World

Kevin Spacey has picked up a lifetime achievement award in Italy – days after appearing in court in the UK to deny allegations of sexual assault. In his first official speaking engagement since the #MeToo-era allegations came to light, the 63-year-old visited the city of Turin where he was honoured with an award for contributing

The black box and cockpit voice recorder of the plane that crashed in Nepal have been found, a Kathmandu Airport official has said. The ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Yeti Airlines, was carrying 72 people when it crashed. Rescuers called off their search on Monday evening local time with two people still unaccounted for, and

Rescuers have resumed searching for four people still missing after Nepal’s deadliest plane crash in 30 years, officials have said. This story is now outdated, the black box and voice recorder from the plane that crashed has now been found. Read full story here. The ATR 72 aircraft, operated by Yeti airlines, was carrying 72

A plane carrying 72 people has crashed in Nepal, killing at least 69, officials have said. Video on local media showed thick black smoke billowing from the crash site as rescue workers and crowds gathered around the wreckage of the aircraft. Footage on social media showed the plane flying low before beginning to spin. At

At least 14 people have been killed in a Russian missile strike on a residential block in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, as part of a massive wave of attacks targeting civilians and energy infrastructure alike. Rescue teams worked through the night in sub-zero temperatures to find survivors in the rubble of the nine-storey apartment

China has reported almost 60,000 COVID-related deaths since early December after the country dropped its strict lockdown restrictions. The announcement follows complaints that the Chinese government was failing to release data about the status of the pandemic. China dropped its strict zero COVID policy on 7 December, leading to a surge in infections among the

British-Iranian national Alireza Akbari has been executed after being sentenced to death on charges of spying for Britain, Iran’s state media has said. The Iranian judiciary claimed Mr Akbari, who was deputy defence minister under former president Mohammad Khatami until 2001, was a “key spy” for the British government, according to the semi-official Tasnim news

An explosion has hit a gas pipeline connecting Lithuania and Latvia. The blast happened in the Panevezys county, northern Lithuania, said the country’s gas transmission operator Amber Grid. Lithuania’s public broadcaster LRT showed footage of a fire in the area. Police were preparing to evacuate a nearby village, Baltic news agency BNS reported. There were

The temperatures are well below freezing and spindles of snow swirl across the roads as gusts of icy wind cut like a million knives across the landscape.  But even in the depth of winter there’s no let-up in the fighting, and in and around the salt mining town of Soledar it is especially fierce. Armoured

A university department in the US has said it has removed the word “field” from its curriculum because it may have racist “connotations”. Under the change, phrases including “field work” and “going into the field” will no longer be used, according to a letter from the school of social work at the University of Southern

Russia’s Wagner Group has claimed the body of one of the missing British aid workers in Ukraine has been found. Christopher Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 48, were last seen on Friday leaving Kramatorsk for Soledar. A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are supporting the families of two British men

Cardinal George Pell has died aged 81. The Australian clergyman was a leading Roman Catholic conservative and former top official at the Vatican. Pell, a former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney, served as Vatican economy minister from 2014 until he took a leave of absence in 2017 to return to Australia to face charges of

Russia has stepped up its offensive in Ukraine, with officials suggesting Vladimir Putin’s troops have taken control of an area outside the major city of Bakhmut. According to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “everything is completely destroyed, there is almost no life left”, in the Donetsk region, which includes the town of Soledar. “The whole land

Two British nationals who were reported missing in Ukraine have been named. Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry, who are volunteers helping with civilian evacuation and humanitarian efforts in the war-torn Donetsk region, were reported missing by the area’s police department. They were last seen leaving Kramatorsk for Soledar at 8am last Friday, and contact was

A container ship loaded with more than 65,000 tonnes of corn from Ukraine has been refloated after running aground in the Suez Canal. The M/V Glory was 24 miles (38km) into its southward journey through the Egyptian waterway, near the city of Qantara, when it suffered a technical fault, according to the Suez Canal Authority

Brazilian President Lula da Silva has said rioters will be found and punished with the “full force of the law” after supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro invaded the country’s presidential palace, Congress, Supreme Court and ministries’ building. Footage and images on social media show what looked like thousands of people, many draped in

