World

Now the three-day electoral spectacle is done – a shiny semblance of democracy, unfree, unfair and underpinned by Soviet-style repressions – what is next for Vladimir Putin and for the country he leads? Expect the state to clamp down still further on what remains of Russia‘s enfeebled civil society. Putin‘s authoritarian course was set way

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

Across three days of voting there have been scattered incidents of Russians defying authorities in acts of protest against Vladimir Putin. The president is all but assured to win another six-year term in office, facing a lack of any credible opposition and amid reports of voting irregularities. Despite the seemingly preordained outcome, some Russians engaged

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

India is to elect a new parliament in what is the largest democratic exercise with 970 million registered voters. The Indian Election Commission said on Saturday that the elections will take place in seven phases from 19 April to 1 June, stretched over 44 days. The gigantic exercise will be conducted by a 15 million-strong

For weeks, the ceasefire talks have been at a virtual standstill – not completely broken down but with little movement to report. Hamas’s new proposal though, is a potential – albeit small – breakthrough in the deadlock. Until now, Hamas had insisted on a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, a

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

At least 11 people have been killed and a further 100 injured as they waited for aid in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry which has blamed Israeli forces. The incident reportedly happened at Kuwaiti roundabout in the besieged Palestinian territory. The ministry said at least 11 bodies and 100 wounded people were taken

A Holocaust survivor in Belgium says she knows Jewish people who have packed their bags ready to flee amid a spike in antisemitism. Regina Sluszny, 84, from Antwerp, says incidents have rocketed since the outbreak of the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas. Authorities in the city, which has the largest Hasidic Jewish population in

Iraq war veteran Andy Tosh points to his nose where he was treated for skin cancer and shows the red marks on his hand. His health has been permanently damaged – not by the baking heat of the Iraqi desert, he says, but by a toxic chemical at the industrial site he was ordered to

A retired husband and wife from Britain have died after being found on a beach in Grenada. The couple were found on Paradise Beach on the island of Carriacou, on Saturday 9 March. Police said the husband, 76, was pronounced dead at the scene after being found lying on the sand. His wife, 77, was

The US will send around $300m in military aid to Ukraine as Republicans continue to block a $60bn funding package for Kyiv. The aid package being provided will include anti-aircraft missiles, artillery rounds and armour systems, a senior US defence official has said. It marks the US Department of Defense’s first announced security package for

A group of skiers who went missing in the Swiss Alps tried to dig “snow caves” to save themselves from the freezing temperatures, a lead rescuer has told Sky News. Anjan Truffer, the head of mountain rescue at Air Zermatt AG, was on site when the bodies of five cross-country skiers were found on Sunday

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

The UK government has warned against all travel to Haiti as intense fighting and gang violence continues to spiral in the Caribbean nation. It follows US secretary of state Antony Blinken heading to Jamaica in an attempt to solve the crisis, which threatens to bring down Haiti’s government. Attacks by powerful gangs on key government

Eight children and a woman have died after eating sea turtle meat in the Zanzibar archipelago. The authorities said that 78 people were hospitalised after eating the meal on Pemba Island. It is considered a delicacy in Zanzibar. Eating contaminated sea turtles can cause chelonitoxism, a rare type of food poisoning that can be lethal.

Fireworks were ignited and eggs thrown as pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in Amsterdam where a new National Holocaust Museum has been opened. The Israeli president’s visit to the newly-opened National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam has sparked protests in the city. Thousands of protesters were heard chanting “never again is now” and “ceasefire now” at Waterloo Square

There’s a renewed urgency to the delivery of food to Gaza but it’s still struggling to keep pace with the escalating humanitarian catastrophe inside the besieged enclave. We joined the small kingdom of Jordan’s air force crew coordinating the multi-nation coalition to get aid to the thousands of Gazans cut off in the north of

Fifteen drones fired by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have been shot down by the American military and its allies this morning, authorities say. US Central Command, also known as Centcom, said it had responded to a “large-scale” attack early on Saturday. The uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) presented

Gaza’s population, displaced and devastated by Israel’s continuing offensive against the narrow strip, is on the brink of famine. International efforts to get aid in have faced challenges, so much so that President Joe Biden announced on Thursday night that the US would build a temporary port on Gaza’s coast. Follow latest: Aid ship ‘heading