World

Vladimir Putin has vowed to back soldiers who defend Russia’s interests and ordered his government to give greater support to those who fight – after two people were killed in the latest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine. Speaking on the eve of Orthodox Christmas, the Russian president said on Saturday while meeting families of

Dramatic footage shows the moments after a window and chunk of fuselage blew out of a passenger plane in mid-air, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the Boeing 737-9 MAX.  One Alaska Airlines passenger on the affected flight said a boy and his mother were sitting in the same row as the damage

Alaska Airlines has grounded all Boeing 737-9 MAX passenger planes hours after a window and chunk of fuselage blew out of a flight in mid-air shortly after take-off in the US state of Oregon. Photos and videos from passengers showed a gaping hole in the side of the plane next to passenger seats, with oxygen

Prince Andrew had daily massages when he spent “weeks” at Jeffrey Epstein’s Florida home according to the billionaire’s former housekeeper, court documents have revealed. The newly-released documents include the transcript of a video interview with Juan Alessi, who worked at the paedophile financier’s Palm Beach residence. The unsealing of the first batch of papers caused

Oscar Pistorius has been freed on parole nearly 11 years after murdering his girlfriend in a case that made global headlines. The former Paralympic champion – once celebrated as the ‘blade runner’ – was granted parole in November and today left a South African jail and is now at home, South Africa’s correctional services department

Former Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius will be released from prison on Friday, nearly 11 years after murdering his girlfriend. Pistorius shot Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013 at his home in Pretoria, South Africa. He said he fired his gun through a bathroom door after mistaking her for an intruder in the early hours. The

A full transcript detailing air traffic control conversations moments before the fatal plane crash at Tokyo’s Haneda airport has been released by authorities in Japan. The transcript shows the discussions between the airport’s control tower and the two planes – one a Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger jet and the other a smaller coastguard plane –

A coastguard aircraft that collided with a passenger plane at Tokyo’s Haneda airport had not been cleared for take-off when the crash took place, authorities have said. The small jet, with a pilot and five passengers on board, was preparing to fly to the city of Niigata to deliver aid to those affected by a

At least 20 people have been killed at a cemetery in Iran where a ceremony was being held to mark the 2020 killing of Iran’s top commander Qassem Soleimani, state media has reported. The reports added there were two explosions at the site in the city of Kerman where the former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Hamas has said one of its top officials, Saleh al Arouri, has been killed in an explosion in Beirut – blaming the “cowardly assassination” on Israel. Al Arouri was one of the founders of Hamas’s military wing and the deputy leader of the group’s political bureau. He also headed Hamas’s presence in the West Bank.

As firefighters and rescue crews work on the ground following a huge plane fire at Tokyo’s Haneda airport in Japan, investigators behind the scenes will try to piece together how it happened. Captured in dramatic footage from the scene, a Japan Airlines aircraft can be seen bursting into flames and moving along the runway in

South Korea’s opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has been stabbed in the neck during a visit to Busan, according to local media. He was attacked as he toured a construction site at a new airport, said the city’s emergency office. It said Lee – who heads the main opposition Democratic Party – was conscious but his

A tsunami warning has been issued after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 hit Japan. The warning, issued by the country’s meteorological agency, covers western coastal regions of Ishikawa, Niigata and Toyama. Hokuriku Electric Power said it was checking for any irregularities at its nuclear power plants, Japanese broadcaster NHK said. Waves of

Denmark’s queen has unexpectedly announced her abdication in her traditional New Year’s Eve speech. Margrethe II will formally step down from the throne on 14 January – exactly 52 years to the day of her ascension to the throne in 1972. She will be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik. This breaking news

Former world cycling champion Rohan Dennis has been charged with causing the death of his wife, the retired Olympic cyclist Melissa Hoskins, according to reports. South Australia Police were called to the suburb of Medindie, Adelaide, after a woman was hit by a car at around 8pm local time on Saturday. The 32-year-old was taken

At least 14 people – including two children – have been killed and more than 100 injured during shelling of the Russian border city of Belgorod, officials in Moscow say. They have accused Kyiv of carrying out the attack – a day after an 18-hour aerial Russian barrage across Ukraine killed at least 39 people.

