World

One person has died and at least 16 people have been injured in a blast in a cafe in St Petersburg, Russia. Well-known Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky died in the explosion, the Russian interior ministry said. Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had more than 560,000 followers on Telegram and was one of

Three British men are being held in Taliban custody in Afghanistan – including so-called “danger tourist” Miles Routledge who returned to the country after being evacuated by British armed forces less than two years ago. The other two men are charity medic Kevin Cornwell and another unnamed UK national who manages a hotel in Kabul. They

In the vast windswept cemetery on the outskirts of Dnipro low clouds drift and mist drizzles over the graves of the fallen in this war. There is no noise apart from the flapping of hundreds of Ukraine flags – blue for the sky, yellow for the wheatfields of this farming country. Mounds of freshly dug

Oscar Pistorius will not be released early from his 13-year-five-month jail sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, a parole board has decided. The former Olympic and Paralympic athlete, known as the Blade Runner, had applied for parole after serving half of his jail term. Earlier, Reeva’s mother June Steenkamp told Sky News that Pistorius

At least 35 people have died in a well after a structure built over it collapsed at a temple in central India. Worshippers were gathering at the temple in the city of Indore in Madhya Pradesh state to celebrate the Hindu festival of Ram Navami, officials said. The well had not been used for several

A US reporter has been arrested in Russia for allegedly spying for Washington, Russian security services have said. Wall Street Journal writer Evan Gershkovich was held in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg accused of trying to obtain classified information, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday. Mr Gershkovich, 31, is the first reporter

At least 28 people have died after a ferry carrying about 250 passengers and crew caught fire in the southern Philippines. The Coast Guard Commodore Rejard Marfe confirmed that 28 people had drowned or died in the blaze However, Jim Hataman, governor of Basilan, the southern island province near where the ferry caught fire, said

Pope Francis will need to spend “a few days” in hospital for treatment for a respiratory infection, the Vatican says. Spokesman Matteo Bruni said the 86-year-old had complained of breathing difficulties in recent days and went to the Gemelli hospital for tests. The pontiff does not have COVID-19 but requires several days of therapy, he

The boulevards of central Paris were once again choking up with the fog of tear gas. But even through the haze it’s clear this is becoming a significant crisis for President Macron’s government. Tens of thousands of people marched on the streets as part of rolling demonstrations organised by the unions. But they soon deteriorated

Images of four victims of a shooting at a school in Nashville have been released. Six people, including three children, were all shot dead by Audrey Elizabeth Hale after the former student opened fire in the private Covenant School in the Tennessee state capital. The six victims have been named as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs,

Olympic chiefs have been urged by five of Russia’s neighbours to rule on Tuesday that all Russians should be blocked from competing at the Paris Games. The plea from the governments of Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Ukraine is likely to go unheeded. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has been insistent in recent weeks

A pause – not a halt After hours hidden out of sight and in emergency negotiations with his coalition partners, Benjamin Netanyahu eventually bowed to the inevitable. As the sun was going down on an extraordinary day in Israel, news emerged that a deal had been struck. The party of Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would

Israel’s president has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “stop the legislative process immediately” after the PM triggered widespread protests by sacking his defence minister for objecting to judicial reforms. President Isaac Herzog, the head of state who is supposed to remain above politics, said “the eyes of the whole world are on you”

Benjamin Netanyahu has fired his defence minister, a day after Yoav Gallant called for a halt to the planned overhaul of Israel’s judiciary that has divided the country. Mr Gallant, a former army general, is a senior member of Mr Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party. An increasing number of Israeli Defence Force (IDF) Reservists have been

Human blood is set to “drench” one of the UK’s most famous landmarks in a protest over Prince Harry’s controversial remarks about the number of people he killed in Afghanistan. Russian artist Andrei Molodkin says he will project a sculpture featuring blood donated by Afghans on to St Paul’s Cathedral in the coming days, along

Strikes on Iranian-linked bases will be met with an “immediate counter-response” after the reported deaths of 19 people in US attacks on Syria, an Iranian security spokesperson has warned. Keyvan Khosravi made the remarks after the US carried out a series of strikes on the east of the country in one of the deadliest exchanges

A super tanker anchored off the country’s coast and containing more than a million barrels of oil is “likely to sink or explode at any moment”, unleashing an environmental and humanitarian disaster, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Yemen has told Sky News. The FSO Safer was all but abandoned in 2015 as Yemen descended

A Sky News team inside Yemen has discovered shocking evidence that donated UN food aid meant for the most needy is instead being sold in street markets to help boost stallholders’ profits. We found that donated cans of vegetable oil with World Food Programme (WFP) stamps on them were among the essential food items being

North Korea has tested a new underwater attack drone that can generate a radioactive tsunami, the country’s state media has claimed. The nuclear-capable drone was launched this week off the coast of Riwon County in South Hamgyong Province. It reached its target off Hongwon Bay, where it detonated its test warhead, according to the Korean

A national strike is taking place in France after President Emmanuel Macron’s circumvention of parliament to pass the divisive pension bill which would raise the retirement age by two years. The co-ordinated strikes are expected to cause widespread national chaos, as well as travel disruption to and from France. French airports will be hit, with