World

Facing the threat of an attack from Russia, Sir Keir Starmer has finally revealed he will “set out the path” to raise defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring. But merely offering a timeframe to reveal an even-further-off-in-the-future date for when expenditure will increase to a level most analysts agree is still

NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks on Tuesday after Vladimir Putin said Russia will ramp up the production of a new, hypersonic ballistic missile. Ukraine‘s parliament cancelled a session as security was tightened following a Russian strike on Thursday on a military facility in Dnipro, a central city with a population of around one

A Canadian town is facing a governance crisis after its newly elected mayor and councillors refused to take an oath of allegiance to the King. Dawson City in Yukon, northwest Canada, requires its council members to pledge allegiance to the monarch in a swearing-in ceremony. Under Yukon law, a newly elected official must take the

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro is among more than 30 people facing charges of allegedly attempting a coup after his electoral defeat in 2022. Federal police have delivered the results of their investigation to the country’s supreme court, which must decide whether to refer them to prosecutor-general Paulo Gonet to bring formal charges. The former

“I’m feeling a mix of excitement and nerves” – that’s how the AI replied when I asked how it felt minutes before the rocket launch. The reply came from the Hera Space Companion, an AI-powered assistant that was developed to “communicate” with the spacecraft of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hera mission. Launched in October

An 18-year-old Londoner faces the possibility years in jail after having sex with a 17-year-old British girl he met in Dubai, campaigners say. Marcus Fakana was with his family in the UAE when a “holiday romance blossomed” with the girl – who’s also from London and now 18. “We really liked each other but she

One of the main faces of Hong Kong’s pro-Democracy scene, British citizen and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, has started testifying in court. It is the first time he has spoken in court in a case that has been delayed for years. Lai, 77, has been charged under Hong Kong’s national security law with two counts

Police are searching for a British woman who was last seen more than a week ago at an airport in southern Poland. Ania Czopinski, 18, was spotted on CCTV around 11pm on 11 November at Krakow-Balice Airport. Officers say she did not have a passport with her. Image: Ms Czopinski was last spotted on CCTV

The eldest son of Norway’s crown princess has been arrested on suspicion of rape, police have said. Marius Borg Hoiby is the son of Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship and the stepson of the heir to the Norwegian throne, Crown Prince Haakon. Borg Hoiby was arrested in Oslo late on Monday on a preliminary

Barely anyone speaks – there is virtual silence apart from the sounds of passing vehicles and the wind whipping through flags and photographs commemorating the dead in a war that started 1,000 days ago when Russia invaded. What is really striking is the sheer number of people who have died, and this memorial in Kyiv’s

Schools have been shut in New Delhi after “hazardous” toxic smog worsened. Authorities in India‘s capital, which is home to more than 33 million people, have also halted construction as part of efforts to control the air pollution. Airlines have warned of delays due to visibility dropping to around 100 metres due to the worst

Dozens of people are said to have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza, while another Israeli strike in Beirut has killed Hezbollah’s head of media relations. Residents and medics said a multi-storey residential building housing at least six families had been targeted in the Gazan town of Beit Lahiya. About 70 people

As the two most powerful countries in the world, the relationship between the United States and China is the most consequential of all bilateral ties. Any change in interactions and behaviour by either side does not just impact security, economic activity and trade in Washington and Beijing, but also affects the rest of the planet.

Eight people have died after a stabbing attack at a Chinese school, with 17 others injured. Authorities said in a statement that a 21-year-old student is believed to have carried out the attack in Yixing City, in China’s Jiangsu province. The incident took place at the Wuxi Vocational College of Arts and Technology at around

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

A stolen portrait of Sir Winston Churchill that was swapped with a forgery during the pandemic has returned to its rightful place in a Canadian hotel. Police said The Roaring Lion portrait – which appears on the UK’s £5 note – was stolen from the Fairmont Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa at some time between