World

You hear a lot about the soft power of the monarchy. But there was definitely a hard message for the King to deliver during his first state visit. This was a diplomatic mission to sell Britain, a post-Brexit PR push. One of the themes of this trip has been reconciliation. The King spoke of the

Finland has moved a step closer to becoming a NATO member after Turkey’s parliament ratified its accession to the alliance. Turkey was the last of NATO’s 30 members to accept Finland’s application, which was submitted in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. President Erdogan said earlier in March that Finland had secured

Russia is looking to North Korea to source weapons for the war in Ukraine, the US says. Washington believes Moscow is aiming to provide Pyongyang with food and other commodities in return for arms. It is the latest accusation that Russia, desperate for weaponry and hampered by sanctions and export controls, is turning to “rogue”

The King took a trip to the German countryside today, where he helped make a special organic cheese to mark his historic visit, as he continued his state visit. “We heard that the King is a great lover of cheese,” said Katja von Maltzan, who with her husband runs the Brodowin farm 50 miles northeast

The King was still mid-flight when the military welcome began. His plane was given a German jet escort into Berlin. And then, the grandest gesture Germany has to offer, a full ceremonial welcome at the Brandenburg Gate. He is the first visiting head of state offered the honour and we heard early on just how

Elon Musk and a group of artificial intelligence experts are calling for a pause in the training of powerful AI systems due to the potential risks to society and humanity. The letter, issued by the non-profit Future of Life Institute and signed by more than 1,000 people, warned of potential risks to society and civilisation

Lebanon’s government has reversed a controversial decision to delay the start of daylight saving time by a month. Najib Mikati, the country’s caretaker prime minister, said the cabinet had voted to move the clocks one hour ahead on Wednesday night. Mr Mikati angered many Lebanese last week when he delayed the start of daylight saving

A pause – not a halt After hours hidden out of sight and in emergency negotiations with his coalition partners, Benjamin Netanyahu eventually bowed to the inevitable. As the sun was going down on an extraordinary day in Israel, news emerged that a deal had been struck. The party of Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would

India’s key opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi after being disqualified from parliament. Mr Gandhi, 52, was expelled on Friday after he was sentenced to two years in jail for making defamatory remarks relating to Mr Modi’s surname at a 2019 rally, before the last general election. Mr Gandhi – who

French President Emmanuel Macron has been criticised after removing his expensive watch during a television interview about pension changes. Violent protests and strikes are taking place across France after Mr Macron pushed through a law raising the retirement age by two years to 64 without a vote in parliament. The clip of Mr Macron taking

In anticipation – perhaps fear – of Western support for Ukraine’s much anticipated “spring offensive”, Russia has spent the past few weeks throwing wave after wave of attacks against a heroic and determined Ukrainian frontline. Progress has been limited, and despite seven months of intense fighting, cities like Bakhmut have not fallen. Now, Russia appears

The King’s first state visit of his reign could be disrupted by ongoing French protests against President Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age. Unions have called for more demonstrations to coincide with the King and Queen Consort’s visit to Paris, due to take place on Sunday. A banquet at the Palace of Versailles hosted

Five boys aged 11 and 12 who became trapped in the New York City sewer system were told to “scream as loud as they could” to help firefighters locate them before being rescued. The children walked for a quarter of a mile after crawling through a storm drain tunnel on Staten Island at about 6pm

An Indian opposition leader has been sentenced to two years in prison for making defamatory remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi – a prominent descendent of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty – was sentenced over comments he made relating to Mr Modi’s surname in 2019 at an election rally. Gandhi asked the crowd at the

A national strike is taking place in France after President Emmanuel Macron’s circumvention of parliament to pass the divisive pension bill which would raise the retirement age by two years. The co-ordinated strikes are expected to cause widespread national chaos, as well as travel disruption to and from France. French airports will be hit, with

World Athletics has decided to exclude transgender women who have gone through male puberty from female events. The body’s president, Lord Coe, said “decisive action” had been taken to “protect the female category in our sport”. Lord Coe told a news conference in Monaco: “The council has agreed to exclude male-to-female transgender athletes, who have

Data from the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic has provided crucial information on the outbreak’s origins, according to researchers. The virus was first identified in Wuhan in December 2019, with the Huanan live animal market widely suspected to be the source, before it rapidly spread around the world and killed nearly seven million people.

Vladimir Putin has welcomed his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to Moscow, just days after a warrant was issued for the Russian president’s arrest over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The two leaders, who called each other “dear friend” and exchanged compliments during the meeting at the Kremlin, were locked in talks for more than four

Vladimir Putin has said Russia and China are fighting “common threats” as he welcomes President Xi Jinping for a three-day trip to Moscow. Writing in an article in the People’s Daily Newspaper, the Russian president described Mr Xi‘s visit as a “landmark event” that “reaffirms the special nature of the Russia-China partnership”. The outlet is

Police in Pakistan have filed terrorism and other charges against former prime minister Imran Khan, as well as 17 of his aides and scores of his supporters. The move on Sunday came after the ousted premier’s followers clashed with security forces in the country’s capital of Islamabad a day before. Mr Khan‘s followers came to