World

Described as the “last European dictator”, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been escalating tensions with NATO. But is he close to embroiling his country in the Russia-Ukraine war – against the wishes of his electorate? In post since July 1994, despite growing levels of internal dissent, the Belarusian leader has been kept in power by

A renowned Norwegian mountaineer has denied claims her team stepped over a dying helper while climbing K2 – one of the tallest peaks on the planet – as part of a world record bid. Kristin Harila, 37, last month became the fastest climber to scale all the world’s 14 highest mountains – completing the achievement

Virgin Galactic has taken its first tourists to the edge of space. The company, founded by Sir Richard Branson, took a former Olympian and mother-daughter pair about 55 miles (88km) above Earth during the flight which lasted just more than an hour. See live updates on space launch Pilots CJ Sturckow and Kelly Latimer, alongside

Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio has been shot and killed by an unidentified gunman while at a political rally in Quito. The killing comes amid an alarming wave of violence in the country, with drug trafficking and violent killings on the rise. Incumbent president, Guillermo Lasso, suggested an organised crime gang was behind the killing.

At least six people have died after wildfires rampaged through parts of the Hawaiian island of Maui, officials have said. Fires, fuelled by the wind, have swept across the town of Lahaina, West Maui, leading to 13 evacuations, mayor Richard Bissen Jr said. “Our main focus now is to save lives,” Mr Bissen said. It

The bodies of nine people have been found and two others are feared dead after a fire at a holiday home for disabled people in eastern France. Earlier, officials said 11 people were missing – which included 10 adults with disabilities and one staff member following the fire in the north-eastern town of Wintzenheim. Seventeen

It’s twice the size of India, spread across eight countries, a territory, and home to over 16,000 tree species – the Amazon rainforest is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Today, leaders and representatives of the eight countries it spans will meet for the first time in 14 years hoping to reach

Sinead O’Connor’s family has invited people to line the seafront at Bray in County Wicklow and say “a last goodbye” during her funeral procession. The 56-year-old Grammy-winning artist was found unresponsive when police were called to her home in southeast London on 28 July. The cortege will travel from Harbour Bar to Strand Road, pausing

“Tumbling” records in Antarctica must be taken more seriously because of their “cascading” global impacts, a group of scientists asked by the Foreign Office to investigate the “unprecedented” changes has warned today. After enormous icebergs up to a quarter the size of Wales appeared to break off with “increasing frequency”, the Foreign Office commissioned the

Another Russian warship listing in the water is probably not the image Vladimir Putin had in mind for his beloved Black Sea fleet – but it does demonstrate the increasing effectiveness of Ukraine’s sea drones. The last few days have seen two attacks on Russian ships, both reportedly carried out by Ukrainian unmanned vessels. In

Dramatic footage shows people being rescued from choppy seas in the Mediterranean – as reports emerge that a mother and her one-year-old child have lost their lives after two boats capsized. Video released on Sunday shows people clinging to life rings as they drift in the heaving waves while others are hoisted aboard a coastguard

Imran Khan has always said the mounting cases against him are politically motivated and intended to stop him from running for election. This new arrest could do exactly that. It adds more jeopardy and tension to an already febrile political climate in Pakistan. And the timing is significant. This week Shehbaz Sharif’s government announced a

Imran Khan, Pakistan’s former prime minister, has been arrested after he was sentenced to three years in prison for illegally selling state gifts, his lawyer said. Police were seen surrounding his residence in Lahore on Saturday after the verdict was released. The 70-year-old former cricketer was sentenced after he was found guilty of unlawfully selling

“I cannot carry on God, please help me,” a mother says as she struggles to understand what has happened to her family. Her pain and trauma is unimaginable. Her 21-year-old daughter was gang raped, assaulted and paraded naked by a mob in northeast India. Her husband and 19-year-old son were bludgeoned to death when they

A US publishing executive has died after a boating accident off Italy’s Amalfi Coast. Adrienne Vaughan fell into the water when a rented motorboat she was on with her family crashed into a sailboat that was carrying more than 80 tourists on Thursday, reports said. The 45-year-old was pulled out of the water and brought

Andrew Tate has won his appeal in a Romanian court to be released from house arrest pending trial. The controversial influencer has been held in Romania charged with human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group. The Bucharest Court of Appeals said in a written ruling that it “replaces the house arrest measure with

A Somali sports official has been suspended after an apparently untrained female sprinter represented the African country at an international athletics tournament in China. Nasra Abukar Ali took more than 20 seconds to finish the 100m race at the World University Games in Chengdu, with footage showing she came last by a considerable distance. She

Donald Trump is due to appear in court to face charges over involvement in the January 6th Capitol riots. He is set to be arraigned at the federal court in Washington DC, where he will be given the opportunity to plead not guilty. Increased security measures have been put in place around the court building, which is

Dozens of people have been killed in clashes in Brazil as police carry out raids to crack down on criminal gangs and drug traffickers. At least 44 people have reportedly died in total after violent scenes in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo state and Bahia state. In Rio, police said nine people

A “cancer-killing pill” has appeared to “annihilate” solid tumours in early research – leaving healthy cells unaffected. The new drug has been in development for 20 years, and is now undergoing pre-clinical research in the US. Known as AOH1996, it targets a cancerous variant of a protein called proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). In its