The fact that you are reading this speaks to the success of Russian propaganda. Its claim of a massive air strike killing 600 Ukrainian soldiers in Kramatorsk is almost certainly a grotesque untruth. But for Russia it matters not. As a work of misinformation, it’s out there and will work its way through social media

In the gloom of her kitchen, Halyna Bereznitska prepares the Christmas meal. Russian attacks on the energy grid have left many here in Kyiv reliant on the intermittent power of a generator. The celebratory dinner is low-key and there’s plenty to eat – but her husband and son are fighting on the front lines. Putin

At least 29 people have been killed in Mexico following violent clashes and hours of shootouts prompted by the capture of one of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s sons. Nineteen suspected gang members and 10 military personnel were killed in a wave of violence after Mexican security forces arrested Ovidio Guzman, the country’s defence minister Luis

The former Chelsea player and manager Gianluca Vialli has died aged 58 after a battle with cancer. The Italian, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer five years ago, played for and managed the London club, scoring 40 goals in 88 games between 1996 and 1999 during his time on the pitch for Chelsea and becoming

Multiple videos of a crowd in China attacking and flipping over a police car have gone viral on social media, marking another incident of civil disobedience that has broken through the country’s wall of digital censorship. A large group of people gathered in Luyi County, Henan, on 2 January, where it’s understood that frustrations against

A woman who lived in the same house where four University of Idaho students were murdered says she saw a masked man in black clothing walking towards her, according to an investigator. The unidentified housemate said she awoke to the sound of crying and opened her second-floor door around 4am and stood in “frozen shock”

He made history during his life – and now, Pope Benedict XVI will do so in death. For the first time in many hundreds of years, the Vatican will hold a funeral service for a former pope, presided over by the present Pope. The service begins this morning after three days in which Benedict’s body,

Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed “General Armageddon”, has been removed from his role as head of Russia’s war in Ukraine only three months into the job. He has been replaced by chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov, who is head of the Russian military. The change was announced by Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu, and was

The landscape around the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut has come to resemble a First World War battlefield, the ground carved up by artillery and cut with networks of trenches. For months, Russian forces including Wagner Group mercenaries have relentlessly attacked the city as they pursue full control of the Donbas region, but to no avail.

Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind Kevin McCarthy to become the new House of Representatives speaker as chaos gripped the Republicans when hardliners blocked the appointment. Republican bosses had planned to replace Democrat speaker Nancy Pelosi with party leader Mr McCarthy after wrestling control of the House in the recent midterm elections But the

The coffin of football legend Pele has been carried through the streets of Santos in Brazil as the public paid their final respects to the sporting icon. Thousands of fans gathered to watch the procession to say their last goodbye to the three-time World Cup winner ahead of his private burial. The casket, draped in

Unseasonably warm conditions and sparse snowfall has forced some low-level ski resorts to shut in recent days – as Europe started the new year with record-breaking temperatures. Bare mountainsides and slushy runs have reignited fears over the effect of climate change on many mountain towns that rely on winter tourism. Temperatures in France at the

Two Britons were among four killed after two helicopters collided mid-air near a marine theme park in the Australian state of Queensland. An FCDO spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of two British nationals who died in Australia and are in contact with the local authorities.” The collision occurred on the Gold Coast at

Thousands of football fans are saying a final farewell to Brazil football hero Pele at the home of his former club Santos. The coffin of the three-time World Cup winner was carried to the centre circle of the Brazilian’s club’s Vila Belmiro stadium where he will lie in state for 24 hours. The sporting icon,

Brazil officially has a new but familiar president as Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in for the third time. The leftist politician, known as Lula, had held Brazil’s highest office between 2003 and 2010 after three attempts to get the top job. Now aged 77, he entered office having defeated far-right candidate Jair

Andrew Tate’s Twitter account has been used to protest the influencer’s innocence after he was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking. Tate’s account, which is followed by more than four million people, tweeted on Saturday: “God is on our side, so the Matrix will not win.” It comes after the controversial “self-help” social media influencer,

Blasts have been heard in Kyiv and air raid sirens wailed across the country just after midnight, forcing Ukrainians to abandon New Year celebrations and head to bomb shelters. The latest apparent Russian salvo followed blasts on New Year’s Eve in multiple regions of Ukraine, with one person killed and 20 reported injured in the capital