World

Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann “seized a number of items” during last week’s search operation in a Portuguese reservoir. The latest searches in Portugal were carried out after requests from German investigators. In June 2020, German police said that they believed Madeleine was dead and that suspect Christian B was likely responsible. In

New anti-LGBTQ+ laws have been passed in Uganda, expanding on rules which already criminalised same-sex acts and carried a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The new anti-homosexuality law now makes “aggravated homosexuality” – which is defined as sexual relations involving people infected with HIV, as well as with those under 18, and other categories of

We are standing on the huge deck of the Geo Barents rescue ship, where hundreds of people are waiting to start a new life. The boat docked in Bari at breakfast time, pulling into the port accompanied by a police boat on one side and a coastguard vessel on the other. And about an hour

Sitting on the Dnipro River in Russian-occupied Ukraine is Europe’s largest nuclear power station – on the frontline of a worsening war. Over a period of a few weeks we spoke to two workers at the Zaporizhzhia plant. And the warnings they gave of what could happen should send a cold chill around the world.

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.

A man has managed to prise a crocodile’s jaws from around his head when he was attacked near a luxury resort in Queensland, Australia. Marcus McGown was snorkelling about 17 miles (28km) off Haggerstone Island in Cape York when the reptile struck. “While checking out some coral and fish and talking to a fellow snorkeller,

The sun beats down on us. I’m sweating, and there is noise from every angle. Two marine engines thrum behind me, churning the water of the Mediterranean. You can smell the salt, but also the plastic of our boat, warmed by the early afternoon. Cloudless skies. I can hear shouts, cries, and also words of

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

Men in crisp white thobes sit on mats under a leafy thorn tree carefully cutting pieces of white material. They slowly stitch them together with tender, experienced precision. Another shroud for another life lost to senseless violence. More men arrive and they raise their hands in prayer to grieve the recently deceased. The latest victim

Turkey goes to the polls today for a presidential run-off that could see Recep Tayyip Erdogan extend his rule into a third decade. Neither Mr Erdogan, 69, nor his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu reached the required 50% of the vote in the first round on 14 May. The race could have profound consequences for Turkey, and

The 41-degree heat rises like steam from every rock and roof but as sunset approaches the sky breaks into a thunderstorm. A woman, deep in a latrine, pauses her digging to run under a corrugated zinc roof held up by a square wooden frame for shelter from the rain. It is her new home in

F-16s are on the way to Ukraine. US President Joe Biden‘s approval of the move at the G7 conference will certainly provide Ukraine with some much-needed aerial firepower – but combat air power is heavily dependent on modern technology and some F-16s are vintage jets. When the F-16 Fighting Falcon first flew in the late

At least two people have been killed after a Russian missile strike hit a health clinic and a veterinary building in eastern Ukraine, officials have said. Video footage showed a severely damaged site with smoke pouring out of it, following the attack in the city of Dnipro on Friday. Most of the upper floor of

The latest search for Madeleine McCann has ended in Portugal as tents were taken down and heavy machinery was removed from the site. Officers have spent three days combing a reservoir and surrounding scrubland after receiving “certain tip-offs”. It’s not yet known if anything significant was found, but a number of bags were taken from

What are the big threats to our way of life? This question was a lurking preoccupation at the London Defence Conference this week, attended by the prime minister and the chief of defence staff along with academics and politicians from across the Western world. The immediate crisis is Ukraine, of course. There was general consensus

A group claiming to be behind a recent strike in the Russian border region of Belgorod have said they will launch more incursions in future. Denis Kapustin (also known as Denis Nikitin), the commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps, was speaking on the Ukrainian side of the border with Russia a day after his group

A paralysed man has been able to walk again after communication was re-established between his brain and spinal cord using a wireless “digital bridge”. The so-called brain computer interface is made up of two electronic implants, one each in the brain and spinal cord. Read more:Analysis: Paralysis breakthrough is quite astonishing – and AI is

