World

With a soldier on board, we were given directions to drive off main roads and along snow-covered tracks to a desolate spot and await further instructions.  The soldier’s telephone rang and he was given new orders, turning us around, then taking a sharp right down another track where a car was waiting for us. As

Boris Johnson has said the UK will “contribute” to any new NATO deployments if Russia invades Ukraine. The prime minister also told MPs that Western allies will react “in unison” to any Russian attack on Ukraine by imposing sanctions “heavier than anything we have done before”. He condemned Moscow for sending more than 100,000 troops

The Ukrainian soldiers speak in whispers as they trudge through the snow and mud of their trenches, keeping low as they pass the most exposed sections, past signs warning of sniper activity. Nothing has changed here for years. The daily exchanges with Russian-backed separatists and, what the Ukrainians are certain of, professional Russian soldiers, goes

With NATO bolstering its eastern flank, some UK and US embassy staff evacuating Kyiv and Britain warning of a Russian plot to install a puppet regime in Ukraine, signs of hostility seem far stronger than any signals of hope for a peaceful solution to a growing crisis with Russia. It was only last Friday that

The drive through snowy streets in the Afghan capital takes us through winding, narrow alleyways. It’s necessary to avoid the attention of the Taliban soldiers who man multiple checkpoints in Kabul. In the car’s back seat is the leader of one of the most unlikely and bravest of rebel groups. Her diminutive size hides a

Britain has accused Russia of a shadowy plot to install a pro-Kremlin government in Kyiv as Moscow weighs up a further invasion of Ukraine. In a highly-unusual move that appeared to be based on specially declassified intelligence, the Foreign Office alleged that a former Ukrainian MP was “being considered as a potential candidate” as a

A British tourist has been killed and his friend badly injured in a knife attack in Thailand. The incident happened in the early hours of Saturday in Kanchanaburi. Thai police have said they were called to a house – thought to belong to the victim’s girlfriend – in the Muang district in the early hours

Russia’s defence minister has accepted an invitation to meet his UK counterpart Ben Wallace amid fears that an invasion of Ukraine is “imminent”. The British defence secretary offered earlier this week to hold talks with Sergei Shoigu in London to discuss mutual security concerns, against heightened tensions with the Kremlin over its former Soviet neighbour.

It doesn’t matter that I lived in Russia and experienced its winters for a number of years. It doesn’t matter that I reported on the wintry months of the Ukrainian separatist uprising in 2014 into 2015. Because each time one comes back, the weather is as horrendous and painful as ever. Looking out across miles

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said that any movement of “Russian military forces across Ukraine’s border” will be met with a “swift, severe and united response”. He also warned Moscow’s “extensive playbook of aggression” would also be met with action – following his crunch talks with his counterpart foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, aimed

Austria’s parliament has approved a universal COVID-19 vaccine mandate for adults – the first of its kind in Europe. The mandate will come into force next month, with authorities writing to every household to inform them of the new rules. From mid-March, police will start checking people’s vaccination status during routine checks. Those who cannot

Britain’s armed forces have flown some 2,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine this week amid fears of an imminent, new Russian invasion. British surveillance aircraft have also been spotted. Open source flight-tracking software has plotted Royal Air Force C-17 transport aircraft flying back and forth between the UK and Ukraine. Sky News understands that “several” flights

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned Russia that the world is watching as Moscow continues military manoeuvres involving 100,000 troops on the border with Ukraine. After talks with Ukraine’s government in Kyiv, America’s top diplomat said Russia could double that number in short order and launch an attack on its neighbour. Mr Blinken

Most of the homes on three of Tonga’s smaller islands have been “completely destroyed” by the tsunami that followed Saturday’s undersea volcanic eruption, the Red Cross has said. With communications down, a ship made it to Nomuka, Mango and Fonoifua on Wednesday, an official said. Few homes are said to remain standing after settlements were

The rapid spread of the Omicron variant, combined with the roll-out of up to 20bn doses of vaccine means the COVID-19 pandemic could be over this year, according to one of the world’s leading public health experts. But Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and former SAGE adviser told Sky News that more

A man in his 30s has been arrested in connection with the murder of Ashling Murphy. Ms Murphy, 23, was found dead after going for a run on the banks of the Grand Canal in Tullamore, County Offaly, at around 4pm on Wednesday 12 January. Police have said the man who was detained is being

Britain will provide Ukraine with “light armour defensive” weapons and training as Western powers fear an “increasingly threatening” Russia will invade the country. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the weapons being supplied are “short range” and to use in “self-defence”, adding that they are not “strategic” and “pose no threat to Russia”. Mr Wallace added

Tickets for Beijing’s Winter Olympics will not be sold to the general public due to worries about COVID. Only “targeted” groups will be able to get tickets for the games – which start on 4 February, said organisers. International fans are already excluded because of China‘s strict border policy to prevent importing cases. The organising

Tsunami-hit Tonga has remained largely uncontactable due to telephone and internet links being severed. An underwater volcano off Tonga erupted yesterday, triggering warnings of 1.2-metre tsunami waves and evacuation orders on the shores of the island and several others in the South Pacific. The eruption caused internet and phone lines to go down at about

Novak Djokovic has lost his bid to stay in Australia after judges upheld the cancellation of his visa. The saga, entailing the world No 1 and known vaccine sceptic, made headlines across the world, with supporters of the Serbian star saying it was a fight for freedom and critics saying he was trying to dodge