World

Four people have died and six British backpackers are in hospital in southeast Asia after reports of suspected methanol poisoning. Simone White, 28, from Orpington in Kent, is among those who fell ill after being offered “free shots” in the Vang Vieng resort of Laos. Bianca Jones, 19, from Melbourne, Australia, two Danish women in

Ukraine has fired British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles into Russia, a source has told Sky News. The UK and Ukraine have not yet confirmed the use of the Storm Shadow missiles in Russia but their deployment has been widely reported in British media. Image: A Storm Shadow cruise missile on display in June 2023. Pic: AP

Rafael Nadal soaked up the emotion of a memorable but bittersweet evening in Malaga as his professional career came to an end. The 38-year-old opted to make the Davis Cup Finals his last event having accepted last month that his body would no longer allow him to compete at the highest level. Spanish fans, some

Russia has been accused by European governments of escalating hybrid attacks on Ukraine’s Western allies after two fibre-optic telecommunication cables in the Baltic Sea were severed. “Russia is systematically attacking European security architecture,” the foreign ministers of the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Poland said in a joint statement. “Moscow’s escalating hybrid activities against NATO

More than 100 politicians from 24 different countries, including the UK, the US and the EU, have written a joint letter condemning China over the “arbitrary detention and unfair trial” of Jimmy Lai, a tycoon and pro-democracy campaigner. The parliamentarians, led by senior British Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, are “urgently” demanding the immediate release of

The Kremlin has criticised President Joe Biden for adding “fuel to the fire” after giving Ukraine permission to launch US missiles into Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to… continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict.”

Joe Biden has authorised Ukraine to begin firing US-supplied rockets deep into Russia – as Sir Keir Starmer prepares to push for “further support” for Kyiv at the G20 summit. Mr Biden’s policy shift means Kyiv will now be able to use Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) for long-range attacks, two American officials have told

Joe Biden’s belated decision to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied, long-range missiles inside Russia will be cheered by Kyiv and will almost certainly prompt the UK to follow suit. But the stunning shift in US policy – just weeks before Donald Trump takes over as US president – will also trigger fury and fresh threats

Several people have been killed after Russia launched its largest aerial attack on Ukraine since August. More than 200 missiles and drones were deployed, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as he condemned a “massive combined strike” on “all regions”. Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said “peaceful cities” and “sleeping civilians” were targeted. Ukraine war – latest updates

Ten newborn babies have died after a fire swept through a neonatal intensive care unit at a hospital in northern India. The fire, which also injured 17 other babies, spread quickly through the ward in Maharani Laxmibai Medical College in Jhansi city late on Friday, where 49 infants were being treated, according to state deputy

Outgoing US President Joe Biden is set to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping today for what is likely to be his last time as US president. The two leaders are expected to hold talks on the sidelines of a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders in the Peruvian capital, Lima. It comes against the backdrop of

New pictures show the moment of impact as an Israeli missile hit a Beirut apartment block and exploded. The block was one of five buildings destroyed by airstrikes on Friday alone. Israel launched airstrikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut in a fourth consecutive day of intense attacks. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

UN climate talks are “no longer fit for purpose” and should only be hosted by countries who are trying to give up fossil fuels, veterans of the process have said. An open letter to the United Nations, signed by former UN chief Ban Ki-moon, makes an explosive intervention in the 29th COP climate summit, under

A body has been recovered from a South African mine after police cut off basic supplies in an effort to force around 4,000 illegal miners to resurface. The body has emerged from the closed gold mine in the northwest town of Stilfontein a day after South Africa’s government said it would not help the illegal

US President Joe Biden has welcomed Donald Trump for a meeting at the White House aimed at ensuring the smooth transition of power from one leader to another. It is the first time the president-elect has visited the White House since he left the Oval Office after being defeated by Mr Biden in the 2020

Headlights illuminate a group of soldiers smoking and drinking steaming cups of coffee on the side of a road in northeastern Ukraine. A fine sleet on another freezing night falls on the silhouetted barrel of a Soviet-era anti-aircraft gun mounted on an ancient, battered lorry. These are the men of a mobile air defence unit,