When Nasreen was just a young child, she saw her 12 -year-old sister forced into marriage, and her mother warned her she would be next. At the age of around nine, with the help of a male cousin, she fled her small rural Nepalese village – she can’t say exactly how old she was because

There is still widespread confusion over reports of an armed raid across the Ukrainian border into Russia, with claims of pro-Ukrainian fighters capturing a town and the use of a tank. Russia says more than 70 attackers have been killed in the Belgorod region and the remnants of their units pushed back into Ukrainian territory

Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr has renewed his attack on La Liga and the Spanish authorities, revealing he received death threats this season. It comes as Real Madrid have lodged a hate crime complaint with Spanish prosecutors after the Brazilian player was targeted with racist abuse during their away game against Valencia over the weekend.

At least 19 students have been killed in a fire at a secondary school dormitory in Guyana in South America, authorities have said. The country’s government has said several other students were being treated for injuries after the fire in the southwestern border town of Mahdia. At least six others were flown 200 miles to

China poses “the biggest challenge” to global security, Rishi Sunak has said at the end of a G7 summit. The Prime Minister added: “China poses the biggest challenge of our age to global security and prosperity, they are increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad.” “This is all about de-risking, not de-coupling.” Advertisement

Sudan’s warring factions have agreed to a new seven-day ceasefire. The Sudanese army and rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces signed the deal in the Saudi city of Jeddah, as the fighting entered its sixth week. The ceasefire, brokered by the US and Saudi Arabia, will start on Monday at 9.45pm in Sudan (8.45pm UK time).

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said “there is nothing left” in Bakhmut, as Russia claimed control of the city after months of fierce fighting which has left it in ruins. The country’s president said the invading forces had “destroyed everything”. Mr Zelenskyy was speaking alongside US President Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Hiroshima,

The US has approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to enhance the country’s air defence in the wake of a barrage of Russian missiles. But how many will be delivered, and which countries will provide them? US President Joe Biden authorised Western allies to give advanced F-16 fighter jets – a move the UK,

As Western supplies of high-tech weapons flow into Ukraine in preparation for the anticipated spring offensive, Russia is also trying to bolster its arsenal. It has resorted to trading SU-35 fighter jets to Iran in return for continued supply of Iranian Shahid 136 attack drones, and also fielded state-of-the-art missile systems for the first time.

It is a long, nervy and treacherous walk to the frontline trenches around Bakhmut. As we make our way through woodland, the war crashes and booms around us. Although Ukraine has made small gains in the open ground around the flanks, its hold inside the city is looking increasingly desperate. Ukraine war latest live as

A 95-year-old grandmother is in a critical condition after being tasered by police in Australia. Officers were called to a care home after staff discovered Clare Nowland outside her room holding a steak knife. They talked to her for several minutes – but when she failed to drop the knife and began approaching the officers,

A plan by the UK to train Ukrainian pilots could impact the Royal Air Force’s ability to teach its own recruits, the incoming head of the RAF has indicated. Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton admitted that details have yet to be finalised of the announcement by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – made when Ukraine’s

Four indigenous children in Colombia have been found alive – more than two weeks after the plane they were travelling in crashed in thick jungle. An 11-month-baby was among those rescued – as well as children aged four, nine and 13. The plane – a Cessna 206 – was carrying seven people when it issued

Three people have died while as many as 5,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in northeast Italy due to flooding. Rivers swollen by days of downpours burst their banks on Tuesday, flooding nearby towns and cities. Cesena, in the heart of the Emilia-Romagna region, was one of the worst-hit areas, with pictures showing

A deadly fire at a hostel in New Zealand is being treated as suspicious. At least six people were killed when the blaze broke out at Loafers Lodge on Monday night, and several others are unaccounted for. Fire crews in Wellington have now handed the scene over to the police, and officers are hoping to

Russian forces launched a huge barrage of 18 missiles at Kyiv on Tuesday. All of them were shot down, Ukraine says. Using “onion rings” of different guns and missiles provided by the West, Ukraine’s air defences are now increasingly successful at thwarting Russian launches. From Stinger missiles that can be carried by a single soldier