World

The Ukrainian head of security services has been fired due to alleged “treason”. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also sacked prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova amid claims dozens of employees in her office have “worked against our state”. Mr Zelenskyy said: “Such an array of crimes against the foundations of the state’s national security, and the links

The distraught family of a four-year-old killed in a missile strike in Ukraine have attended her funeral – while her unknowing mother remained in intensive care. Liza Dmytrieva died in the Russian bombing of the central city of Vinnytsia on Thursday. The blast left her mother, Iryna, in a “grave condition” in an intensive care

A cargo plane operated by a Ukrainian airline and reported to be carrying 12 tonnes of “dangerous materials” has crashed in northern Greece. Residents reported seeing a fireball and hearing explosions for two hours after the Antonov aircraft came down on farmland near the city of Kavala. The Soviet-era An-12 plane had been heading from

Mexican military forces have captured notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the torture and murder of a US DEA agent in 1985. Caro Quintero, 69, was arrested after a search dog named Max found him hiding in shrubland in the town of San Simon in Sinaloa state during a joint operation by

A British aid worker who was detained by Russian separatists in Ukraine has died, a family member has told Sky News. Paul Urey is believed to have died five days ago “due to sickness”, according to information his family has received from the Foreign Office. He was charged with committing “mercenary activities” after being captured

Sri Lanka’s parliament has accepted a letter of resignation from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The letter was flown from Singapore late last night, and its authenticity has now been verified. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena says a new president will be appointed “quickly and successfully” – with the process set to be completed within seven days. Mr

Italy’s prime minister Mario Draghi has offered his resignation – but the country’s president has rejected it. Mr Draghi, the widely respected former head of the European Central Bank, has been at helm of a broad coalition. He said he would resign after a coalition ally pulled its support for the government earlier on Thursday.

A relentless heatwave that is blistering Europe has left some of the Alps’ oldest glaciers needing blanket cover to protect them from melting. The Rhone Glacier in Switzerland is just one of the casualties of the extreme temperatures the continent has been experiencing over the past few days. A spate of wildfires has seen firefighters

It was unfair to blame Liverpool fans for unrest in Paris before the Champions League final as state authorities failed to manage crowds, a report has found. France’s interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, pointed the finger at Liverpool fans to divert attention away from the failings of police and organisers, the report commissioned by the French

Protesters have stormed the office of Sri Lanka’s prime minister as police use tear gas on crowds. A nationwide state of emergency has been declared by the prime minister’s office and a curfew has been imposed in the Western Province in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has fled the country after months of

In a community kitchen in the backstreets of Colombo, volunteers prepare 250 meals every day for people struggling to survive Sri Lanka’s worse economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948. We meet Mabel Silva and her family while they’re waiting for a meal. Her two grandchildren are disabled and Mabel is suffering from diabetes. She

Japan has said farewell to its country’s its longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, who was shot dead at a campaign rally last week. Long lines of people queued outside the Zojoji temple in Tokyo to pay their respects to the man who dominated Japanese politics for decades. The 67-year-old’s assassination by an unemployed man wielding

People swimming in the president of Sri Lanka’s pool say they will remain at the official residence in Colombo until Gotabaya Rajapaksa finally leaves office. Protesters have also stormed the home of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, demonstrating against an economic catastrophe that has left many struggling to afford two meals a day. Both men have

The Kagarlytskyi family narrowly escaped Russian occupation in the Kyiv suburb of Irpin. After three months on the run, moving from one place to another, they’ve returned home. But they’ve lost everything, and they’re now living in a train carriage as they try to piece their lives back together. Russia ‘storing weapons in nuclear plant’

Sri Lankans are roaming through the ransacked presidential palace a day after it was stormed by thousands of people angry at the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe both announced they were going to step down in the face of the protests. The prime minister’s private residence

Gunmen have shot dead 15 people and injured nine others in a tavern in the South African township of Soweto, police said. Armed with rifles and pistols, the gunmen opened fire at people sitting at the Orlando East tavern in the early hours of Sunday. Three people were critically injured and are being treated in

Thousands of protesters in Sri Lanka have broken through police barricades and stormed the president’s official residence. In one of the biggest anti-government marches to hit the country this year as the economy crumbles, the demonstrators have demanded the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, announced he would quit on Saturday

Shinzo Abe’s body is being brought back to Japan’s capital after the former prime minister was murdered during a campaign speech. Mr Abe, 67, was shot twice from behind while speaking at a campaign rally in the city of Nara – the first assassination of a sitting or former Japanese prime minister since the 1930s.

Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has died after being shot while giving a speech in the western city of Nara, state broadcaster NHK said. His death was also confirmed by a source within the ruling Liberal Democrat Party, Reuters reported. Mr Abe, who was 67, sustained wounds to the right side of his neck

Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has been while giving a speech in the western city of Nara, according to reports. Public broadcaster NHK said he appeared to be in a state of cardiac arrest. The channel said shots were heard and a white puff of smoke was seen as Mr Abe made a campaign

Weapons supplied by the West are starting to have an impact on the war in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. Ukrainian fighters are making “tangible strikes” on Russian logistical targets, the president revealed in his nightly video message, adding that strikes were affecting Moscow’s offensive potential. He said: “The Western artillery – the weapons we

The heads of MI5 and the FBI have used an unprecedented joint speech to warn that China is their biggest “game-changing challenge”, with the UK doubling efforts to combat Chinese threats. Christopher Wray, the director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, said Beijing is drawing lessons from Russia‘s war in Ukraine. Talking about the Chinese

Beijing will introduce a vaccine mandate for certain venues – the first of its kind in China since the start of the pandemic, as the country deals with the recent arrival of the highly contagious Omicron BA.5 variant. The Beijing Health Commission announced that from next week anyone entering libraries, museums, cinemas, art galleries, sports

Rescuers have found body parts in the search for hikers missing after a powerful avalanche killed at least seven people in Italy. Officials initially feared 13 hikers were still missing on the Marmolada glacier, east of Bolzano in the Dolomite mountains, but the province of Trento reduced the number to five after eight others checked

Whenever Oleksiy was planning a trip from his home in the occupied region of Kherson, he would come prepared with a “legend” for the journey, a persona that helped him avoid suspicion at Russian checkpoints. He found playing the character of an elderly Russian farmer worked best. He brought props to back up his story

Increasing number of pictures are appearing on Ukrainian social media showing a US-made rocket launcher being used against Russian targets. At the start of June, the US Department of Defence said it would be sending four HIMAR systems to Ukraine to help the country defend itself from attack. It said Ukrainian soldiers would be trained

Russian troops are ratcheting up their efforts to secure full control of the entire Donbas area in eastern Ukraine – and from what we have witnessed, there’s very little which is going to stop them right now. A huge chunk of the industrial heartland has already fallen to the Russian military, allowing President Vladimir Putin

At least two people are reported to have been killed in a shooting at a July Fourth parade in a Chicago suburb, with witnesses describing seeing bloodied bodies covered with blankets. Local news channel WGN TV, citing unidentified police officer, said at least two people were killed and that the suspect was still at large. According

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will pledge that the UK will “do everything possible to ensure Ukraine wins the war and recovers”. She will tell the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Switzerland today that the UK will support the embattled nation for the “long haul” and resist Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. The Foreign Office said Ukrainian

Police in Denmark say several people have been hit by gunshots at a shopping mall in Copenhagen. The shooting took place at the Field’s shopping centre, one of the largest in Scandinavia. “One person has been arrested in connection with the shootings,” Copenhagen police tweeted, adding: “We currently cannot reveal more about the person’s identity.”

Pro-Moscow separatists say they have taken control of Lysychansk, Ukraine’s last bastion in the eastern province of Luhansk. Rodion Miroshnik, ambassador to Russia of the pro-Moscow Luhansk People’s Republic, told Russian television: “Lysychansk has been brought under control. Unfortunately, it is not yet liberated.” Russian media showed footage of Luhansk militia fighters marching in the

More than two dozen crew members are missing from a ship which snapped in half after being hit by a tropical storm. Workers were forced to abandon the industrial vessel which sank after Typhoon Chaba unleashed perilous conditions in the South China Sea, hampering rescue efforts. Dramatic aerial footage showed people being hoisted into a

Two women have been arrested after trying to smuggle 109 live animals out of Thailand in their luggage. Officers discovered 35 turtles, 50 chameleons, 20 snakes, two white porcupines and two armadillos in their bags. The pair were trying to board a Thai Airways flight to India, and suspicions were raised following what was meant