World

People in Belarus have started to vote in the presidential election, which is all but certain to extend the rule of Alexander Lukashenko. The authoritarian leader is expected to win as seventh term as leader in Sunday’s election, extending his 31 years in power in Sunday’s election. Citizens were pictured heading to the polls in

At least 13 soldiers serving with peacekeeping forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been killed in clashes with M23 rebels, United Nations officials have said. The rebel group M23 has made significant territorial gains in recent weeks, encircling the strategic city of Goma, which has a population of about two million people

Around us, a cacophony of sound – the wails of sirens blended with chants, shouts and revving engines. Ramallah is never a quiet city but today, here in its heart, it was frenetic. Ahead of us, three coaches edged their way through the crowds, accompanied by motorbikes and Palestinian police officers, pushing people out of

Four Israeli soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza have been handed over to the Red Cross. Hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, all aged 20, and 19-year-old Liri Albag, were all serving with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) when they were captured. They are being freed by Hamas in exchange for 200 Palestinian prisoners,

Hamas has released the names of four female soldiers expected to be freed on Saturday as part of the ceasefire deal with Israel. Hostages Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, all aged 20, and 19-year-old Liri Albag, who were serving with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), are set to return to Israel in exchange for

The world’s largest iceberg is on a collision course with the British territory of South Georgia – potentially putting millions of penguins and seals in danger.  The trillion-tonne slab of ice, named A23a, broke free from its position last month and started drifting northwards. The “megaberg” – which is twice the size of Greater London

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has told Sky News he is seeking the arrest of two senior Taliban figures over the ”systemic and deliberate” persecution of women in Afghanistan. Karim Khan KC, speaking on Sky News’ The World with Yalda Hakim, said the pair bore “criminal responsibility” over the treatment of women

Hundreds of same-sex couples have been tying the knot in Thailand today as it becomes by far the largest nation in Asia to allow equal marriage and the first in South East Asia. A mass LGBTQ wedding at a shopping mall in Bangkok saw hundreds of marriage registrations as the law came into effect. It

A series of videos show the moment a car carrying a family in the occupied West Bank came under attack during an Israeli raid into the city of Jenin yesterday. At least seven gunshots are heard as the passengers including children scream before the footage filmed from inside the Kia vehicle shows the car crashing

South Korea will remove concrete barriers used at airports across the country after a plane crash in December that claimed the lives of 179 people. While investigators are still probing South Korea’s worst domestic civil aviation disaster at Muan International Airport, experts have said the massive berm supporting navigation antennas at the end of the

Eight people have been killed in the occupied West Bank after Israeli troops carried out a raid in the city of Jenin – an area not covered by the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Israel described it as a “significant and broad military operation” against Palestinian militants, just two days after a long-sought deal to stop the

A fire at a hotel in a popular ski resort in Turkey has killed at least 66 people, the country’s interior minister has said. Ali Yerlikaya added that at least 51 other people were injured in the fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya in Bolu province’s Koroglu mountains in northwest Turkey, around 185

An Australian broadcaster has apologised to Novak Djokovic and Serbian tennis fans after calling the 24-time Grand Slam champion “overrated” and a “has-been”. Djokovic, 37, refused to give a customary post-match interview to Channel Nine anchor Jim Courier after beating Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic at the Australian Open on Sunday. He said in a

Emily Damari, a 28-year-old British-Israeli woman, is among the first three hostages Hamas plans to release today as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal. She was abducted from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel when she was “shot in the hand, injured by shrapnel in her leg,

The Darth Vader theme tune suddenly bleeps from the underbelly of a Ukrainian drone as a marine attaches a mortar round to it before launching the aircraft against a Russian position. The Ukrainians say their enemy fears this kind of rotary drone in particular because of the size of the bombs it can drop. Unmanned

Israel retains the “right” to resume fighting if negotiations with Hamas over the implementation of a ceasefire – expected to take effect today – do not progress, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. Speaking hours before a long-sought Gaza ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was expected to take effect, Mr Netanyahu warned: “If we

