World

Freed hostages were able to give British police key information identifying an IS kidnap gang nicknamed “The Beatles” which had held and tortured them, Scotland Yard has revealed. Officers have disclosed key breakthroughs that allowed them to identify the jihadis and bring two of them to trial in the US. It included vital details from

German director Wolfgang Petersen, known for the World War Two submarine epic Das Boot and Air Force One, has died aged 81. The filmmaker died on Friday at his home in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Brentwood after a battle with pancreatic cancer, said representative Michelle Bega. His 1982 breakthrough, Das Boot, chronicled the intense

Ukrainian special forces operating inside Russian-occupied Crimea were behind an attack on a military base there, Sky News understands. Russia’s defence ministry said that a fire broke out after several explosions at a temporary ammunition storage facility in the Dzhankoi area of north Crimea at around 4.15am BST (6.15am local time). Pictures show fire and

Three Britons have pleaded not guilty to mercenary charges at a Russian-backed separatist court in Ukraine. John Harding, Andrew Hill and Dylan Healy are among a group of five European men on trial in a court administered by Kremlin-backed separatists in the city of Donetsk. Mr Harding, Vjekoslav Prebeg, who is Croatian, and Mathias Gustafsson,

“Look at this man… he worked for British forces,” shouted one Taliban fighter, as a group of them began to beat Ahmad in front of his screaming wife and children. It was 15 August 2021. The family were at the entrance to Kabul airport, trying to get on to an evacuation flight. They’d been met

COVID cases are surging on the Marshall Islands as the Pacific nation grapples with its first community outbreak of the pandemic. Prior to the current wave of cases, there had been no transmissions within the island group, which is located around 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii and 3,000 miles east of the Philippines. In a

With his long black hair flowing beneath a traditional cap and over his masked face, a Taliban guard, machine gun in hand, indicated I should follow the doctor.   I realised then we were to have his company for the duration of our stay. A peculiar development and an unusual experience, but one that was

At least 41 people have been killed in a fire at a church in Egypt’s capital, Cairo. An electrical fire broke out as 5,000 worshippers gathered for mass at the Coptic Abu Sefein church in the Imbaba neighbourhood, sources told the Reuters news agency. The fire blocked an entrance to the church, causing a stampede,

Sir Salman Rushdie’s suspected attacker has denied attempted murder and assault in a court in New York state. Hadi Matar, 24, was identified by New York police after the attack on Friday. Police have not established a motive for the stabbing that left the author, 75, seriously injured. He remains on a ventilator in hospital.

Police in Ukraine are investigating 26,000 war crimes committed by Russian soldiers and expect to uncover thousands more as land is retaken and towns and villages liberated, Sky News has been told. Gathering evidence to prosecute Russian forces has become one of the biggest tasks for the Ukrainian police since the start of the invasion

Author Salman Rushdie will likely lose an eye and has suffered severed nerves in an arm and damage to his liver after he was stabbed, his agent has said. The 75-year-old remains on a ventilator after being airlifted to hospital and undergoing hours of surgery following the attack in New York state. “The news is

More than 1,000 firefighters are struggling to contain a huge wildfire that has destroyed a large area of pine forest in southwest France. Around 6,800 hectares (26 square miles) in the Gironde region and neighbouring Landes have been burnt by the blaze, which began on Tuesday. At least 16 houses have also been destroyed, and

The UK is set to send more weapons to Ukraine to help it defend against Russia’s invasion, the defence secretary has announced. Multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) and precision guided missiles, which can strike targets up to 50 miles away, will be delivered to the eastern European nation, Ben Wallace said. “This latest tranche of military

Satellite images appear to show several Russian warplanes at an airbase in Crimea have been damaged or destroyed. Ukraine’s air force said on Wednesday that nine aircraft were demolished in explosions a day before – a claim Russia denied. The images, from the US-based Planet Labs, show several warplanes in pieces and swathes of scorched

China’s ambassador to the UK has been summoned to the Foreign Office over Beijing’s “aggressive and wide-ranging escalation” against Taiwan. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she had ordered officials to call in ambassador Zheng Zeguang to explain his country’s actions in recent days, which have seen missile launches and incursions into Taiwanese waters and air space.

Russian authorities have raided the home of a former state TV journalist who quit after making an on-air protest against the war in Ukraine. Marina Ovsyannikova gained international attention in March after bursting into a studio of Russian state TV, her then employer, to denounce the war in Ukraine. She held a poster that read:

The drought scorching much of the European Union is set to be the worst endured since the sixteenth century, a senior scientist at the European Commission’s (EC) drought service has warned. “At the moment… this seems to be the worst” year in 500 years, although a full analysis will need to happen retrospectively, said Andrea

Environmentalists will try to move a dangerously thin beluga whale that strayed into the River Seine last week in a final attempt to save its life. The mammal, measuring 4m (13ft), will be transported to a saltwater river basin for a “period of care” by medics who believe the animal is sick, said Lamya Essemlali,

China is extending threatening military exercises around Taiwan that have already disrupted shipping and air traffic, further fuelling concerns about potential conflict in the region. According to Moscow, the exercises include anti-submarine drills, apparently targeting US support for Taiwan in the event of a potential Chinese invasion. The Chinese military has said the exercises involving

A peace of sorts seems to have returned to the fractious, wartorn border that separates Israel and the territory of Gaza. The Egyptians managed to negotiate a temporary truce yesterday as Palestinian militants sent multiple rocket barrages across the frontier – and the Israeli military targeted rocket launching sites run by the militant group Islamic