World

Doctors have suggested that the Pope has overcome the most critical phase of his pneumonia infection – as the pontiff marks two weeks in hospital. In an update on Friday morning, the Vatican said: “As in past days, the night was tranquil and the Pope now is resting.” This morning’s update marked the second day

Donald Trump’s threats of additional trade tariffs against China, on top of the 10% hike imposed earlier this month, have contributed to a widespread stock market sell-off. Sentiment was already sour on the tariff front, given the spectre of 25% import duties being slapped on the EU, before the US president confirmed his intention to

Donald Trump has said he will impose 25% tariffs on the EU “very soon” and claimed the bloc was “formed in order to screw the United States”. The US president made the remarks while holding his first cabinet meeting at the White House since his inauguration in January. The world’s richest man Elon Musk, who

Ukraine has agreed terms with the United States on a crucial minerals deal, a Ukrainian government source has told Sky News. There has been no confirmation from the US side yet but Donald Trump said on Monday evening that his Ukrainian counterpart “would like to sign the minerals deal with me”. The accord, once signed,

A company in China that introduced a policy threatening single employees with termination if they were not married by the end of September says it has withdrawn its notice. The Shuntian Chemical Group, based in eastern China’s Shandong province, told its 1,200 employees last month that any unmarried workers aged between 28 and 58, including

Friedrich Merz, who is set to become the new German chancellor, has vowed to “create unity” in Europe as it adjusts to the new Trump administration and Russia’s war on Ukraine. Mr Merz’s task will be complicated by the need to form a coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats of outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz, who

China’s military has started live-fire exercises in the Gulf of Tonkin – after Vietnam published a map defining what it considers its territory in the body of water between the two countries. Vietnam’s foreign ministry announced the baseline – used to determine limits to territorial waters and exclusive economic zones – on Friday, saying it

Former Arsenal and Real Madrid footballer Mesut Ozil has transitioned into politics after joining Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party. The retired German midfielder, 36, was named on the ruling AK Party’s (AKP) Central Decision and Management Board during a party congress on Sunday. Ozil, who is of Turkish descent, received criticism later in his

In less than a fortnight, Donald Trump has shredded long-standing security assumptions about American support for Europe, creating a new crisis for Ukraine and leaving the whole continent in greater peril than at any time since the Second World War. The dramatic unravelling of transatlantic ties comes as Kyiv marks the grimmest of milestones –

Initial results appear to confirm what we have known for weeks: that the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) have got the most votes in the federal election, with Friedrich Merz most likely to be the next chancellor. While this result isn’t a surprise, it doesn’t mean

Russia has launched its biggest drone attack on Ukraine since the war started, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. He condemned Russia for its “aerial terror” as he reported more than 250 drones had hit his country overnight. It comes ahead of the third-year anniversary of Russia’s land, air and sea invasion of its smaller neighbour,

Four people have been arrested after a man was killed and seven police officers wounded in a knife attack in eastern France which has been linked to Islamic extremism. Those in custody include a 37-year-old Algerian man, identified by prosecutors as Brahim A, who is thought to have carried out the attack at a market

The release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners planned for Saturday has been postponed “until the release of the next hostages is secured without humiliating ceremonies”, Israel has said. In a statement early on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office accused the Palestinian militant group Hamas of “repeated violations” as it lashed out at “disgraceful

Hamas says the body of hostage Shiri Bibas has now been handed over, according to the group’s Al-Aqsa TV channel – as the Israeli military says it is checking the reports. Israel said on Thursday that Ms Bibas was not among the four bodies handed over on Thursday as part of the ceasefire agreement, instead

Elon Musk has had a heated exchange with famed astronaut Andreas Mogensen who accused has him of lying over claims that two NASA astronauts had been “left” in space. Speaking during a pre-recorded interview with US President Donald Trump on Fox News, Mr Musk alleged the astronauts had been “left up there for political reasons”

Israel says Hamas has not handed over the body of hostage Shiri Bibas – saying they had instead received the remains of an “anonymous body without identification”. Ms Bibas was kidnapped with her sons – four-year-old Ariel, and nine-month-old Kfir – from the Niz Or kibbutz during the Palestinian militant group’s incursion into Israel in

The man who has emerged as Donald Trump’s geopolitical dealmaker-in-chief has said that he’s developed a “friendship” with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Steve Witkoff was named as Mr Trump’s Middle East envoy shortly after the US election but he has since been involved in negotiations with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine. Mr Witkoff

A bulldozer tears huge chunks out of buildings in an emptied out Palestinian neighbourhood. It is not clearing rubble, this is a demolition project – methodical and devastating. It is part of Operation Iron Wall, a massive Israeli military assault in the northern West Bank. Image: Homes have been raided in Tulkarm Nominally, Iron Wall

A planned news conference between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy was cancelled, as political tensions deepened between the two countries. The event was originally supposed to include comments to the media by Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy and retired US Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, but it was changed at the last minute to a simple

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he told Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy his country needs a “reliable and clear system of security guarantees” before a peace deal can be struck with Russia. Ukraine’s president met with retired US Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg in Kyiv on Thursday as political tensions deepened between the two countries. The event was originally