Dozens of people have been injured, some seriously, in a chair lift accident in Spain. The incident took place at the Astún ski resort, which is on the Spanish border with France, in the Pyrenees mountain range. At least 30 people have been injured in the incident. Nine of those are very seriously injured and

The ceasefire deal is “the last chance for Gaza”, Qatar’s prime minister has said, adding: “Failure is not an option.” In an exclusive interview with Sky News’ Yalda Hakim, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani warned that “peace won’t happen” if there is not a Palestinian state. He also criticised parties for the time it

Israel’s security cabinet has approved a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and prisoners. It will now go to the full cabinet for final sign-off, with a full government meeting scheduled later today. A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said approval came “after examining all political,

With the ceasefire now in effect, it hopes to bring an end to the most destructive chapter in the almost 77 year-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Gaza’s Hamas-led government estimates that 14 in every 15 homes have been damaged, with five destroyed. The destruction has left the Gaza Strip littered with an estimated 42

As uncertainty sweeps through the Middle East, Iraq’s prime minister has been focused on development, travelling to London to negotiate a series of deals on the economy and security. Yet it is the prospect of stability offered by a ceasefire in Gaza that represents a more valuable prize and it was on this subject that

In a region bereft of hope, the prospect of a ceasefire represents a flicker of possibility – but make no mistake, there’s still a great deal of uncertainty about the deal. If all goes well, the violence in Gaza which has ravaged the enclave for 467 long and brutal days will halt and hopefully lead

Gunshots ring out in the streets leading to Independence Square in the capital Maputo as protesters confront the police. Their voices are coarse with rage as they scream in the masked faces of officers who disperse them with rabid-looking dogs, tear gas and live rounds. They scatter for a moment, but their anger is hard

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested, six weeks after his short-lived attempt to impose martial law. A motorcade of black SUVs was seen leaving the gates of his hillside residence where he had been holed up for weeks behind barbed wire and a small army of personal security. Mr Yoon said the

A new attempt to arrest South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is under way, six weeks after his short-lived attempt to impose martial law. A pre-dawn standoff – watched by thousands of pro- and anti-Yoon protesters – is in place outside the official residence between authorities and the president’s security service. Amid the furore, one

A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza. President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has admitted to a “serious offence” after a Sky News investigation analysed CCTV footage showing the moment an 80-year-old Palestinian grandmother was shot in the West Bank. Halima Abu Leil was shot during a raid in Nablus. The grandmother died soon after. During the course of the investigation, we noted

Ukraine’s president is offering a prisoner swap with North Korean soldiers it has captured, in exchange for Ukrainians held by Russia. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a direct appeal to leader Kim Jong Un after seizing two North Koreans in Russia’s Kursk region. “In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly

Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin is set for the inaugural launch of its new space rocket on Monday in a development that could add more fuel to the billionaire space race. The New Glenn rocket is due to blast off from Cape Canaveral – the result of a multi-billion dollar, decade-long effort that could set the

On 19 December, 80-year-old Palestinian grandmother Halima Abu Leil was shot in an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) raid on her neighbourhood in Balata refugee camp in Nablus, West Bank. Two days later, Halima’s children told Sky News their mother was shot six times by Israeli special forces on her way to buy groceries. She died

Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy has met Israel’s prime minister in an effort to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza before the president-elect takes office on 20 January. Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed details of the meeting with Steve Witkoff on Saturday, adding that the head of the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency has been deployed to

The fires that have been raging in Los Angeles County this week could be the “most destructive” in modern US history. In just three days, the blazes have covered tens of thousands of acres of land and could potentially have an economic impact of up to about $150bn (£123bn), according to private forecaster Accuweather. Sky

The US has announced it has increased its reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. In a statement, the US treasury said up to $25m is being offered for information leading to the arrest of Mr Maduro and his named interior minister Diosdado Cabello. Up to $15m is also being