Imran Khan has been rejected as a candidate in Pakistan’s upcoming election by officials. Lawyers for the former prime minister have said they will appeal ahead of the vote to elect a new parliament in February. Khan is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for corruption, making it difficult for him to run for office.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy started 2023 full of optimism. In Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces had demonstrated they could push Russian invaders back, and Western confidence in Ukraine’s ability to prevail was growing. Despite the risks to domestic national security, Western nations donated huge quantities of weapons, ammunition and high-tech capability from national stockpiles to support Ukraine’s proposed

Russia has launched one of its biggest aerial barrages on Ukraine since the start of the invasion, killing at least 27 people and wounding 144 others. Several cities were struck overnight as Russia launched more than 100 missiles and dozens of drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, with most of them being shot down. Ukrainian

The UK could find itself in the deep freeze in January due to a change in wind patterns high up in the atmosphere – the same phenomenon that blew in the bitterly cold Beast from the East in 2018. However, forecasters are warning it is too soon to tell where in Europe the cold weather

The gunman who killed 14 people at a university in Prague before killing himself, reportedly left a suicide note confessing to the murder of a father and his baby six days earlier, Czech media have reported. A note found at the home of David Kozak, 24, was said to have contained the admission he shot

Former European Commission president Jacques Delors has died at the age of 98. An ardent advocate of post-war European integration, Delors served as president of the body for three terms – longer than any other holder of the office – from January 1985 until the end of 1994. The Frenchman, a Socialist, was also the

Hamas has always had a reputation for having some of the best underground tunnels of any militia. In a media tour arranged by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) into Gaza, one of the most impressive examples the Israeli military has discovered was on full display. The entrance was just inside Gaza, only a few hundred

Subhi Shaledeh and his extended family had around 500 acres of prime grazing land in the Occupied West Bank, in the village of Janoub. They owned olive trees and hundreds of sheep. The land had been in the family for decades. But overnight they lost their livelihood and their and land. Subhi says on 9

Ukraine says it has carried out an air strike on the port town of Feodosia in Crimea. Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of Ukraine‘s air force said that the attack destroyed a Russian Navy vessel known as the landing Novocherkask ship. Writing on the Telegram messaging app, he said: “And the fleet in Russia is getting smaller

Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza will expand over the coming days, Benjamin Netanyahu has warned, as attacks appeared to intensify on Christmas Day. The Hamas-led Gaza health ministry says 250 Palestinians have been killed and 500 wounded in the past 24 hours – with 106 of those said to have died in an airstrike on

Ukraine is officially marking Christmas on 25 December for the first time today – after it continued to fend off Russian drone attacks overnight. Traditionally, Ukrainians have celebrated on 7 January, in line with the Russian Orthodox Church. But in July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed legislation moving the Christmas holiday to 25 December. On Sunday,

Imagine having not one, but two babies born in the middle of war. Lina Hammad gave birth to twins in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. It should be a time of celebration, but the stress of keeping the infants, and two other children alive, is all-consuming. The impact of war always hits the most vulnerable.

Eight Israeli soldiers have been killed fighting in Gaza, the Israeli military has said. The deaths take the number of Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) killed to 154 since its ground operation in Gaza began on 20 October. Some 480 IDF personnel have died since Hamas launched its incursion on 7 October. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Around 300 Indian travellers are stuck in a French airport after their flight was grounded in a human trafficking investigation. Those on board the Romania-based charter company Legend Airlines plane from Fujairah airport in the United Arab Emirates to Managua, in Nicaragua, included families and children. The youngest passenger is a 21-month-old toddler while some

The main road into Bethlehem is closed. What is normally a simple 20-minute journey from Jerusalem now takes us an hour, as cars queue to get through the one Israeli military checkpoint open further south. It’s been like this since the war began, and it’s just one way that life in the West Bank has

The UN Security Council has voted for a resolution to speed up aid to Gaza – but left out a call for an “urgent suspension of hostilities”. It instead includes a commitment to “create conditions for the sustainable cessation of hostilities” between Hamas and Israel. Thirteen members voted in favour, while the US and Russia

Police have released bodycam footage of officers storming a university building during their response to a shooting in Prague which killed 13 people. The footage shows armed officers entering a building and members of the public fleeing the scene at Charles University in Prague on Thursday. The gunman – named in Czech media as 24-year-old