World

Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini has been acquitted of kidnap and failing to fulfill his public duties. An Italian court has found him not guilty of refusing to let a migrant rescue boat dock in Sicily in 2019. The vessel, operated by the Spanish NGO Open Arms, was stranded in the Mediterranean Sea with

This annual TV marathon is Vladimir Putin’s happy place. He is centre stage, holding court and putting the world to rights.  The unusual format – part press conference, part phone-in – casts him as Russia‘s agony aunt-in-chief, fielding calls from ordinary citizens voicing their concerns and complaints. Ukraine war latest: Zelenskyy on Putin’s call for

Vladimir Putin has said Russia should have invaded Ukraine earlier, in a national address spanning more than four hours. Russia began the conflict with its neighbour in February 2022 and at his annual televised news conference, Mr Putin claimed the war has made Russia “stronger”. The decision to invade “should have been made earlier” he

It is a crime so brutal and depraved it defies words – so outside the court, they applaud instead. Warning: This article contains descriptions of sexual abuse Since September, people have lined the route in Avignon clapping as Gisele Pelicot walks past. It is a wordless act of support for the 72-year-old woman at the

We drove the backbone of Syria, north from Damascus through Homs and Hama to Aleppo, and then south west, through the towns and villages of southern Idlib. The scale of the devastation is almost impossible to comprehend. Yes, there is daily life and markets and bustling commercial life in the city centres. But there are

A husband described as one of France’s worst sex offenders is expected to be sentenced tomorrow – as the verdicts for all 51 defendants come back in the Gisele Pelicot mass rape trial. Dominique Pelicot, 72, has admitted drugging and raping his then-wife Ms Pelicot, 72, for almost a decade. During the four-month trial, he

A citizen from Uzbekistan has been detained over the killing of Russian nuclear forces general Igor Kirillov, Russia’s investigative committee has said. The committee says the suspect was recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services. The senior general was killed on Tuesday by a bomb hidden in an electric scooter outside an apartment block in Moscow. His

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Cairo for Gaza ceasefire talks, Reuters has reported. The news agency added, citing sources briefed on the meetings, that a deal is expected to be signed in the coming days. However, this wouldn’t be the first time there have been positive noises about a potential ceasefire, only

For Ukraine – pitched against Russia’s larger and more powerful military – the use of unconventional tactics such as assassinations is seen as a vital way to fight back. There is no official confirmation yet of who was behind the killing on Tuesday in Moscow of the head of Russia’s nuclear, biological and chemical defence

Bashar al Assad’s cousin has said Syria’s new leaders cannot be trusted to turn away from their extremist past and unite the country. Ribal al Assad, an exiled critic of his cousin, was scathing in his assessment of Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) and claimed it was already committing killings of retribution. Referring to HTS

Germany is on course for an early election in February after Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in parliament. Of the 717 MPs who voted in the lower house, or Bundestag, only 207 supported the country’s leader, while 394 opposed him and 116 abstained. That left him far short of the majority of 367

Israel’s foreign minister has ordered the closure of the country’s embassy in Dublin, citing the Irish government’s “extreme anti-Israel policy”. Gideon Sa’ar said “Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel”. “The actions and antisemitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the delegitimisation and demonisation of the Jewish state,

I knew we were near a Russian military base when I could read the names of shops, cafes and pharmacies written in Russian, in surrounding villages. The Russians have been permanently based here since 2017, propping up the Assad regime and overseeing the war against their many opponents. And the local communities have benefitted financially

The Kremlin has praised Donald Trump after he criticised Ukraine’s use of US-supplied weapons for attacks deep in Russian territory. Western allies have provided Ukraine with air defence systems to help it protect critical infrastructure, but Russia has sought to overwhelm the air defences with combined strikes involving big numbers of missiles and drones. “It’s

Russia has established “direct contact” with Syria’s Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) rebel group, according to state media outlet Interfax. It reported that deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov told journalists that Russia was aiming to maintain its military bases inside Syria. Mr Bogdanov said contact with HTS was “proceeding in constructive fashion” and that Moscow

Vladimir Putin has not been invited to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration next month, Moscow has said. The Kremlin said it had not received an invitation for the Russian president to attend the US president-elect’s swearing-in ceremony on 20 January. Meanwhile Mr Trump has reportedly invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend the inauguration in Washington

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.

The world’s landmark Paris Agreement is “more fragile” than it has ever been and disagreements risk “imploding” it, the UK’s climate ambassador has warned. The seminal treaty obliges countries to produce regular plans on how they will cut greenhouse gas emissions in order to slow climate change. Since it was signed in 2015, predicted levels

Podcaster Joe Rogan and Kate Middleton have joined Donald Trump, Kamala Harris and Elon Musk on the ten-name shortlist for Time magazine’s Person Of The Year. The award went to music superstar Taylor Swift last year and Barack Obama was crowned twice, in 2008 and 2012. Time magazine says the title goes to the person,

Israeli troops have seized a demilitarised buffer zone in the Golan Heights in a move that has been criticised by Egypt and Qatar. Israel‘s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces had entered the 155-square mile area after a rebel advance ended Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s rule on Sunday. The zone was established by