William has met Donald Trump for the first time since the American was re-elected president. The pair met at a ceremony in Paris to mark the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral – attended by leaders from around the world. They exchanged a few words and William patted the president-elect on the chest. Later in the

South Korea’s president has said he is “very sorry” days after declaring martial law and surrounding parliament with soldiers. Yoon Suk Yeol plunged his country into turmoil on Tuesday when he put the military in charge, claiming it was necessary to defend the constitutional order and “eradicate the despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces”. However, his

Romania’s top court has annulled the results of the first round of the country’s presidential election after claims of Russian interference. The unprecedented decision came after declassified intelligence documents alleged Russia was behind a campaign to promote far-right candidate Calin Georgescu on platforms such as TikTok and Telegram. Mr Georgescu was viewed as an outsider

Syrian rebels have captured the central city of Hama in the latest blow to President Bashar al Assad. The Syrian army said it had withdrawn and taken up positions outside the city to protect civilians, hours after opposition fighters said they were marching towards its centre. The insurgents said they had entered Syria’s fourth-largest city

Amnesty International has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians during its war against Hamas in Gaza. The human rights group said Israel sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by launching deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid. It said such actions met the legal threshold for the

The man at the centre of negotiations over a Gaza ceasefire has told Sky News Donald Trump wants a deal done before he takes power in January.  Speaking exclusively to Sky’s The World with Yalda Hakim, the prime minister of Qatar expressed cautious optimism but said it required “maximum pressure” on all parties to end

The French government has collapsed after prime minister Michel Barnier lost a vote of no confidence. It follows his decision to use special powers to force a social security budget through the lower house of parliament without a final vote after a last-minute concession was not enough to win support from the far-right National Rally

South Korean lawmakers have called for the impeachment of the president after he declared martial law only to reverse the move hours later, triggering the biggest political crisis the country has faced in decades. The surprise declaration late on Tuesday ignited a standoff with parliament which rejected President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempt to ban political

The president of South Korea has declared “emergency martial law”, accusing the country’s opposition of controlling the parliament and sympathising with North Korea. Yoon Suk Yeol announced he was taking the step, which enacts temporary rule by the military, during a televised briefing on Tuesday, saying it was critical for defending the country’s constitutional order.

In scrubland on the outskirts of Tyre, southern Lebanon, they started digging out the bodies – 186 of them. One family of women, mothers and daughters all dressed in black, fell on the coffin of their brother, their son, stroking it, sweeping the dust off, wailing. His name was Hussein Fakih and he was a

Israel’s prime minister says he will “respond with force” after Hezbollah fired towards an Israeli military post in disputed territory in Lebanon. Two projectiles fell in open areas and no injuries were reported. Israel said they had been launched toward Mount Dov, a disputed Israeli-held territory known as Shebaa Farms in Lebanon, where the borders

President Joe Biden has issued a “full and unconditional” pardon for his son Hunter – just weeks before he was set to be sentenced. Hunter, 54, was convicted of three firearm charges in June, marking the first criminal prosecution of a sitting US president’s child. Then, two months later, Hunter pleaded guilty to federal tax