World

Ecuador’s youngest mayor and an aide were shot dead on Sunday, police in the South American country have said. Brigitte Garcia, 27-year-old mayor of San Vicente, and her communications director Jairo Loor, were found dead in Manabi province, officers said. Police added that the pair had both suffered gunshot wounds and that the gunfire had

The head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency has said it’s “outrageous” Israel will block its aid deliveries to northern Gaza. UNRWA boss Philippe Lazzarini said Israel had told the United Nations that convoys would no longer be approved. It comes after Israel accused 12 UNRWA staff of participating in October’s Hamas terror attack. Nine

Russia is holding a day of national mourning following Friday’s concert hall massacre near Moscow, as relatives of the missing face an anxious wait to see if their loved ones survived the gun rampage. Public events have been cancelled and flags are being flown at half-mast following the deadliest attack on the country’s soil in

More than 100 students and staff kidnapped by gunmen from a school in Nigeria more than two weeks ago have been rescued by the army – but many more appear to still be missing. Security forces said they freed 137 hostages in the early hours of Sunday. It comes following a mass abduction in the

Four gunmen are among 11 people arrested following a shooting massacre in a packed Moscow concert hall, according to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Videos broadcast on Russian media appear to show the detention and violent interrogation of the suspects. In one piece of footage a man was marched out of a forest, his face covered

Vladimir Putin has claimed the gunmen behind the Moscow concert hall terror attack attempted to flee to Ukraine in the aftermath of the mass shooting. The allegation, made by the Russian president during an address to the nation, came despite the Islamist terror group Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) claiming responsibility for Friday night’s attack, in

Malaysia has rejected an offer to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games – putting it at risk of being cancelled for the first time since the Second World War. Officials said the Commonwealth Games Federation’s (CGF) offer of £100m in funding was insufficient and they had not been left with enough time to plan. Malaysia, which

Russia has returned five Ukrainian children to Kyiv with thousands still believed to be held by Moscow. A report from Russian news agency TASS said that six children were reunited with their families after mediation at the Qatari embassy in Moscow. Five of the children were sent to Ukraine, and one was returned to relatives

Delhi has been named 2023’s the most polluted capital city in the world, as India – and the whole of South Asia – continues to grapple with smog and toxic air. A report into the most polluted cities around the world by IQAir, a Swiss-based air-quality monitoring group, found nine of the top 10 were

Japan’s central bank has signalled progress in its efforts to boost the country’s economy by ending vast swathes of a massive stimulus programme. Policymakers in the country, which has struggled for decades to achieve price growth to bolster activity, took the decision eight years ago to impose a negative interest rate of -0.1%. The aim

The Canadian government has refused the latest request for an apology to British children abused in the country. Campaigners for youngsters shipped to Canada in the 19th and 20th centuries have petitioned the country’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to apologise for their mistreatment. His government has declined – a decision campaigners have said “compounds the

Vladimir Putin has been cheered by large crowds in central Moscow after securing his fifth term as Russian president – in what Western nations have condemned as an “undemocratic” election. Thousands of people had gathered for an open-air concert to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Russian annexation of Crimea, which is internationally recognised as

US President Joe Biden and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu have held their first phone call in a month, amid warnings of an “imminent famine” in northern Gaza. It comes as a group of aid agencies warned that an estimated 70% of the population in northern Gaza faced catastrophic hunger, and that virtually everyone in

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

Sudan could be just weeks away from a catastrophic famine, aid workers have warned, as community volunteers struggle to feed the hungry amid security restrictions and armed violence. War between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and its former security partners the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in Sudan’s capital Khartoum during the final days of

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

Ireland are celebrating another Six Nations title win with a 17-13 victory over Scotland in Dublin. It is their fifth title in 11 years, having endured a drought of more than two decades between 1985 and 2009. Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter scored tries for the hosts, who have now won back-to-back championships. Player of

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

As Russians go to the polls, the outcome is certainly already written as Vladimir Putin runs pretty much uncontested in his bid for a fifth term in office. Opposition candidates were banned from standing, fled the country or are dead – like Mr Putin’s most prominent critic, Alexei Navalny. So, what will another six years of rule

Finland is planning to adopt temporary legislation that will allow authorities to block asylum seekers arriving from Russia, the government has said. It comes after the country closed all crossings on its shared 830-mile-long border late last year, after a growing number of people with a lack of valid documents, tried to enter the European