World

China and Russia will not be at peace summit – but unity is important to maintaining the West’s edge Dominic Waghorn International affairs editor @DominicWaghorn It has been another bad week for Vladimir Putin. He started his war in Ukraine to limit Western expansion, he says. It is accelerating apace entirely because of his aggression.

Ukrainian forces have struck a military airfield in Russia, targeting warplanes and glide-bomb facilities used to launch deadly attacks against Ukraine, a security source has revealed. The source said the operation on Thursday night was part of a “sustained campaign to degrade the Russian Air Force” just as Ukraine has done with Russia’s Black Sea

As ever with Vladimir Putin, timing is everything. It’s no coincidence his latest speech was made on the eve of the Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland. Russia won’t be there as it hasn’t been invited. So this was about putting Moscow’s side across first and undermining the summit’s legitimacy before it has even begun. Putin

Greece has shuttered tourist hotspots and schools across Athens as the first heatwave of the summer strikes. Temperatures were tipped to hit highs up 43C (109F) on Wednesday and Thursday in parts of the Mediterranean country. Meteorologists say the high temperatures is being driven by southerly winds bringing hot air and dust from North Africa.

Israel and Hamas have been included for the first time on a United Nations list for violating children’s rights. The UN’s Children in Armed Conflict said in its annual report that war in Israel and Gaza, as well as in Ukraine and Sudan, led to an unprecedented number of children being killed and injured in

The vice-president of Malawi and nine others have died in a plane crash, the country’s president has said. The flight – carrying seven passengers and three military crew members – “went off radar” after leaving the capital, Lilongwe, on Monday morning. Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera announced the news in a live broadcast on Tuesday. This

An aircraft carrying Malawi’s vice president and nine others has gone missing. According to the president’s office, Saulos Klaus Chilima was on board when the flight “went off radar” after leaving the capital, Lilongwe, on Monday morning. Rescue operations are ongoing, it added, after efforts to “make contact” with the plane failed. “The public will be

In Europe, where modern politics sometimes moves slowly, shocks don’t come much bigger than this one. Emmanuel Macron dissolving parliament and calling elections, leaving one huge question hanging in the air – what happens next? Macron is a man used to success. He started a political party in his 30s, won the presidency, and then

French President Emmanuel Macron has dissolved France’s National Assembly and called a snap election after his party suffered a calamitous result in elections to the European Parliament. Marine le Pen’s hard right National Rally party won about 32% of the vote – a 10 point increase on the last EU election in 2019. It is

Denmark’s prime minister is suffering from whiplash after a man assaulted her in Copenhagen on Friday. Mette Frederiksen’s office said in a statement on Saturday the prime minister had been rushed to a hospital for a check-up soon after the attack. She is otherwise fine apart from whiplash but had been left “shaken” by the

Israel says it has rescued four hostages from Gaza. They are in a good medical condition, Israeli authorities said, and are receiving medical checks at Sheba hospital, where they will spend the night. The hostages, who were captured by Hamas from the Nova music festival in October, were named as Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir

The German city of Mannheim is in mourning. It’s grieving for the police officer killed by a failed asylum seeker from Afghanistan last Friday. In the marketplace, rows of people queue to lay flowers. A line of police marches forward, lowering their caps; colleagues and residents gathering to pay their respects and reflect on a

Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen has been attacked in central Copenhagen. Ms Frederiksen was in shock after being hit by someone, the Danish news agency Ritzau said, citing the police and the prime minister’s office. A man has been arrested. It is unclear whether the PM has been left injured by the attack. This breaking

The Netherlands has warned it may stop taking part in Eurovision after this year’s contestant was abruptly disqualified. Dutch broadcaster Avrotros has called for “structural problems” in the contest to be addressed, and may not make an entry until improvements are made. Joost Klein was kicked out of the competition after allegedly making verbal threats

YouTube says it is introducing new restrictions on videos featuring guns after repeated calls by campaigners to limit potentially traumatising material. From 18 June, the video-sharing platform said it will prohibit any videos demonstrating how to remove firearm safety devices. YouTube, which is owned by Google, will also restrict videos showing homemade guns and automatic

The renowned “50 Best” list of the world’s best restaurants has been revealed in Las Vegas – with a new restaurant taking top spot. Disfrutar in Barcelona took the crown from Central in Lima, Peru (previous winners are ineligible and instead join a Best of the Best list). Eating the standard menu costs £247 (€290)

An Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza has killed dozens of people, including children, local officials say. Israel claimed its military planes were targeting what it says was a “Hamas compound” when they struck the school. Hamas-affiliated media said the airstrike killed at least 39 people, with local health officials saying that included at

Vladimir Putin has warned he could provide long-range weapons to nations to strike Western targets in response to NATO allies allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory. The Russian president also re-issued Moscow’s readiness to use nuclear weapons if it sees a threat to its sovereignty. During an audience with international journalists

The potential for all-out war between Israel and Lebanon seems to have dramatically moved up a notch – or more – over the past few days. And the Israeli prime minister has done nothing to dissuade that notion – telling his troops on the northern border with Lebanon on Wednesday that they are prepared for

The last 12 months have all been over the critical threshold of 1.5 degrees of global warming, according to a new analysis of temperature data. Global average temperatures from June 2023 to May 2024 were 1.63 degrees above the 1850-1900 “pre-industrial” baseline according to Copernicus, the EU’s climate monitoring service. A short-term annual breach isn’t