World

Ukraine is officially marking Christmas on 25 December for the first time today – after it continued to fend off Russian drone attacks overnight. Traditionally, Ukrainians have celebrated on 7 January, in line with the Russian Orthodox Church. But in July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed legislation moving the Christmas holiday to 25 December. On Sunday,

Around 300 Indian travellers are stuck in a French airport after their flight was grounded in a human trafficking investigation. Those on board the Romania-based charter company Legend Airlines plane from Fujairah airport in the United Arab Emirates to Managua, in Nicaragua, included families and children. The youngest passenger is a 21-month-old toddler while some

A former TV journalist hoping to challenge Vladimir Putin in Russia’s next presidential election has been barred from standing. Independent politician Yekaterina Duntsova hoped to run on a platform to end the war with Ukraine. But on Saturday, she was disqualified after members of the central electoral commission voted unanimously to reject her candidacy, citing

Ukraine’s military has claimed it shot down three Russian fighter jets in the south of the country. The Su-34 fighter bombers were reportedly brought down in the Kherson region on Friday, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the air force. President Zelenskyy praised Odesa’s anti-aircraft unit in his nightly video address. Mykola Oleshchuk, Ukrainian

Many Ukrainians are preparing to celebrate Christmas on 25 December for the first time. The main Orthodox church has traditionally observed the holiday on 7 January, following the Julian calendar – which Russia also uses. Most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians. But in July this year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bill into law making 25

The chancellor has signed a deal aimed at boosting financial services ties with Switzerland, describing the arrangements as a “global first”. It is aimed at boosting access to each other’s markets and is based on mutual recognition of laws and market regulations in both countries. The Treasury said the Berne Financial Services Agreement marked a

Threats have been made against the judges who banned Donald Trump from standing for president in Colorado next year. “Significant violent rhetoric” against the justices and Democrats was uncovered on social media in the 24 hours after Tuesday’s decision by the Colorado Supreme Court. NBC News, Sky News’ US partner, reported on the findings by

As smoke rose into the overcast skies of Deir al Balah in Central Gaza on 5 December, the whine of an aircraft could still be heard overhead. The Musabeh family’s home had been destroyed. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:19 Footage of smoke plume from the blast at the Musabeh

People in Iceland have been told to stay at home and “get into the Christmas spirit” rather than attempt the risky journey to the site of the erupted volcano. A gash two miles long has opened up on the Reykjanes peninsula, spewing between 100 and 200 cubic metres of lava every second. Though the lava

The Irish government is to bring a legal case against the UK under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The inter-state case is over the UK’s decision to bring in the Northern Ireland Troubles Legacy Act, deputy premier Micheal Martin has confirmed. The act became UK law in September 2023. It looks to end

Africa’s first female billionaire has lost her High Court fight against an application to freeze up to £580m of her assets. Businesswoman Isabel dos Santos, whose father Jose Eduardo dos Santos ruled Angola for 38 years until 2017, is being sued by Unitel, a telecoms operator in the African country. The firm asked London’s High

For the first time in India’s parliamentary history, 78 lawmakers were suspended in a single day. A large swath of INDIA Alliance MPs were dismissed on Monday, with a further 49 excluded today making a total of 141 suspended. The alliance, which has 142 MPs in the lower house and 101 MPs in the upper

Elon Musk’s X is being investigated by the EU over its efforts to combat disinformation and harmful content. The social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, is the first to be probed under the bloc’s Digital Services Act. It came into force in November 2022 and requires large online companies to do more to tackle

Artificial rain has been used for the first time in Pakistan to battle hazardous levels of smog. Planes equipped with cloud-seeding equipment – which helps clouds form and increases precipitation – flew over areas of Lahore on Saturday. The megacity in Pakistan’s east is often ranked as one of the worst places in the world

Israeli forces battling Hamas claim to have uncovered the largest Hamas tunnel found in Gaza, designed to carry carloads of Hamas fighters up to the border with Israel. Neutralising the hundreds of kilometres of underground tunnels and bunkers in Gaza is among the aims of the Israeli offensive, launched after Hamas fighters went on a killing and

The gulf between the US and the Israeli government visions for “the day after” in Gaza seems to be widening by the day. In his Saturday news conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed, again, a two-state solution and insisted Israel will have enduring security control in Gaza. In doing so, he undermined the alliance

Donald Trump has said undocumented immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country” during a speech in New Hampshire. The Republican presidential frontrunner repeated language that had previously been criticised as xenophobic and echoing Nazi rhetoric. Mr Trump made the comments during a campaign event where he railed against the record number of migrants attempting

Israel’s ambassador to the UK has insisted there will be no Palestinian state and that Israel believes there is no prospect of a two-state solution. Although it has been evident for some time that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government were no advocates for such a post-war peace, this is the first time the

The former president of a top division Turkish football club has been handed a permanent ban after punching a referee at the end of a match. Faruk Koca was arrested after hitting Halil Umut Meler at the end of a Super Lig match on Monday night. The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) made the decision to

It had all the makings of one of those nightmare EU summits. A crucially important meeting that would drag on rancorously late beyond the end of the week. The villain of the piece, Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban – whose critics call him Putin’s puppet – had arrived looking up for a fight. There was