World

A huge fire has ripped through one of Moscow’s largest shopping centres, killing at least one person. The blaze spread over an area of about 7,000sq m in the Mega shopping centre in Khimki, northwest of the Russian capital, authorities said. The fire caused part of the building to collapse, hindering firefighters’ efforts to tackle

From summer heat across the whole of the northern hemisphere to a cruel drought inflicting mass hunger in east Africa, 2022 felt almost unrelenting in extreme weather. While hazards like hurricanes and wildfires happen naturally, climate breakdown is making them worse, scientists say. And they agree that extreme weather events are going to become “more

A top US diplomat Wendy Sherman has refused to be drawn on exactly what Joe Biden’s vision of a Russian “pullout” of Ukraine would be. The US president said last week, for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine, that he would be willing to speak to Vladimir Putin if he truly wanted to

Iran says it has executed a prisoner arrested during the ongoing anti-government protests – the first known death sentence linked to the unrest. The execution on Thursday came after people are believed to have gathered around Azadi Square in the capital Tehran overnight. The prisoner has been identified as Mohsen Shekari by the Mizan news

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and “the spirit of Ukraine” has been named Time magazine’s 2022 Person of the Year. The annual award by the US magazine’s editors is given to someone who is felt to have had the most global influence during the last 12 months. The magazine has previously said their Person of the Year

Around 3,000 police officers have carried out raids across Germany to stop an alleged plot by a far-right terrorist group to overthrow the government. Federal prosecutors said 25 suspected members and supporters of the Reichsburger group – the so-called Reich Citizens movement – were detained during the raids in 11 of the country’s 16 states

Standing by a makeshift stove at the bottom of a bitterly-cold ditch, the Ukrainian troops enjoyed a quick tea break. Suddenly there was a loud whistle and a crack as a Russian artillery round flew overhead and exploded in a field behind them. The soldiers barely flinched, hardened by months of war. Instead, their focus

Two girls have been stabbed on their way to school in a small town in the south of Germany. Both girls were seriously injured in the attack on Monday morning, a police spokesman said. The attacker had a knife, according to the newspaper Bild. The attack happened in Illerkirchberg, a town of around 5,000 people

Facing a serious challenge from ongoing widespread unrest, Iran’s government is blaming Kurdish separatists for inciting the unrest, an Iranian academic has said. Protests demanding the overthrow of Iran’s clerical rulers are now in their fourth month, which erupted after the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman, while in custody of the morality police.

Bulgaria has been accused of shooting a refugee after a new video emerged showing a young Syrian man being fired at on the border with Turkey. It is the first footage of an asylum seeker being hit with live ammunition on the EU border. It follows a joint investigation by Sky News, Lighthouse Reports, The

France reached the World Cup quarter-finals after strikers Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe both broke scoring records in a comfortable 3-1 win over Poland. The reigning champions claimed victory as Giroud made history by becoming France’s all-time top goalscorer during the match at Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar. World Cup 2022: Follow live updates from

US intelligence experts have said they expect a “reduced tempo” in fighting in Ukraine to last several months, with both sides looking to prepare for a counter-offensive after the winter. The Director of National Intelligence said that while this might be the case, there is no evidence of a reduced Ukrainian will to resist and

A woman has died and four people have been injured after a “rogue wave” hit a cruise ship in the Atlantic. The Viking Polaris was sailing towards the Argentinian resort town of Ushuaia as part of its Antarctic Explorer cruise when the wave hit at 10.40pm local time on Wednesday. The travel company said the

A group of people tried to steal a Banksy mural from a battle-scarred wall in Ukraine, the governor of the region has said. They managed to slice off a section of board and plaster bearing the image of a woman in a gas mask and dressing gown holding a fire extinguisher. But they were spotted

The host of a conference in Kyiv alerted guests that air raid sirens were sounding, before assuring them they were safe and the event would carry on as planned. It is a small example of how people across Ukraine are learning to cope with the unpredictability of war while carrying on with their lives in

Germany have been knocked out of the World Cup, with a win against Costa Rica not enough to secure them a place in the last 16. Hansi Flick’s side came from behind to beat Costa Rica in their final group game 4-2. On a thrilling night in Qatar, Japan beat Spain 2-1 in the other

Major Chinese cities have started to lift COVID lockdowns and ease restrictions following widespread protests over stringent zero-COVID policies. Less than 24 hours after violent protests in Guangzhou, officials in at least seven districts of the sprawling port city north of Hong Kong announced they were lifting lockdowns. One district on Wednesday said it would

This winter will be the toughest in Ukraine’s history as an independent state as Russia targets power and water supplies, worsening the impact of the war, an energy boss has said. But Maksym Timchenko told Sky News that Moscow will fail to turn out the lights for too long with its missile strikes because of

Crowds in a major Chinese city have clashed with white hazmat-suited riot police, footage on social media shows, as the biggest anti-government protests in decades continue over stringent zero-COVID policies. The clashes took place in Guangzhou on Tuesday night, according to posts online. In one video posted on Twitter, objects can be seen flying at

“Whoever introduces external forces to get involved is a complete traitor!”  “I understand the rally organised this time was by… the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of America.” “Don’t be led astray by external forces. No matter what, you must love your country!” These comments are far from unusual on the Chinese social media site Weibo.