World

Russian President Vladimir Putin was escorted by four Russian fighter jets on Wednesday as he jetted in to the Gulf on a rare trip abroad. The Kremlin chief’s plane was flanked by Sukhoi-35S fighter jets as he arrived in the UAE earlier, as he looks to shore up support in the Gulf by visiting the

Iran said it has sent a capsule into space carrying animals as it prepares for human missions in the coming years. The capsule was launched 80 miles into orbit, according to a report by the official IRNA news agency that quoted telecommunications minister Isa Zarepour. He said the launch of the 1,000lb (450kg) capsule formed

Benjamin Netanyahu has accused human rights groups of turning a blind eye to rapes that Israel says were committed by Hamas during the 7 October massacre. Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, the Israeli prime minister accused the international community of playing down the attacks and even ignoring them. He said he expects “all

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been named the world’s most powerful woman for the second year in a row. The German politician, who has held the post since 2019, finished ahead of European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, US Vice President Kamala Harris, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who came fourth.

Israel could pump thousands of gallons of seawater into the labyrinthine network of tunnels underneath Gaza in a bid to flush out Hamas fighters, a military expert says. The potential to flood the tunnels, which the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports the Israeli military is considering, would be a significant move and would come with

Munich Airport has been forced to close again after being hit by extreme wintry weather, making safe flights “impossible”. Freezing rain hit the German city, forcing the airport to temporarily cancel or postpone all flights on Tuesday morning. It said there would be no take-offs or landings from 6am until midday in its announcement on

Munich Airport has reopened with a severely reduced flight schedule after it was forced to close following a barrage of extreme wintry weather. Freezing rain hit the German city, forcing the airport to temporarily cancel or postpone all flights on Tuesday morning. The airport, which resumed operations at midday, told Sky News a total of

A house exploded as police were investigating reports of gunshots being fired from the property by a man. Footage of the blast in the US showed a huge fireball shoot up into the air as the entire home went up in flames and collapsed, spraying debris all around. Witnesses said the explosion shook nearby buildings

Peru has unveiled plans to dramatically increase the number of people allowed to visit Machu Picchu every day. Right now, the number of tourists granted access to the iconic tourist attraction is capped at 3,800 a day. But from January, this will increase to 4,500 a day – with the potential for a further hike

A man has died and another two people have been injured after being attacked in Paris on Saturday evening. The deceased is a German national who was among tourists targeted around the Quai de Grenelle, located about 15 minutes from the Eiffel Tower in the French capital. The suspect was on the French security services

Israel’s determination to completely dismantle Hamas means that takeover of the south is an absolute military necessity. The southern campaign has already started, with air raids in and around the city of Khan Younis fully underway. The problem is that, to all intents and purposes, most of the surviving Gazan population is now crowded into

Israel knew about plans for a Hamas attack on its soil more than a year before the 7 October assault that killed more than a thousand people, according to the New York Times. The paper said officials in Israel had a 40-page battle plan, which they called “Jericho Wall”, which set out a hypothetical attack

China’s coal fired power plants are not always as ugly as you might think. Some are set in locations surrounded by green hills and lush farmland, thick chimneys are euphemistically painted with blue skies and bucolic scenes. But China’s addiction to coal is still a dirty business and it’s the locals who bear the brunt.

The Israeli military has published a map that it says advises Gazans of safe evacuation zones – as its fighter jets resumed striking targets in the densely populated strip of land. “This divides the territory of the Gaza Strip into areas according to recognisable areas to enable the residents of Gaza to orient themselves and

Israel’s military has resumed combat in Gaza after accusing Hamas of violating the seven-day truce. A spokesperson for Israel Defence Forces said: “Hamas violated the operational pause and in addition fired toward Israeli territory.” The military said its fighter jets are currently striking Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said multiple

Nepal has become the first South Asian country to register a same-sex marriage. Ram Bahadur (Maya) Gurung, a 36-year-old transgender female who has not changed her gender on official documents, and Surendra Pandey, 26, who was born and identifies as male, had their marriage certified at the Dordi rural municipality office in west Nepal on

An Indian government official directed an unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist in New York City, US justice chiefs have claimed. They allege the Indian government employee, who worked in security and intelligence, recruited another Indian national named as Nikhil Gupta to plan the assassination of a US citizen who had advocated for a

The man running COP28 has denied claims the UAE wanted to use the conference to strike new oil and gas deals. The opening of COP28 in Dubai tomorrow risked being overshadowed after leaked documents suggested the Emirates planned to use meetings with other countries to promote trade with it national oil and gas companies. But

The gleaming Etihad Boeing 777 they stepped into could not have made for a more stark contrast from the apocalyptic scene they’ve left behind in Gaza. And they emerged into the cabin lights looking mostly dazed. One elderly woman hugged the first female cabin crew member she saw. She had plenty of reason to be

China has said its outbreak of a respiratory illness stems from the flu and other known pathogens – while questions about its origins rise. A spokesperson from China’s National Health Commission said clusters of respiratory infections across the country are caused by an overlap of common viruses. They cited the influenza virus, rhinoviruses, the respiratory