World

German director Wolfgang Petersen, known for the World War Two submarine epic Das Boot and Air Force One, has died aged 81. The filmmaker died on Friday at his home in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Brentwood after a battle with pancreatic cancer, said representative Michelle Bega. His 1982 breakthrough, Das Boot, chronicled the intense

Ukrainian special forces operating inside Russian-occupied Crimea were behind an attack on a military base there, Sky News understands. Russia’s defence ministry said that a fire broke out after several explosions at a temporary ammunition storage facility in the Dzhankoi area of north Crimea at around 4.15am BST (6.15am local time). Pictures show fire and

Girls’ rights to education in Afghanistan will be solved with “the passage of time” and should not be a “condition for aid” from the international community, a senior Taliban leader has told Sky News. Anas Haqqani made the remarks as the Taliban marks one year since it captured the Afghan capital Kabul and regained control

“Look at this man… he worked for British forces,” shouted one Taliban fighter, as a group of them began to beat Ahmad in front of his screaming wife and children. It was 15 August 2021. The family were at the entrance to Kabul airport, trying to get on to an evacuation flight. They’d been met

COVID cases are surging on the Marshall Islands as the Pacific nation grapples with its first community outbreak of the pandemic. Prior to the current wave of cases, there had been no transmissions within the island group, which is located around 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii and 3,000 miles east of the Philippines. In a

With his long black hair flowing beneath a traditional cap and over his masked face, a Taliban guard, machine gun in hand, indicated I should follow the doctor.   I realised then we were to have his company for the duration of our stay. A peculiar development and an unusual experience, but one that was

At least 41 people have reportedly been killed in a fire at a church near Egypt’s capital, Cairo. The number of dead was announced by the country’s Coptic Church, citing health officials. Fourteen other people were reportedly injured. An electrical fire broke out as 5,000 worshippers gathered for mass at the Coptic Abu Sifin church

Sir Salman Rushdie’s suspected attacker has denied attempted murder and assault in a court in New York state. Hadi Matar, 24, was identified by New York police after the attack on Friday. Police have not established a motive for the stabbing that left the author, 75, seriously injured. He remains on a ventilator in hospital.

The stabbing of author Sir Salman Rushdie has shocked and horrified fellow writers and world leaders, with many praising him as a defender of free speech. The 75-year-old remains on a ventilator after being airlifted to hospital and undergoing hours of surgery following the attack in New York state. And while messages of support have

Author Sir Salman Rushdie, who has faced death threats for his novel The Satanic Verses, has been stabbed at least once in the neck and once in the abdomen while on stage at an event in New York state. The Indian-born British author has been airlifted to hospital but his condition is not yet known.

Russia has reached a new low and is trying to “threaten the whole world” by shelling Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy has said. Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of shelling the facility as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres proposed a demilitarised zone at the Zaporizhzhia plant in the city of

The UK is set to send more weapons to Ukraine to help it defend against Russia’s invasion, the defence secretary has announced. Multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS) and precision guided missiles, which can strike targets up to 50 miles away, will be delivered to the eastern European nation, Ben Wallace said. “This latest tranche of military

Satellite images appear to show several Russian warplanes at an airbase in Crimea have been damaged or destroyed. Ukraine’s air force said on Wednesday that nine aircraft were demolished in explosions a day before – a claim Russia denied. The images, from the US-based Planet Labs, show several warplanes in pieces and swathes of scorched

Russian authorities have raided the home of a former state TV journalist who quit after making an on-air protest against the war in Ukraine. Marina Ovsyannikova gained international attention in March after bursting into a studio of Russian state TV, her then employer, to denounce the war in Ukraine. She held a poster that read:

At 4pm last Friday, residents of an apartment building on Al-Shohada Street in Gaza were eating, sleeping or relaxing on their day off. Then, the Israelis struck the complex from above. Their target was man a called Tayseer al Jabari who was visiting relatives on the sixth floor. He was a senior commander in the

The drought scorching much of the European Union is set to be the worst endured since the sixteenth century, a senior scientist at the European Commission’s (EC) drought service has warned. “At the moment… this seems to be the worst” year in 500 years, although a full analysis will need to happen retrospectively, said Andrea

Kenyans have started voting for a new president amid widespread economic issues and corruption in the country. Longtime opposition leader Raila Odinga, who is backed by the outgoing president, faces William Ruto, who styles himself as the outsider. Mr Ruto, 55, has served as deputy president for the past nine years, though he has fallen

China is extending threatening military exercises around Taiwan that have already disrupted shipping and air traffic, further fuelling concerns about potential conflict in the region. According to Moscow, the exercises include anti-submarine drills, apparently targeting US support for Taiwan in the event of a potential Chinese invasion. The Chinese military has said the exercises involving

A peace of sorts seems to have returned to the fractious, wartorn border that separates Israel and the territory of Gaza. The Egyptians managed to negotiate a temporary truce yesterday as Palestinian militants sent multiple rocket barrages across the frontier – and the Israeli military targeted rocket launching sites run by the militant group Islamic

Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have agreed to a ceasefire following a weekend of fighting. The stoppage has been called for 11.30pm local time (9.30pm BST), Islamic Jihad and the Israeli government said in separate statements. It has been the most serious flare-up on the Gaza frontier in more than a year. In an update