Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will meet armed forces personnel in Bosnia and Herzegovina to re-affirm the UK’s commitment to peace and stability in the western Balkans. Ms Truss will warn against “appeasement” of Vladimir Putin in the face of malign Russian influence in the region as the war with Ukraine continues. She will use a
World
Kate Moss has said Johnny Depp “never” pushed her down any stairs, contrary to rumours discussed by Amber Heard during the US defamation trial. The British supermodel said the actor, who she was in a relationship from 1994 to 1998, had not “pushed, kicked or threw me” down any stairs while they were together. She
One of the most difficult aspects of the Ukraine war for many people in the West to understand is why it’s even happening in the first place. Why would anyone want to cause so much death and destruction? So, much of the focus has been on the personality of Russia‘s president, Vladimir Putin. Sky News has
The savage heatwave that has scorched India and Pakistan in recent months was made more likely by climate change and is a harbinger of the region’s future, scientists have said in a new study. Parts of the region have long suffered gruelling summers, but this year temperatures even in parts of northern India soared to
Russia’s blockade of Ukraine will lead to worsening starvation, famine and instability around the world if it cannot be lifted, the World Food Programme has said. The warning came as Sky News gained rare access to Odesa port on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast. The port should be busy exporting tens of thousands of tonnes of
A Russian soldier who pleaded guilty to murdering an unarmed 62-year-old civilian has been sentenced to life in prison in the first war crimes trial of the conflict. Sergeant Vadim Shishimarin was accused of shooting an unarmed resident through an open car window in the village of Chupakhivka. The 21-year-old Russian tank commander pleaded guilty
Startling new figures from the UN show the war in Ukraine has displaced more than eight million people. And they reveal that more than six million refugee movements from Ukraine have been registered. According to new data from UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, the number of people forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights violations
Monkeypox is something “everybody should be concerned about” and the US is looking into what kind of treatments and vaccines are available, President Joe Biden has said. The World Health Organisation has identified about 80 monkeypox cases globally, and roughly 50 more suspected cases. Cases of the smallpox-related disease have previously been seen only among
Carpet bombing is indiscriminate – devastatingly destructive and utterly random. But if you’re an advancing army, it’s a deadly and effective tactic, and it’s being used mercilessly against the townspeople of Soledar. The town in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas has seen its topography alter dramatically in the last 72 hours as the Russians intensify their assault
Australia’s opposition Labor Party has won power for the first time since 2007, after Scott Morrison conceded defeat of the ruling conservatives. The party’s leader, Anthony Albanese, is to become prime minister after Mr Morrison’s conservative Liberal Party failed to win the minimum 76 seats needed for a majority in the 151-seat parliament. Labor has
The Donbas is feeling the brunt of the recent Russian military failures. The country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says the twin areas of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine are being “turned into hell”. He’s right. They are. The towns and cities here are being pummelled; homes and businesses are being smashed by this war. Ukraine
Ukrainian troops, thought to be the last fighting Russian forces in Mariupol, have been told to stop the defence of the city. Reuters news agency reported the Azov regiment had been ordered only to “save lives of soldiers” in the port – a key military objective for Vladimir Putin, which has been under bombardment for
The road to Severodonetsk in Ukraine has to be negotiated at a furious pace. The route incorporates a vast open stretch of land leaving vehicles exposed and vulnerable to attack. The journey is pitted with risks as the Russians try to cut off this, the only route into the city and the one remaining pocket
A captured volunteer medic’s bodycam footage shows the horrors taking place in the ruined city of Mariupol after it was smuggled out in a tampon. Yuliia Paievska is referred to as Taira in Ukraine, a moniker from the nickname she chose in the World Of Warcraft video game. Using a body camera, the 53-year-old recorded
Early in the invasion, Russia’s 59th tank regiment dug in east of Kharkiv. Near the treeline on raised ground, they looked down on a valley of villages. From there, Ukrainians say the tanks’ guns attacked civilian vehicles and homes below. A reckoning followed as Ukrainian forces comprehensively destroyed the Russian tanks and armoured vehicles. Sky
Finland and Sweden have formally submitted their applications to join NATO in a “historic moment” driven by security concerns over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The applications will now be considered by the 30 member countries of the military alliance, with the process expected to take a few weeks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed