World

Football superstar Lionel Messi will join David Beckham’s club Inter Miami. The 35-year-old, who led Argentina to World Cup victory, told Spanish media he is heading to America’s Major League Soccer (MLS) after his contract expires with Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the month. Messi had offers from Miami, his former club FC Barcelona

A dam in the Russian controlled part of southern Ukraine has been damaged by shelling, leading to flooding in the area already hit by months of conflict. Both Ukrainian and Russian officials blamed each other for destroying the Kakhovka dam in the Kherson region. Ukraine’s military said that Russian forces blew up the dam. “The

The Russian Ministry of Defence has claimed that Ukraine launched a “large-scale offensive” in the south of the Donetsk region. Ukraine is attempting an information blackout on any possible offensive – but what evidence is there online? Sky News’ data and forensics team has been monitoring videos posted to social media and various Russian war

Russian reports that the Ukrainian counteroffensive has begun are being used to distract from Russian losses in Bakhmut, the Ukrainian deputy defence minister has said. The comments from deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar come after Moscow said it had thwarted a major Ukrainian assault in the south of Ukraine‘s Donetsk region. Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian

Pressure is mounting on the UAE oil boss running international climate negotiations this year to convince his critics he has a suitably ambitious plan, as diplomats meet in Germany this week for preparatory talks. The incoming president of the annual COP climate talks, Sultan Al Jaber, who is chief executive of state-owned Abu Dhabi National

An oil tanker broke down in the Suez Canal on Sunday, disrupting traffic in the vital global waterway.  The Malta-flagged Seavigour suffered a malfunction at the 12 km (7.5 mile) mark, said George Safwat, a spokesperson for Egypt‘s Suez Canal Authority. It stopped in a single-lane section and was towed away by tugs to a

A football game in Argentina had to be suspended after a supporter fell from the stadium. The fan, reportedly aged in his 50s, jumped and “died on the spot”, said a statement from club River Plate, which had been playing rivals Defensa y Justicia at Estadio Mas Monumental on Saturday. The match was suspended after

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said people found “guilty” for the deadly train crash in India will receive the “harshest punishment”. At least 288 people were killed and more than 850 injured in Friday’s accident in Odisha’s Balasore district state. On his visit to the crash site on Saturday, Mr Modi also pledged to look

The deadly crash at Odisha’s Balasore district on Friday, which has so far claimed over 280 lives and injured 900 more, has focused attention on the safety of the railway network in the world’s second most populous country. Run by state monopoly Indian Railways, the network is the fourth largest in the world and transports

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken his oath to be sworn in as Turkey’s president for an unprecedented third time. Mr Erdogan won another five-year term after a run-off with opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu last week. Neither candidate had failed to reach the 50% threshold on 14 May, but the second round two weeks later saw

Russia may have stepped up the frequency and intensity of missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s capital, but Kyiv’s air defences appear to be holding firm. So what is the military benefit of targeting urban populations, and why is Vladimir Putin doing so? Historically, wars were fought to destroy the enemy’s army and occupy its

China is drilling a hole in the desert more than 11,000m deep in order to study areas deep beneath the planet’s surface. The operation – reported in state media – started on Tuesday and is located in the Xinjiang region in northwest China. The drilling process will go deep into the Earth, penetrating more than

China’s Communist Party has warned about the potential risks of AI, a day after experts said it posed a similar risk as nuclear war and pandemics. A meeting headed by President Xi Jinping called for “dedicated efforts to safeguard political security and improve the security governance of internet data and artificial intelligence”, the Xinhua News

Jordan is preparing for a royal wedding this week with Crown Prince Hussein set to marry a US-educated architect.  The 28-year-old Sandhurst-educated prince is marrying Rajwa Alseif, 29, at Zahran Palace – where his father King Abdullah II and his grandfather, the late King Hussein, also married. Thursday’s ceremony is expected to include some of

Russia has blamed Ukraine for a drone attack on Moscow that it said caused minor damage to buildings and injured two people. The defence ministry said Kyiv was behind the “terrorist attack”, but Ukraine denied the claim. “Eight aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles were involved in the attack. All enemy drones are hit,” said the ministry.

The Ukrainian foreign minister has expressed his support for a tennis player who was booed off the court at the French Open for refusing to shake hands with her Belarusian opponent. Marta Kostyuk was jeered by the crowd at the end of the first round match as she snubbed Aryna Sabalenka, whose country has supported

Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy have joined world leaders in congratulating Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his election win. In a letter to president Erdogan celebrating his narrow run-off victory on Sunday, Mr Putin addressed the Turkish leader as “Dear Friend” and praised his efforts at strengthening Russian-Turkish relations. “From the bottom of my

The man who revels in his image as Turkey’s strongman took an early lead almost as soon as polls closed in the second round of voting for President. Celebrations began long before the official declaration. But in truth, the dye was cast some time ago, before the election. Recep Tayyip Erdogan‘s demeanour even before campaigning

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared himself victorious in the presidential run-off election, with leaders from around the world congratulating him. Polls closed at 5pm local time (3pm BST) and while votes were counted fast, for hours it remained too close to call. At one point, less than a percentage point separated the incumbent from his

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will have been Vladimir Putin’s favourite in this election. A hard truth to swallow for his Nato allies who will have been hoping, albeit privately, for change. Mr Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule, economic eccentricity and waywardness within NATO have all caused deepening alarm among allies. His defeat would have been welcomed