At least 14 people have been killed after a bus carrying wedding guests crashed into a river in Pakistan. The bus was carrying around two dozen passengers. Searches continue for bodies and survivors. There are differing reports about the number of people who have died, with some local officials saying 18 people had been confirmed

As a famous orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Adnan Al-Bursh spent much of his career fixing broken limbs and broken bodies at Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital. One of the best-trained doctors in the enclave, a photo showing him covered in blood in Al-Shifa’s operating theatre went viral in 2018. When war broke out last October, he worked around

Satellite images show that smog in Pakistan can be seen from space, as the country battles record levels of air pollution. Images from NASA Worldview show the east of the country cloaked in a toxic haze, with smog also reaching into India’s northern regions and New Dehli. Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab region and

A malnourished emperor penguin has been found in Australia for the first time – more than 2,200 miles north of the Antarctic coast. The adult male was discovered on 1 November on a tourist beach in the town of Denmark in southwest Australia. The emperor is the largest penguin species and has never been reported

A clampdown has been enforced to curb a social media trend in China – where thousands of students rent bikes late at night to buy soup dumplings. Police in Henan province closed bike lanes connecting Zhengzhou and Kaifeng in a bid to reduce the number of students making the 37-mile journey. Pictures showed that the

More than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters have been taken away by police during a banned demonstration in Amsterdam following “antisemitic” violence in the wake of a football game. Hundreds of people had defied an order banning protests and gathered in the city’s Dam Square on Sunday, chanting “Amsterdam says no to genocide” and “free Palestine”. A

Thousands of people have marched in Valencia and demanded the resignation of the region’s president over the response to devastating flooding that left more than 220 dead. Protesters filled the centre of the eastern Spanish city and chanted “killers!” as they called for Carlos Mazon to go. Some dumped muddy boots outside a regional government

Qatar has told Hamas that it will no longer host its political office unless the militant group and Israel engage in constructive and meaningful talks. The Gulf country will stop trying to mediate a ceasefire deal until Hamas and Israel “demonstrate a sincere willingness to return to the negotiating table with the objective of putting

At least 20 people have been killed and more than 40 injured in a bomb blast at a train station in Pakistan. The bomb exploded in the southwestern city of Quetta when nearly 100 passengers were waiting for a train to travel to Rawalpindi. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist group, have claimed responsibility

Sixty-two people have been arrested in Amsterdam after violence unfolded in the city on Thursday night. The violence came on the same day Ajax hosted Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League. Sky News has verified the footage below to show how events unfolded. Image: Three men pull down a Palestinian flag in

The Israeli military has said it is preparing to deploy an immediate rescue mission with the coordination of the Dutch government. “The mission will be deployed using cargo aircraft and include medical and rescue teams,” the Israeli Defence Forces said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been informed of the details of “a very violent incident”

Four bodies have been found in the English Channel and more than 50 migrants rescued. Fifty-one people were rescued after a boat got into difficulty off the coast of Audresselles in northern France overnight on Monday, French authorities said. A ferry reported seeing a body floating in the water off the coast of Calais on

Israeli strikes in eastern Lebanon have killed 40 people, according to the country’s health ministry. The strikes also wounded 53 more people around the eastern city of Baalbek in the Beqaa Valley on Wednesday, as Israel’s operation against the Hezbollah militant group continues. The Israeli military has not commented. More than 3,000 people have been

Donald Trump has declared victory in the US election as he addressed jubilant supporters in Florida – but votes in key states are still being counted. Speaking at West Palm Beach, he told crowds: “Look what happened – is this crazy?” – adding: “I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honour of

The contest to be president of the US takes place across 50 states (and the District of Columbia) but it is generally won or lost in a handful of key battlegrounds. The road to the White House this year runs through seven swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. With so

A man described by not one but two of his closest former aides as a fascist will become the most powerful man in the world when he takes office. How worried should we be? Very, say another dozen White House staffers who served under Donald Trump and watched him in action for his first four

Donald Trump says he would end Russia’s war in Ukraine should he return to the White House – but any rushed deal will likely leave Kyiv much weaker and European security in even greater peril. Another major flashpoint a Trump presidency would immediately seek to influence is the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel. Mr