World

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

Around 2,000 Nepali men have been recruited by Russia to fight in its war against Ukraine, Sky News understands. Driven by poverty, many of the Nepali mercenaries are now desperate to return. Ganesh, 35, is one of the few recruits lucky enough to have made it home. He spent four and a half months fighting

A palm-sized blueberry has entered the record books after being officially crowned as the world’s heaviest. The whopping fruit weighing in at 20.4g (0.71oz) and measuring 39.31mm across was grown by the Costa Group in New South Wales, Australia. Picked on 13 November, 2023, it has now been recognised by the Guinness World Records. Image:

Russia embarks this Friday on three days of voting to reconfirm the inevitable, which is another six-year presidential term for Vladimir Putin. Given the fact this is simply a matter of going through the motions for Putin and for the public, why does it matter and why does his administration go to such lengths to

A high court in Japan has ruled that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The current marriage law has previously been interpreted to restrict marriage to just between a man and a woman. While the Sapporo High Court doesn’t have the power to overturn current laws, it called for urgent government action to

Poland is recalling 50 of its ambassadors as Warsaw tries to improve diplomatic missions at a difficult time, with neighbouring Ukraine battling Russia’s full-scale war. The diplomats were all appointed by the populist Law and Justice (PiS) party, which had held power since 2015 before losing December’s general election. Those being recalled have not been

Josh Cavallo, who in 2021 became the first openly gay male professional footballer, is engaged after an on-pitch proposal to his partner, Leighton Morrell, at Adelaide United’s home ground. The 24-year-old made international headlines when he came out publicly in an emotional video, announcing: “There’s something personal that I need to share with everyone: I’m