World

Tens of thousands of people in Pakistan have been forced to flee their homes following deadly floods, as the country’s prime minister warned the “magnitude of the calamity is bigger” than expected. Nearly 1,000 people have been killed in the floods since mid-June, which have been triggered by heavy monsoon rains. The latest destruction saw

Drones and rockets have been deployed in China to make clouds produce rainfall during a record-breaking heatwave and severe drought. The devices have been sowing silver iodide, which has a similar structure to ice, into clouds. Water droplets cluster around the particles, modifying the structure of the clouds and increasing the chance of rainfall. The

Residents near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are being handed iodine tablets in case of a radiation leak. The move comes two days after the plant was temporarily knocked offline because of what officials said was fire damage to a transmission line. Iodine tablets, which help block the absorption of radioactive iodine by the thyroid

Pakistan wants international support to help with a “humanitarian disaster of epic proportions” as the death toll from months of flooding reached nearly 1,000. It comes amid exceptionally heavy rain that has been lashing the country since mid-June. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif met with foreign diplomats in the capital Islamabad to discuss damage caused by

Russia has put all Europeans “one step away” from a radiation disaster at Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in a dire warning. The Ukrainian leader said the world narrowly avoided a catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia facility, which is being reportedly being used as a base by Kremlin troops. He blamed

Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s military to expand with another 137,000 personnel starting from next year. The announcement by the Russian president came a day after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine reached its six-month mark. Moscow has not revealed any losses in the conflict since the first weeks, but Western officials and the Kyiv government believe

A rocket attack on a train station in central Ukraine as the country marked its Independence Day has killed 22 people, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. The Ukrainian leader had warned for days that Russian forces might attempt “something particularly cruel” this week. The lethal attack hit the town of Chaplyne in the central Dnipropetrovsk region,

Boris Johnson has returned to Ukraine as the war-torn country marks its independence day. The prime minister was pictured in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “What happens in Ukraine matters to us all,” Mr Johnson said on Twitter. “That is why I am in Kyiv today. That is why the UK will continue to stand

Putin ally Alexander Dugin has said his daughter told him she felt “like a warrior” and a “hero” before she died in a car bombing Russia has blamed on Ukraine. Darya Dugina, 29, attended a festival on Saturday night before a remotely-controlled explosive device planted in her 4×4 blew up as she was driving on

Today marks six months since Russian troops crossed the border into Ukraine. The war’s half-year point coincides with Ukrainian Independence Day, which in normal circumstances would see citizens celebrating 31 years of independence from the former Soviet Union. Follow Ukraine war live updates But instead, curfews are in place in the cities of Kyiv or

Russia is planning to launch fresh attacks against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities soon, a US intelligence official has warned. “Given Russia‘s track record in Ukraine, we are concerned about the continued threat that Russian strikes pose to civilians and civilian infrastructure,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. The warning led

Ukrainian special forces were behind a Moscow car bombing that killed the daughter of an ally of Vladimir Putin, Russia’s security service has claimed – as her father called on his country to win the war in “revenge”. The FSB, as reported by the Interfax news agency, said the attack was carried out by a

Floods and landslides triggered by intense monsoon rains have killed at least 40 people in northern India over the last three days, and others are missing. Heavy rainfall overwhelmed hundreds of villages, as mud houses were swept away, roads were covered by water, bridges were destroyed, and rescuers raced to help stranded residents. In the

The daughter of a Russian ultra-nationalist and ally of President Vladimir Putin who argued Russia should absorb Ukraine has been killed in a suspected car bomb attack. Russian state investigators said Darya Dugina, daughter of idealogue Alexander Dugin, was killed after a suspected explosive device detonated on the Toyota Land Cruiser she was travelling in

Russian forces have stepped up their efforts to seize one of the dwindling number of cities in eastern Ukraine not already under their control. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in its daily update that intensified fighting took place around Bakhmut in the Donbas region. The capture of Bakhmut would allow

At least 12 people have been killed in an attack by Islamic militants who stormed a hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. Several people were also injured and others, including children, had to be rescued by security services from Mogadishu’s Hayat Hotel. Most of those who died are reported to have been civilians. The attack started

El Shafee Elsheikh, known to his victims as “Ringo”, grew up in White City, west London, after his family arrived from Sudan in 1993 when he was five. His father was a communist and part-time poet who worked as a translator and opposed the Islamist dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir in his home country. The couple

One of the bombmakers in the Bali terror attack that killed 202 people could be freed on parole this month after his sentence was reduced. Umar Patek was jailed for 20 years in 2012 after being found guilty of helping mix the bombs used to inflict mass murder at two tourist bars on the island

Ukraine has said Russia is preparing to stage a “provocation” at Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant on Friday. The country’s intelligence agency made the claim just hours after Moscow accused Ukraine of trying to stage an “accident” there, which may involve a radiation leak, during the UN secretary-general’s visit to the war-ravaged nation. Located in

Two surfers on motorised boards who were labelled “idiots” by Venice’s mayor for speeding down the city’s Grand Canal have been identified by authorities. A video was posted on social media by Luigi Brugnaro of the pair heading along the famous Italian waterway after they were caught on camera. On Twitter, Mr Brugnaro asked for